Priceline Hotel: Bidding strategy... I always mess up :)

[chagnee]

Hi there

I'm looking for a 3* or 4* hotel in MTW for 9/4 until 9/10.

Yesterday, I placed a $105 bid for the 4*, which was rejected. With my free re-bid, I raised it to $110, but that was rejected as well. Then I added 3* and bid $95. Rejected again.

I prefer not too pay more than $110 per night, excluding taxes and service fees. Would that be realistic?

Any help would be very very very much appreciated! Thanks so much!

[thereuare]

Given prices i'm currently seeing i think your maximum bid is too low.

I'd guess right now that it will take $140-$170 for a 4* and perhaps $120-$140 for a 3*.

However, rates can always change, so i don't know if you'd rather wait it out or raise your maximum bid. If you choose to wait it out, make sure you book a cancellable back-up in the meantime in case rates go up instead of down. If you want to raise your bid, let us know your bidding limit and we'll add a strategy to get you there.

Other things you may want to consider:

-add the UM/CPS and MTE zones... they're all relatively close to each other and any midtown location is 'central' enough

-consider SPLITTING YOUR BID

If you're not successful with Priceline, what is your back-up plan?

[chagnee]

Oops... accidentally sent a report instead of a reply. Sorry! :)

Anyhow, I understand that $110 is probably too low. Let's change it to $130 then.

As to the zones, I'm interested in the following:

1) MTW: anything from 2.5* to 4*

2) MTE: anything from 2.5* to 4*

3) UM-CPS: only 4*

I really prefer MTW though, since I will be seeing several shows.

Thanks so much in advance! I really appreciate your help.

[thereuare]

Hope you have some time on your hands :) . You have two re-bid zones available when bidding 4* and one re-bid zone available when bidding 3*. If you have any questions about re-bidding or just want to confirm which zones qualify please feel free to ask.

This is what i would try giving your bidding parameters:

Select 4* MTW and

Bid $110, if rejected add MTE and...

Bid $115, if rejected add UM/CPS and...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone #1 and...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone #2 and...

Bid $130.

If the above is rejected, close that browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously....

Select 3* MTW and

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $100.

If the above is rejected, close that browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously....

Select 3* UM/CPS and

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $100

If the above is rejected, close that browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously....

Select 3* MTE and

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone and

Bid $100

If the above is rejected, close that browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously....

Select 3* MTW and UM/CPS and

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone and

Bid $120.

If the above is rejected, close that browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously....

Select 3* MTW and MTE and

Bid $110, if rejected add UM/CPS and

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone and

Bid $130.

I wouldn't recommend lowering to 2.5* this early in the game (but i would consider splitting the bid, although that is more of a personal preference that some don't mind doing while others avoid doing).

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

[chagnee]

Thanks very much! I was able to bid for the 4* hotels. No luck. As soon as I started bidding for the 3* hotels, I constantly got a message saying I have to wait 72h. No problem, I still have plenty of time. I will definitely post my results here.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Your 'duplicate' bid was the result of the bids you placed in your first post... not the bids that that started the strategy i suggested. So you should be able to bid the second half of the strategy posted 72 hours after your original bidding attempt.