Priceline Hotel: 3* Maryland-DC Suburbs (Bethesda-South Rockville) Legacy Hotel

[naturefly]

Hi,

This will be my first time using Priceline. I'm needing help with bidding for 2 rooms at Tysons Corners for June 8-10 (2 nights).

3* or 3.5* should be OK for us. How much should I start my bidding at? I'm willing to pay up to $70 per room per night.

Thanks,

Naturefly

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Are you willing to pay more for a 3.5* property vs. a 3* OR are you looking for the least expensive 3* or better room for this stay?

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

[naturefly]

I prefer to stay within the $70 range since we need to get 2 rooms, so 3 or 3.5* is OK. Are there other areas near DC that I can get for this price that are close to the metro? We will have a car but prefer to ride the metro into DC for sightseeing and visiting museums. Thanks so much for your help.

[thereuare]

I assume you're willing to drive to the Metro station? If so i would think there will be a multitude of zones which you could bid.

Why not first look at a map of the metro to see which Maryland / Virginia suburbs the metro goes to (and traveling distance) and then determine which one(s) you're willing to bid.

I prefer to stay within the $70 range since we need to get 2 rooms, so 3 or 3.5* is OK

I understood, but if, for example, there is a 3.5* for $70 and a 3* for $55... which is it that you would prefer? (ie- assuming both are within your budget, would you prefer to pay more for the higher rated hotel)

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

[naturefly]

I like to pay the least amount for the 3* or 3.5* so for your example, $55 is my preference :)

I looked at the DC metro map per your suggestion and Priceline Maryland/Virginia map, there are 3 other areas in Maryland that we probably can bid for:

- Bethesda

- Silver Springs

- College Park

So we can stay in either Virginia or Maryland.

I'm also wondering about parking charges at these hotels. Will most of these hotels have the hefty parking fee?

Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

I'm also wondering about parking charges at these hotels. Will most of these hotels have the hefty parking fee?

I don't know if hotels in this area generally charge parking fees, if they do, i'm fairly certain it would be much less than staying downtown. You could use the hotel lists here to research if any/all/some of the hotels in the area charge parking fees.

If avoiding a parking fee is most important to you, then HOTWIRE may be a better option than PRICELINE so that you can take an educated guess as to the hotel you may likely receive, and thus determine the total charge (including parking) before your purchase. However, the trade-off is that HOTWIRE is usually a little more expensive than PRICELINE, so it may ultimately be a 'wash' anyway.

When using the opaque providers (PRICELINE and HOTWIRE) there are certain things that you need to be able to accept, resort fees (not really prevalent in this area), charges for parking, internet, etc. However, the savings are almost always cheaper than booking any other way.

Let us know you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[naturefly]

Thanks for the info about Parking. I like to go ahead and try for Priceline.

What do you suggest I should try for the first bid?

[thereuare]

When bidding 3* in Tysons Corner you have TWO re-bid zone... when bidding in the Bethesda, Silver Springs, and College Park zones you only have one. 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.

Select 3* Tysons Corner...

Bid $42, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $46, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $50, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Bethesda...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Silver Springs...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* College Park...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Bethesda and Silver Spring...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $47, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Bethesda and College Park...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $47, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Bethesda and Silver Spring and College Park...

Bid $49, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $51

I'd start with the above, if rejected just post back and we'll revise accordingly.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[naturefly]

Thank you so much for your help. Below are what I tried using the PRICELINE link from this website and got:

- Tried Tysons Corner with what you suggested and all 3 bids were rejected.

- Tried Bethesda, bid $40 for 3 *, rejected but got msg from Priceline to up my bid another $12 for a free bid.

I didn't do what Priceline suggested, but add the free re-bid zone and up the bid to $45. Bid accepted for Legacy Hotel.

I'm very happy with the result compared with $249/night posted on the hotel's website.

I also found out that parking is free and the hotel is only 1 block from the metro. Tripadvisor ranking for it is #1 in Rockville area.

Thanks so much for your help. My first experience with this website and PRICELINE is definetly a SUPER positive one.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Nice to see this worked out quite well for you... well under your budget, a big discount vs. a conventionally booked room at this property, good reviews, and close to the Metro! Don't think you could have ordered anything better if asked!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICLINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.