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Priceline Hotel: Europe-How Far in Advance?


Tiki
By Tiki,
in

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Our trip is in Sept which seems to be a popular convention time. A couple days ago, I successfully lowballed a 4* in Amsterdam, then was going to hold back a while before bidding on the other cities. I did some research and found major events close to my travel dates.

Munich: I want 13-15 Sept, Oktoberfest starts 19 Sept and I don't know how far in advance people arrive.

Frankfurt: I want 16 Sept (preferably near the airport as flying on 17 Sept), there is a huge Auto Show from 17-19 Sept.

Thankfully Vienna appears to have no special events close to my dates of 11-13 Sept.

I am still undecided whether to use PL for Paris as I might just go for a cheapie 2-3* in the Latin Quarter for the French style hotels rather than international chains.

This is currently over 6 months before the trip and normally people advise waiting until closer to the date. I don't even know when European hotels load inventory. NH Hoteles apparently loads early but they don't serve any of these cities.

I am mostly worried about Frankfurt and Munich because of the special events, any advice appreciated!

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I have more reason to worry about Frankfurt, the most common "win" the Moevenpick is booked out from the 14-17 Sept. https://www.moevenpick-Hotels.com/en/pub/reservation.cfm

The Marriott and Westin are also booked out.

So far, the Intercontinental 527 Euro, Le Meridien 467 Euro, Holiday Inn 249 Euro and 3 x Sheraton 147-376 Euro are available and the Leonardo 3* for 259 Euro which I see people winning (but gets bad reviews on Trip Advisor) are also available.

I usually research what other people are winning the available hotels at and then try a few lowballs and come up to what the others bid.

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Just to be safe, I'd take a look at a site like www.hrs.de and book some cancellable backups. German hotel prices are generally quite reasonable if there are no huge events (and I don't think you are actually intersecting any big events, but just coming close).

I'd also take a look at some other sites, like www.hotelscombined.com and see what prices you can get without Priceline, although the cheapest ones there will probably be prepaid.

Actually my main concern would probably be Paris in September, so that's where I'd be especially sure to make a backup. I don't think you'll find any 2-3* in the Latin Quarter that's particularly cheap - prices have gotten quite high, and September is generally the most expensive month. I'd expect 100 Euros per night as a bare minimum with those criteria, and probably more.

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This is currently over 6 months before the trip and normally people advise waiting until closer to the date.
I don't agree with this... i always recommend bidding as soon as your plans are firm, researching rates so you know what a 'good deal' is, and start by lowballing to make sure you don't overbid.

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Well I tried first 4* ranging from $45-60, in $5 increments, then tried 3*, couldn't even get the Leonardo which other people seem to get, once again went to $65. Frankfurt has one of the world's largest auto shows happening around that time and Germany makes an awful lot of cars. All is not lost, I did manage to get the Sheraton Congress booked on Starwood Cash and Points, I am in shock I could even GET an award room at this time, but if Priceline had worked out, a normal Frankfurt room goes for $40-45 and I would have saved the Starpoints. The reviews on Trip Advisor are OK and there is a tram outside the door to the city center.

Paris actually was easier than I thought-I stumbled onto a deal at Ibis "Happy 30" and got an Ibis in Bastille (near Marais) for 59 Euros! I don't think Priceline would have beat $75 USD equiv in Euros so I grabbed it. Not every Ibis/Accor offers Happy 30, it's a pita to check each hotel for the dates one by one and the one in Bastille had the nicest location.

I bid Munich at 4* levels up to $55 and 3 * up to $55 with no luck and I am locked out until tomorrow. No Ibis Happy 30's in Munich and the Starwoods here aren't offering Cash and Points-probably cutting it too close to Oktoberfest which is annoying because I have no interest in Oktoberfest at all.

I'll have another go at Munich tomorrow and use your link.

Not sure if I should also go for Vienna or wait a bit because there is nothing special happening there in Sept (no trade fairs).

