Priceline Hotel: 3* Charleston (Downtown) Holiday Inn Mills House

[newtraveler]

Hello all,

I'm new to the board and I'm trying to figure out the best strategy for bidding on a 3* or 4* hotel in downtown charleston. I'm having a hard time figuring out re-bid zones for the 3* bids. When I try to search for hotels on PRICELINE (not bidding, just regular) in charleston, it doesn't give the same zone/location options as when I try to bid. I would bid up to $130 or so for a 3* and $165 for a 4*. Does that sound reasonable? I would welcome any help in figuring out the best way to handle this.

Thanks in advance!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Let's get you up to speed with re-bidding first, then we'll move onto a bidding strategy...

The way to determine your re-bid zones is explained in 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)

So you want to use the bidding section of PRICELINE (not the 'retail' section which has different zones than you'll be using) and select one zone at a time, looking at the available star ratings below the zones to see which levels are offered in each zone.

At the 4* level you have FIVE re-bid zones and at the 3* level you have TWO re-bid zones. See if you can figure them out using the information above, if not just post back and we'll break it down further for you.

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

[newtraveler]

I got it figured out. Thanks for the help!

I went through many many iterations, I bid up to $140 for a 4* hotel with no luck. I then started at $80 and worked my way up to $125 for a 3* and won the Mills House. It looks like rooms there for that weekend are over $280/night.

Thanks for the help!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear you figured out the re-bidding and were able to use it to your advantage when bidding... ultimately succeeding with a great deal.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.