Priceline Hotel: 4* DC (White House-Downtown) Renaissance Mayflower

[LouLou]

Hello

I am new to Betterbidding and Priceline. I have read the introductory posts and have a few questions, please.

We (2 people) will be in Washington DC from 28 December 09, checking out 31 December 09 (total 3 nights). We will be arriving from New York via bus/train to Union Station. We would like to stay in the Whitehouse/Downtown zone; hopefully close to a metro stop; 3-4*; preferred price US$80 per room, per night (ie. similar to recent winners of Renaissance Mayflower hotel).

Could you please advise on a bidding strategy. Would Hotwire or Priceline be recommended.

Could you please tell me, is the credit card charged immediately for the full amount; i.e. Being from Australia, will today's exchange rate apply?

Is it too soon to be bidding for hotels in December 09 (we are conscious this may be a busy time of year)?

Are the prices we are seeing now, indicative of prices in the Christmas season or will they be higher or lower?

Thank you. Apologies if we have asked too many 'beginner' questions. If there is a more suitable place to post these queries, please let me know.

Thank you! :)

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding :)

Before we start. You now that all PRICELINE and HOTWIRE bookings are non refundable or cancelable?

Could you please tell me, is the credit card charged immediately for the full amount; i.e. Being from Australia, will today's exchange rate apply?

Yes, you will pre-pay the hotel in todays exchange rate.

Are the prices we are seeing now, indicative of prices in the Christmas season or will they be higher or lower?

Your budget is doable if you book now.

Do you have comfirmed flight tickets?

Yellowdog.

[LouLou]

Thank you.

Yes we have confirmed flight tickets and understand that the bookings are unable to be changed.

[AaronJB]

On HOTWIRE for these dates, there's a 4* in the White House/Cap Hill area with the amenities: Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa for $89 (the price you see may vary) with the amenities Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa. This is likely the Hilton Capital Hill. There's also a 3.5* for $79 w/Restaurant, Fitness, Business and Internet. This is likely the Hamilton Crowne Plaza.

As for the latter, the Hamilton is actually almost as inexpensive via Orbitz.com. It's $90 per night on Orbitz for these dates, and using coupon code deal0hotel brings the total down to $81.

If either of these potential properties sound particularly appealing, then you could try to purchase them via HOTWIRE. If you'd like to see if you could get something else, you could try bidding on PRICELINE.

Given the rates on these dates, PRICELINE rates will likely be below normal for DC. However, I still think that there's a likely "floor" for these properties even in the slowest of times, as the hotel has to worry about profit margins. I would start bidding for a 4* in the WH/Downtown zone for $65 (which may end up being too "lowball" a bid), then move up to $70 if $65 doesn't take and $75 if $70 isn't accepted. While you will likely be able to get a very nice hotel for a reasonable rate on these dates, keep in mind that PRICELINE rates are otherwise "date-specific" - it's often not a good idea to go on rates other people received for different dates of travel.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE or Orbitz.com links.

[LouLou]

Hello

Reporting back on my first ever Priceline win!

I was able to secure the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel for US$79 per night; total for 3 nights including tax is US$280.17.

I used the BB PRICELINE link from above.

I also used the following link for bidding strategy help -> RE-BIDDING

My strategy was:

Bid 1: Select White House - Downtown US$65

Bid 2: Select White House - Downtown and DC Suburbs - Northeast Area US$70

Bid 3: Select White House - Downtown and DC Suburbs - Northeast Area and Mount Vernon US$73

Bid 4: Select White House - Downtown and DC Suburbs - Northeast Area and Mount Vernon and Springfield US$75

Winning Bid: Select White House - Downtown and DC Suburbs - Northeast Area and Mount Vernon and Springfieldand Crystal City US$79

Thank you for your assistance. Happy to receive any feedback on strategy to improve next time.

Sorry - one more question:

Has anyone used the 10% cashback marketing offers made upon win? I understand that you are signing up for a free trial, which if not cancelled in 30 days results in an ongoing club membership fee being charged?

Is it worth the trouble?

Thank you

Cheers

LouLou :)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you were successful and have your first PRICELINE purchase in the "win" column. Your bidding looks good (assuming that White House-Downtown was the only zone you were willing to accept).

Regarding the marketingoffers, like all similar offers, they prey on your forgetting or making it difficult to cancel... depends what your time is worth. The real "gotcha" is that most assume they can't get billed since they didn't give a credit card when signing up and will just let the trial lapse, but the terms show that you authorize PRICELINE to pass along your billing info.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[austin_res]

I tried that cashback offer once. They sent me a check promptly but it is very difficult to cancel because they are very persistent. It took me several phone calls to finally cancel the membership. Although I got some money back, I don't think it's worth the hassle.