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That's a good bargain for the Ibis. These are basically like 2* hotels, but usually in good shape and modern, unlike some 2* hotels.

For Vienna, I got a great deal at the 4* Lindner am Belvedere using www.ameropa.de . But the website is only in German, so I found it a bit tricky. I got vouchers for the hotel by postal mail. But I'd suggest looking at that website anyway.

For Frankfurt, I think you can cancel a Starwood C&P room up until fairly late, right? So you still have a chance to bid if you want.

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That's a good bargain for the Ibis. These are basically like 2* hotels, but usually in good shape and modern, unlike some 2* hotels.

For Vienna, I got a great deal at the 4* Lindner am Belvedere using www.ameropa.de . But the website is only in German, so I found it a bit tricky. I got vouchers for the hotel by postal mail. But I'd suggest looking at that website anyway.

For Frankfurt, I think you can cancel a Starwood C&P room up until fairly late, right? So you still have a chance to bid if you want.

Yes, I think you can cancel a C&P without penalty but I haven't tried. I doubt anything cheaper would open up with that auto show in town, things will just get worse.

The plot thickens for Munich! I was messing around on Hotwire and I discovered that rooms are still cheap on 13 Sept but on 14 Sept is when they take a HUGE leap upwards in anticipation of Oktoberfest. So now I am thinking of just bidding for the 13th and on the 14th hopping a train to Nurnberg in the evening. The 15th is in Rothenberg and we would have just gone direct from Munich there but if we can't get cheap hotels in Munich, we have to look at other options. The train is about 2 hours so we would still have the whole day to see Munich. I don't think PL serves Nurnberg but there are some good deals on Booking.com.

For Vienna, the cheapest pensions are around $75 a night, PL wins start at $82 for the Renaissance historically so I guess we will just take a punt and if we don't get anything, use Booking.com.

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OK, I am convinced Priceline hates me. I bid Munich up to $65 for 4* ONLY on the 13th Sept (Hotwire has a 4* for $82 that day) and rejected. So I tried for 3* having seen other people post winning bids for $55, I tried that in Munich South, then added Munich North and tried $60 and nothing. Hotwire has 3.5 * for $84 and 2.5* for $79. So it looks like there is cheap inventory on that day but I can't seem to nail it.

HOTWIRE

4* amenities: Fitness Centre, Pool, Restaurant, Business Centre, Hi-Speed Internet, Spa

3.5* amenities: Comp Bkft, High-Speed Internet, Restauarant

2.5* amenities: Restaurant

I never used HOTWIRE but their booking fees are ridiculous!

If anyone can help me narrow down the Hotwire hotels, I would appreciate it, that 4* might also be a PL hotel. I will have one more go at this tomorrow, then give up and book something else.

For Vienna, I went and booked a double in the Strawberry Hostel in town, I would rather have a good location than a higher star level out in the boonies and spend money commuting. I'm using www.booking.com for all the bookings I made in failed Priceline attempts, except I can get a Happy 30 Ibis in Nurnberg on the 14th Sept.

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I'm guessing that HOTWIRE may have an error in their currency conversion or tax rate in this area, accounting for the very high taxes and fees.

At the moment, for the HOTWIRE hotels listed, the 'all-in' price for each is $95-$145/nite, which is somewhat more than you have tried bidding on PRICELINE... are you willing to pay this much for a hotel for this nite?

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Paris actually was easier than I thought-I stumbled onto a deal at Ibis "Happy 30" and got an Ibis in Bastille (near Marais) for 59 Euros! I don't think Priceline would have beat $75 USD equiv in Euros so I grabbed it. Not every Ibis/Accor offers Happy 30, it's a pita to check each hotel for the dates one by one and the one in Bastille had the nicest location.

Tiki, thanks for the post. I've been bidding on priceline for the past few weeks for paris with no luck. My budget is $100 inclusive of taxes and fees which seems really difficult for paris since previous wins are usually above $100. When I saw your post, I immediately jumped on the deal. My dates are for April 25-29. Thanks again!

