Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Mayfair-Soho) Holiday Inn Mayfair

[milesjamie]

I really want a 4* in Mayfair-Soho so I restrained my bidding just to that zone (used mrs milesjamie too) but failed as follows:

This is all for dates 5/23-5/29.

5/4 $80, counter @ $115

5/4 $85, counter @ $115

5/5 $90, counter @ $115

5/6 $101, counter at "raise by at least $22"

5/6 $105, counter at "raise by at least $22"

We're into hotwire $ territory now so I'm going to either do hotwire, or consider what is coming up in other areas compared to where I want to be.

thereuare - consider at this point breaking these forums into country-specific forums. You now have the traffic to support this. The Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins is useful.

[Romelle]

Do remember that Hotwire sometimes is more generous with it's stars than Priceline is. While there is a lot of variation, it seems to amount to roughly 1/2*.

That $22 counter amount is sort of funny. European bids seem to most often use that number. You could even win with just another dollar or two. Hard to say, but you do yet have a little time to test it.

Have you checked the rates for individual dates (Expedia is an easy way to do this)? With a 6 day span you well could be crossing some higher and lower ones. It might indicate splitting your bid if you are willing to risk having to move? I looked for a while at various Expedia rates on your dates. There is some indication your first three days are lower than your last three. On the other hand, some hotels have that first Saturday really high. Of course, when you are changing dates, that lets you bid more times so you could try 1-all 6, 2-first 3, and 3-last 3 dates.

If you do start into other areas, recheck results from other bidders so you don't start too high. Mayfair is one of the more expensive zones.

Romelle

[milesjamie]

Winning bid update:

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I did not want to move for this trip, and I did compare to retail prices. I went ahead and gave PRICELINE one more shot, same parameters, at $112 and got Holiday Inn Mayfair, which is what (via this board) seemed to be available on HOTWIRE (as a Hotwire 4*) for $116. I'm happy -- the savings is basically nothing ($25 over the trip) after site differences in taxes/fees; Hotwire has slightly cheaper fees. But I was about to buy it anyway on Hotwire, and it was worth the gamble for something else in that area.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your results with the board... glad to see that you're happy with the property received.

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

Enjoy your stay.