Priceline Hotel: Bidding help request Athens 5/9

[goldydy]

I've tried 3 times bidding 5* hotel in Athens on May9. I started at $70 and rejected at $95. I don't know if I should continue adding the price because I've seen ppl winning the bid at $70~$85. :) Does anyone have suggestions? Thank you.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates are date specific and appear to be a little higher than when we typically see the very low rates accepted... what is your maximum bid for a 5* hotel for this nite?

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

[goldydy]

Thank you for your reply, Thereuare.

I didn't want to exceed $100. I was rejected again at $102. Priceline asked me to add $22 for free bid, which makes the total to be $124. It is wayyyyyy too expensive. By researching, I see the highest bid is around $90. I don't understand why it does not accept my bid at $102. :)

[thereuare]

By researching, I see the highest bid is around $90. I don't understand why it does not accept my bid at $102. :)

Because, as per above:

Rates are date specific and appear to be a little higher than when we typically see the very low rates accepted... what is your maximum bid for a 5* hotel for this nite?

If you enter "Athens" (without the quotes) in the QUICK SEARCH box in the blue banner at the top of the board you'll see that there are times where it has taken between $100-$110 for a win. PRICELINE's counter-offer can usually be undercut, adn i suspect you may likely find success at $110 or under if you're willing to go just a bit higher.

What is the best rate you're currently able to find at a 5* hotel in this area? (or for InterContinental, which seems to be the most frequent winner in this zone at this star level)

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

[Romelle]

There are a number of different reasons why your $102 bid was not accepted although earlier ones were.

As thereyouare mentioned, rates are date specific. To prove this to yourself, get on the web site of the hotel won, and check their rates for your dates versus the dates at which the other people won. Or get on Expedia and look at a two week span of time. Expedia shows rates by individual day so you can see how things change.

Or, maybe the hotel that offered the lower rate just filled all it's rooms, and you actually are competing for a different hotel.

Or, the relationship between the dollar and the euro became less favorable to the dollar. Athens hotel rates are based in euros, and if it takes more dollars to buy euros, then it will take more dollars to win when dollars are worth less.

Or maybe the offering hotel just decided to raise it's rates since it was filling quickly and figured it could get more money.

Or ??

You might try entering your dates in Hotwire to see what it says (top of page here, left hand side).

If all else fails, and you can't find something within your budget, you can of course consider the 4* hotels.

If you want to keep bidding 5*s until the very last minute, one good tactic is to make a cancelable reservation so you have a safety net. It is always possible there will be some last minute deals since one of the main ideas of PRICELINE is to fill otherwise unfilled rooms. These aren't necessarily offered until the last minute.

Romelle

[goldydy]

Thank you, Thereuare and Romelle, for the helpful suggestions. ^^ .

[Romelle]

I hope you will let us know what you end up doing? I'm always curious as to the end of a story.

Romelle