Priceline Hotel: 4* Seattle (Downtown) Westin

[hularn]

Hi,

Am new to this whole process of bidding and have tried to read/understand the rules and rebidding suggestions. My question is we will be travelling to Seattle from Maui for a friends wedding 8/26/08 to 9/04/08 and since we have never been there are anxious to make a vacation out of it. We think we would like to be free of an auto and use public transportation and think that we want to be downtown and in a four star hotel. How soon should we start bidding and since we have so much time , would there be a monetary gain to doing free rebids within the 24 hour period, vs waiting and rebid for same requests 24 hours later ? Thanks for any advice you can give ! Mahalo !

[hularn]

Would love some advice. Want to stay downtown seattle 8/26/08 through 9/04/08 in a 4 *, have read the rules on rebids. My question is since this is trip is 5+ months away, will I automatically be rejected, and should I wait till time draws closer ? If so , how long should I wait ? Any advice would be welcome

Thanks

[WillTravel]

No, you won't automatically be rejected. I did an 8/29 - 9/2 bid 11 months ahead for downtown Seattle (but for 2.5*).

The more likely problem is that because this is a very high demand time in Seatle, you may have to pay a lot, certainly more than in low season.

The other problem is that you are seeking a pretty long stay, so you may be more successful (but no way to tell ahead of time) with two shorter bids.

Have you looked at HOTWIRE for your dates?

[togiluk]

Just take a look of the PRICELINE Map, and try your luck by following other people's foot steps.

The excitment is thru your action. No action, nothing will happen.

have fun bidding.

(you have nothing to lose if they reject you)

[pterrell]

To answer your questions about timing, it's not predictable whether you get a better or worse deal by bidding early. The individual hotels use PRICELINE as a way of filling empty rooms, each projecting the room occupancy and the dollar amount to get you in the room.

So the rule would be to set a low maximum amount per night and see if you can get it. Use the rebids to work your way up to that amount.

No one has reported better or worse pricing for waiting 24 hours. So do what's comfortable. I usually do my bidding while watching the TV--you can spend a couple of hours bidding in one sitting on some cities with a mess of "rebid" zones".

The advange of bidding early is that you know that you've got a room to stay in and your work is done, especially if you're going during peak season.

The disadvantage is that if your plans change, the reservation cannot be changed or canceled.

[hularn]

Through Priceline

Got the Westin Downtown Seattle ( four * ) for 8/26/08- 9/4/04

Paid $123.00 night

Had bid a few weeks back after seeking great advice on this site up to $115 but got rejected ( I was clearly bidding too low and knew it, but wanted to feel my way around ) Took a break and watched for a while and bid over last three days with free rebids. Started again at $110, using free rebids, rejected at 112, 113 and at $115 rejected, got a request to raise bid by $ 22 . I rejected that and continued with free rebids, changing zones and increasing and was accepted at $123 for nine nights

Tax and services 182.00

Total $ 1334.76 ( purchased trip insurance, have elderly, ill family member )

We are pretty happy with this hotel and price . I am aware that the pool is closed for the summer for remodel, but don't care much about that . Thanks so much for all I have learned on this site. It is my first time using PRICELINE, tried my hand at HOTWIRE a couple of years ago without your website and did okay but really feel like this website helped immensely with this trip. We are telling all our friends about this site. :)

Thanks so much , or as they say here in Maui, MAHALO !

Oh, and I did use the website link to PRICELINE......If I forgot any other info please advise and I will add it later....Thanks Betterbidding.com !!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

A very nice deal for summer in Seattle... especially for nite consecutive nites!

Glad to hear the board was helpful and that you're happy with the results.

For dinner one nite in the area, try the 'half price early bird special' at Brasa (call to confirm they're still doing this). The food is ecclectic (bit of a middle eastern theme) and very good, and the lounge menu at half price (with a drink purchase) makes for a great dinner at an exceptional value.

Thanks for sharing your win with the board and for using our PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[dingmah]

I will be seeing at the Westin on Aug. 26 :)

[hularn]

Great news...

When a friend called the Westin about booking this summer, he was told the pool would be closed till Fall or Winter of 2008. And indeed this was posted on the hotel's website. However, some time after this the Hotel website posted a notice the pool would be closed till June 15, and by reports , it sounds as if the pool is now fully open and there has been no further mention of pool closed on their website. So, appears come on in the water is fine !