Priceline Hotel: 4* Paris (Champs Elysees-Opera Quarter West) Concorde Lafayette

[arbitrageur]

Hi All,

Its been a while since I've been on here, and I'm glad to see some of the old familiar names that have helped me tremendously in the past. I'll need a bidding strategy for a 4* in Paris from Oct. 7 to Oct. 13 (6 nights). I've got a cancellable backup for 6 nights in the 4th Arr. for 110 euro/night. I'm willing to split my stay, but would prefer not to.

Max bid = $170

Zones

#1 - Latin Qtr.

#2 - OQE

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome back to BetterBidding! :)

At the 4* level you have one re-bid zone. 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.

I think the following will be too low, but with so much time before your stay i would at least try to bottomfish for your first round of bidding with the following:

Select 4* Latin Quarter...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE.

Select 4* OQE...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE.

Select 4* Latin Quarter and re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE.

Select 4* OQE and re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE.

Select 4* Latin Quarter and OQE...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140.

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[arbitrageur]

As always, thank you for your help. No luck yet with the bids, but I'm hoping a strengthening dollar will only help over time.

I was also wondering if anyone could possibly identify the following Paris Hotwire hotels:

1. 3-star hotel in Eiffel Tower - Mus

[thereuare]

At the present time are you willing to purchase a $168+ 3* HOTWIRE hotel when you're only willing to bid up to $140 for a 4* hotel on priceline?

[arbitrageur]

Hello. Not willing to buy on Hotwire yet, but just curious as to what they're offering. I like to use the HOTWIRE listings to judge the "spread" between priceline wins for my desired areas versus what Hotwire is able to offer at the current time. This knowledge is helpful since the star ratings and hotel offerings between PRICELINE and HOTWIRE differ. A few times I've been unsuccessful with my priceline bidding and have purchased using Hotwire so a desired hotel wouldn't be lost.

[arbitrageur]

Rejected at $151, 161, 165, 170 for 4*. Any suggestions?

Willing to accept 3* now with max bid $170.

Also, potential hotwire hotels someone might be able to help me identify as desperation sinks in:

3-star hotel in Eiffel Tower - Mus

[thereuare]

The Best Western Folkestone Opera has been reported as a 3* hotel in the (Champs Elysees - Trocadero) zone without any amenities shown, but no telling if this is the property you're being offered or not.

If you intend to move forward with PRICELINE, which zones are you willing to accept at the 3* level?

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

[arbitrageur]

Thanks for your help!

As for 3* hotel zones I'm thinking of keeping the same original two zones (OQE and Latin Qtr) and adding Eiffel Tower, unless you think I might get something way outside of the city center.

[thereuare]

...unless you think I might get something way outside of the city center

Could you accept a hotel anywhere in the shaded region of the zones you select?

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

[arbitrageur]

You're right.... to play it safe, I'll stick to my original 2 zones -- OQE and Latin Quarter.

[thereuare]

There are no re-bid zones at the 3* level so i would begin as follows:

Select 4* Latin Quarter...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE.

Select 4* OQE...

Bid $90, if rejected add OQE...

Bid $100.

The above will likely prove to be too low but i'd start there given the time before your stay.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[arbitrageur]

Updates:

Added OQW as a potential zone. Also trying to keep max bid including fees and taxes below $170/night now.

Rejected at $106, 117, and 121.

When bidding 106 in Latin, got counter offer of 188.

When bidding 106 in OQS, got counter offer of 170.

Should I consider splitting stay dates as I ramp up to the $150 mark or stay the course? If I do consider splitting dates, is it usually better to separate the weekend dates from weekday? I didn't see much of a price difference looking up the dates individually.

[thereuare]

Do you remember exactly the bids you made and the zones you included on each (especially when you received the counter-offers)

I'ts not clear when you added OQW to the mix, and also, OQS above should be OQE i assume?

[arbitrageur]

Hello.

Sorry for the typo. OQS = OQW. I got a counteroffer of $188 when I bid $106 in Latin. I closed the browser and bid $106 in OQE with no counteroffer. I closed the browser and bid $106 in OQW and got a counteroffer of $170. Suprisingly, no counteroffers at the higher bids when using a mix of combined zones.

Bid History following that point:

OQE + Latin = $117

OQE + OQW = $117

OQE+Latin+OQW = $121

I guess I could have also used OQW+Latin as another rebid, but was short on time.

[thereuare]

To recap, you're bidding OQE, OQW, and Latin Quarter with a maximum bid of $155/nite? (which i estimate to be $170 all-in)

Select 3* OQE...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Latin Quarter...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* OQW...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* OQE and Latin Quarter...

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* OQW and Latin Quarter...

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* OQE and OQW and Latin Quarter...

Bid $135

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[arbitrageur]

Success at $145 (bidding for a 3*) with an upgrade to a 4* in OQW.

As always, I used the PRICELINE link.

Thank you for your help :)

Hotel Concorde La Fayette

Champs Elysees - Opera Quarter West

3 Place Du General Koenig

Paris, France

33 1 40 68 50 50

Check-In Date:

Tue, Oct 7, 2008 / After 03:00 PM

Check-Out Date:

Mon, Oct 13, 2008 / 12:00 PM

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$145.00

Subtotal: US$870.00

Taxes & Service Fees: US$78.50

Total Charges: US$948.50

________________

Bid History:

Previous rejected 3* bids for the 3 zones over the last couple of days = $125, $128, $135, $141

Started bidding today at $145. When bidding $145 in Latin, still got counteroffer of $188. When bidding $145 in OQE got a never before seen counteroffer of $192. Bid $145 for OQW and was successful. Priceline automatically upgraded to 4* Hotel Concorde La Fayette. Hope this helps anyone else trying to secure these dates.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win and thank you for sharing your results with the board.

Glad to see you were successful... and at an amount lower than you had previously bid for a 4* hotel (albeit in a different zone)

Hopefully you're happy with the results and can now move on to planning other aspects of your trip.

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

Enjoy your stay.