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Tiki, thanks for the post. I've been bidding on priceline for the past few weeks for paris with no luck. My budget is $100 inclusive of taxes and fees which seems really difficult for paris since previous wins are usually above $100. When I saw your post, I immediately jumped on the deal. My dates are for April 25-29. Thanks again!

At least I helped someone! Good onya!! :)

I did more research, it looks like the Hotwire properties are all Starwoods and Priceline seems to favour Marriotts in Munich except for King's Central as a 3*. Since I am an SPG member, I went back to SPG.com and found that I could get the Four Points ONLY on 13 Sept for points, it is fully booked the 14th which is why it didn't show up the first time I looked. So looks like PL is out for Munich this time. Booking.com shows Kng's Central for 220 Euro and Marriott Courtyard for 349 Euro so they already put up their Oktoberfest prices on 13 Sept--greedy buggers! :)

The Renaissance is still only 179 Euros on Booking.com so it hasn't been inflated yet and I don't know why I couldn't get it for their usual PRICELINE price, historically it went for $65 up to $135 for Oktoberfest. I think the Four Points is a better location for transportation to see the sights and close to the main train station.

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Basically, the best advice I can give is two-fold: be patient and follow your gut.

And, of course, use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on BetterBidding.com.

I don't think there's a good time or a bad time. To me, it's a two-part system: how far out it is and my gut feeling when I'm attempting to book.

For part one, take my story for example. We're going to Europe June 17-July 1 (Barcelona - Rome - Lucerne - Brussels - London - Shannon). Right now we're three months out for the trip. I started looking at HW/PL in December (about 6 months out). I didn't see anything I thought was a good deal, so I didn't book (which is part two). Of course, I used BetterBidding.com as a compass

In January, things started looking better price-wise, but I still waited. Enter February, when I got a steal of a deal: $49 in London for June! (See my list of dates booked, method used, and prices below.) This weekend (March 6-7) I hit a roll with great prices, so I booked quite a few. I'm currently holding out for Rome and Dublin/Shannon because my gut tells me I can get a better price than what I've seen so far.

FYI, booking.com's parent company is...wait for it...wait for it: Priceline. :)

Hope this helps! :)

AFG

---

Wins So Far for Europe (June '09) Trip

Method (Hotel / City / Reservation Date / Stars / Winning bid) Date booked

Hotwire.com (Holiday Inn Camden Lock / London / June 28 / 4* / $49) 02.13.09

Marriott.com (Swindon / June 26 - free, used points) 03.07.09

Hotwire.com (Tryp Apolo / Barcelona / June 18-19 / 4* / $52) 03.06.09

Booking.com (Schloss Hotel Swiss Chalet / Lucerne / June 22-24 / 3.5* / $84) 03.07.09

Priceline.com (NH Kensington / London / June 29 / 4* / $57) 03.07.09

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Hi Tiki. I would not give up just yet. There is plenty of time to go yet. I generally agree with thereuare's advice to start early and low ball as much as you can. Given the timeframes involved I do not think you should overbid just yet in an effort to lock away something. Given the general economic climate, I really cannot see rates rising to fast in the near future and so in a month or so you may see more inventory released.

Coming from Oz to Europe is a big thing (I know first hand) and ideally you have your accomodation squirrelled away as a early as possible but give it some time and be patient. I have found Priceline quite good for Germany. I once got the Berlin Courtyard (rated at 3.5 stars) for $55 US a night which for the quality of the hotel and its location was a steal. I know the collapse of the OZ $ would not be helping your bidding at the moment in terms of your maximum price but hang in there a little longer!

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I am not an experienced bidder, but I have been trying to get a 5* in Prague for Oct.1-8 and a 4-5* in Vienna, Oct.13-22.

For Prague, I have bid $60, $65, $70 & $75 to no avail.

For Vienna, I have bid $105,$110 & $115.

These prices seem to be in line with what posters have paid.

Is my problem that I am way too early for October? Or is it that these are long stays?

I appreciate all comments. Thanks

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