Priceline Hotel: 4* Toronto (Downtown) Le Meridien King Edward

[embguy]

I am glad that I find this forum. I need some help.

Priceline is for two adults only. Is it possible to upgraded to 3 adults at the hotel? I was thinking to bid for one night to start with. Make sure the hotel is ok for 3 adults before extending for 2 more nights. What is your recommendation? Is there any chance that I cannot extend because that hotel is fully booked.

TIA

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Few problems with your approach:

-most hotel will not guarantee your bed type, most will simply leave it as a 'request' which will be determined upon check-in

-you can only extend your stay for the same number of nites (or less) as your original reservation... so you can't win one nite and then extend it an additional two nites

-the extend your stay option isn't always offered, and when it is, acceptance of your additional nites is not guaranteed

HOTWIRE will allow you to search for up to quad occupancy, have you tried search there? What are the date(s) of your stay?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[embguy]

HOTWIRE will allow you to search for up to quad occupancy, have you tried search there? What are the date(s) of your stay?

Thank you for your information. We will be in Toronto from June 22nd to June 24th (3 nights). We like to stay at downtown Toronto as we are not planning to get a car.

3* hotels at HOTWIRE are over $170. Our budget is around $100 per night. Getting a 2* hotel without knowing the hotel before booking is a bit risky.

I have read some post that people getting rate less than the posted HOTWIRE rate. Since HOTWIRE is not a bidding site, how people getting rate lower than posted rated?

[thereuare]

I'm not sure where you're seeing people receiving rates less than the post HOTWIRE rate, but i'm assuming they are either posting that they received a lower price thru PRICELINE (vs. the HOTWIRE rate) or that they received a lower rate than the hotel's website.

What is the best rate you're able to find thru an acceptable conventionally booked hotel?

[Campofiorin]

Bidding through PRICELINE, you'll have a hard time getting a lower rate than around $110 for a 3-star or better. The lowest rate I see for a 3-star on Hotwire is $176. I'm assuming you'll be in Toronto from Quebec during the St-Jean-Baptiste weekend and hotels in Toronto know about the holiday in QC and adjust the rates accordlingly. Being high on business, TO is more expensive during the week. I got the Courtyards on Yonge for $80 on the 21st of june. You might want to start bidding around $70 for a 4-star in Downtown Toronto. You have many rebid zones, Brampton, Don Valley, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Scarborough, Toronto East and Toronto West. With each bid denied, increase your amount by a few dollars. If it doesn't work after you've added all zones, wait 24h and try again the day after and start your bidding at around $75. If the 4-star aproach fails to work, try a 3-star research, here are the rebid zones : Scarborough and Toronto East. Good luck.

[thereuare]

I got the Courtyards on Yonge for $80 on the 21st of june.

Can you please share your win(s) with the board :)

[embguy]

Rejected -Tonight's bid was $88 for 4* Toronto Downtown. June 23 - 25(3 nights) - changed from June 22 - 24

[thereuare]

What is the best rate you're able to find thru an acceptable conventionally booked hotel?

[embguy]

The Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Toronto is $160 for room with 1 King Bed, 1 Queen Bed or 1 Double Bed (Plus Sofa Bed). This can be booked online direct from the Sutton Place website as of June 6th morning.

[thereuare]

It doesn't appear that you're using any re-bid zones (you have eight of them when bidding 4* in Toronto... see If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.)

Note that the Sutton Place $160 rate is for their "apartment" units, i'm not sure if these are better/worse than their hotel rooms, but as these aren't the rooms that PRICELINE or HOTWIRE are likely to award, it may not be an apples-to-apples comparison, although it may be something that would work well for your needs (although somewhat over your current budget)

I would use your re-bid zones and bid up to your $100 limit on the next round of bidding.

If you are unfamiliar with re-bidding please confirm your re-bid zones with the board or ask questions before bidding OR if you need a more specific bidding strategy let us know and we'll suggest one for you to follow.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[embguy]

Thank you for the rebid zone information. In March, I bid on 4* Toronto downtown hotels and got the Sutton Place Hotel. But the Sutton Place Hotel is not listed in the Toronto downtown priceline 4* list. Is there any chance that Priceline put in a 4* hotel in non-4* zone?

