Priceline Hotel: Chicago 10/13 - 10/20

[Phil-]

Hi there - I need some help with my bidding, as for the first time ever in my priceline history, I seem to be getting nowhere after a couple of weeks of trying.

My wife and I are going on vacaton in Chicago and need a 4-star room from 10/13-10/20, ideally as close to the downtown/touristy area as possible. From reading all the other posts on this board it seems we should be looking in the North Michigan Ave-River North & Millenium Park-The Loop-Gant Park categories.

So I have tried bidding sequences now on 7 different occasions over the last 2 weeks and have laid out my bids below. I know I started low at first, but I am now up to $191 and am reluctant to go any higher, as it seems that 2 of the hotels I may get are going for a little over $200 anyway around the various sites (Hard Rock and W Lakeshore). Am I doing something wrong? For one thing I am confused about the free bids - Assuming I am okay with either of the above areas I only have been trying 2 free bids each time - those being Midway and Lincoln Park - what is the 3rd one?

Here are my bids day by day - any and all advice would be gratefuly received.

Thanks in advance,

Phil

Attempt 1

NMA 85

+ MP 90

+LP 95

+MID 98

Attempt 2

NMA 100

+MP 101

+LP 106

+MID 110

Attempt 3

NMA 110

+MP 115

+MID 120

+LP 125

Attempt 4

MP 135

+NMA 140

+MID 145

+LP 151

Attempt 5

MP 145

+NMA 151

+MID 155

+LP 161

Attempt 6

MP 155

+NMA 165

+MID 170

+LP 175

Attempt 7 (today)

MP 171

+NMA 178

+MID 185

+LP 191

[Phil-]

What would be your best guess as to which hotel/s these could be for the dates above?

4.5-star hotel in Magnificent Mile Area - Streeterville $272

Fitness/Restaurants/Business Center/Internet

Customer Favorite

4-star hotel in Magnificent Mile Area - Streeterville $209

Fitness/Restaurants/Business Center/Internet

Customer Favorite

4-star hotel in North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast

Boutique Hotel/Fitness/Restaurants/Business Center/Internet/Golf Nearby $229

Any related advice you could give would be much appreciated :)

Phil

[AaronJB]

The W Lakeshore is $213.08 on Orbitz per night for these dates. Use coupon code FABSAVE10 for 10% off. That's $191.70 after the 10%, taking the price under any of the Hotwire options and the Orbitz price was a 30% off sale to begin with.

If this is of interest, please use the site's link to Orbitz.com.

In terms of your hotwire choices, I like the 4* Mag Mile/Streeterville, which would appear to be a potential match for the Westin River North. If this is of interest, please use the site's link to HOTWIRE.com

[slick_gd]

I think one of the reasons why you have not won anything with such a high bid is that you are looking for a 7 night stay. Since each hotel may post a different rate for each different day, when you bid for a 7 night stay you have to bid above the maximum amount of any one of the nights.

Say the hotel posts these rates to PRICELINE:

Mon - Wed: $50

Thur - Fri: $75

Sat: $120

Sun: $55

Your winning bid for a 7 night stay would have to be $120, therefore you would be over paying for many of those night. With that being said, have you thought about splitting your bid? (read this post: SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID)

What may be happening is that there are no hotels available for one of you nights, or the price is extremely high, and you have to overcome that price in order to win the bid.

The main downside with splitting bids is that you may have to switch hotels since you are not guaranteed to win the same hotel, and even if it is in the same hotel you may have to switch rooms. A little bit of an inconvenience but it could definitely be worth it.

I didn't get into too much detail, but let us know if this is an option and we can help guide you to a winning bid.

[thereuare]

...let us know if this is an option and we can help guide you to a winning bid.

[Phil-]

Thanks for the help guys.

I now see why I have not been getting anywhere with the Priceline. So I guess I now have to decide whether to split the bid - I had already seen the deal on W Lakeshore but appreciate the discount code so will have that as a back up either way. The Westin River North hotwire deal seems to be pretty good value too - how would this compare with the W deal in your opinion? What else would it be likely to be if it wasnt the River North, and how far is that from the centre of town? I dont know Chicago at all as I am sure you can tell lol!

If I do try the bid split - what would your strategy be?

As always I appreciate your help, and always use ur links :)

[Phil-]

Also, what is that rebid zone I am missing on 4*?

[thereuare]

List each PRICELINE zone and the highest star rating available in each zone, using the following 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)

We'll then be able to confirm them for you and know where you're making a mistake in determining your re-bid zones and you'll then be able to doublecheck them before each bidding cycle (which is a necessary step before bidding to make sure that nothing has changed)

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

PS- you'll be able to see the locations of the hotels above using our Priceline Maps