The following Toronto zones do not have 4* hotels:

Barrie - Orillia: Not shown on the biding page

Mississauga - Oakville - Burlington and divided into the following sub-zones

.. Mississauga

.. Oakville - Burlington

If I understand rebid zone concept correctly, the following are the steps to follow:

1. I will start with Toronto downtown 4*.

2. If fails, add Mississauga zone and rebid.

3. If fails, add Oakville - Burlington zone and rebid.

4. If fails, wait 24 hours to start over at step 1 again.

[Campofiorin]

Theses are the 4* rebid zones in Toronto : Brampton, Don Valley, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Scarborough, Toronto East and Toronto West

The way to go is to first select only the zone you want and then bid. If rejected, add another zone and a few dollars to your bid. Proceed until your offer is accepted, adding one zone and a few dollars at every step. If it fails. Then wait 24 h and try again.

[embguy]

I am confused. According to priceline, Brampton and Markham have 4* hotels. I do not want a hotel outside of Toronto downtown.

I cannot find any 4* information in these zones: Don Valley, Scarborough, Toronto East and Toronto West.

I found only Mississauga and Oakville does not have 4* hotels.

[fastmiele]

I guess I am somewhat in the same boat. I think I understand the zones but for this member its almost useless trying to adding zones outside of downtown. and consequently getting something in Scarborough or Markham (too far).

I wish there was a way to tell what the threshold is and that way you can bid accordingly. For example, one member said he was not going to get anything less than $110 during the weekday. If that's the case, then there is no point bidding $88.

[thereuare]

embguy,

You're using PRICELINE's "retail" product to determine the star ratings available in each zone (which are different zones than thru the "name your own price" section of PRICELINE)

Use the "bidding" part of PRICELINE to determine your re-bid zones, as per this technique from Priceline Re-Bidding Explained:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time. (NOTE: for most users Priceline has updated their interface making the above process easier... simply check a zone and note the highest star rating available within each zone, UNcheck that zone and checkmark the next zone, repeating the process)

Feel free to ask questions and confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding again.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[embguy]

embguy,

You're using PRICELINE's "retail" product to determine the star ratings available in each zone (which are different zones than thru the "name your own price" section of PRICELINE)

Use the "bidding" part of PRICELINE to determine your re-bid zones, as per this technique from Priceline Re-Bidding Explained:

QUOTE

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time. (NOTE: for most users Priceline has updated their interface making the above process easier... simply check a zone and note the highest star rating available within each zone, UNcheck that zone and checkmark the next zone, repeating the process)

thereuare,

Thank you for your help.

I think I figure this out now. The instruction next page and BACK does not match the current priceline "name your price" page.

The "Step 1: Choose where you want to stay" and the "Step 2: Choose the star level for your hotel" are on the same page. When I select one of the zone in "Step 1", the 4* radio button may be greyed out if that zone does not have 4* hotel. Just repeat for each zone individually in "Step 1" to determine the zones that do not have 4* hotel before starting the bid process.

This is very powerful... Thanks. I will use this approach later tonight and report my result.

[Campofiorin]

I guess I am somewhat in the same boat. I think I understand the zones but for this member its almost useless trying to adding zones outside of downtown. and consequently getting something in Scarborough or Markham (too far).

I wish there was a way to tell what the threshold is and that way you can bid accordingly. For example, one member said he was not going to get anything less than $110 during the weekday. If that's the case, then there is no point bidding $88.

That was just my guess, I'm by no means an expert and you should start bidding with the amount you want. Better have a no on a lower bid than a yes on an overbid.

As for zones, and star rating, as it's been explained it's quite simple. Click the box of each zone individually and you'll the star ratinga available in the zone. If it's greyed out, it means it's not available. That's how you figure out how many rebid zones you have.

[thereuare]

We strongly encourage you to confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding to make sure you have them correct.

As well, always check your re-bid zones before each bidding cycle to make sure nothing has changed (no hotels added/removed/upgraded/downgraded) since the last time you checked.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[embguy]

I checked on each zone individually and found the following zones do not have 4* hotel.

Brampton

Don Valley

Markham

Mississauga

Oakville - Burlington

Scarborough - Pickering

Toronto East

Toronto West

I started from $90 bid on Toronto downtown zone 4* - rejected

Add a few dollars with each zone added. My last bid was $120 and all are rejected.

[thereuare]

I'm assuming $120 is your maximum bid?

Do you have a back-up hotel reserved? What is your gameplan if you aren't successful with PRICELINE at the 4* level in the downtown area?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[embguy]

We changed the travel date to Toronto and got 4* Le Meridien King Edward for $100 using PRICELINE link from this forum. 19 June 08 - 22 June 08 (3 nights)

Thank you for everyone input on rebid zone.

Is there any way to change the title to reflect what got?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

We've got you covered on the topic edit... already done :)

Glad you were able to adjust your dates to find something which works well for your needs.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and using our PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.