Priceline Hotel: Need help bidding 4* White House - Downtown

[swendl]

Hi - first of all, thanks for a great site.

I've read a lot of the explanations on bidding and rebidding, but I'm still a bit confused. The zones on Priceline (where you can find star ratings for a hotel, the "list" and "matrix" views) don't seem to coincide with the zones you select for actual bidding. For example, I can't determine what 4 star hotels are available in the Dupont Circle zone, but yet Dupont Circle is a choice of zones when bidding. Did I explain that OK?

Any help with strategy would be appreciated. We'd like a 4 star White House - Downtown for the dates 9/12/09 - 9/19/09. (We'd like a jacuzzi but those seem to be rare among Downtown hotels).

Thank you!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to the site.

If you mean the "retail" side of PRICELINE where prices are displayed, that is a different service and should not be considered when planning a bid.

The list of reported PRICELINE wins for DC can be found here

What would be your max budget per night for these dates?

Please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links when you do decide to make a purchase. Thank you.

[swendl]

Thanks for replying Aaron. I'm interested in the "name your own price" side, and I'd like to pay less than $150 a night for a 4*, if that's possible.

[thereuare]

How to determine your re-bid zones is explained here: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

Please read the above link and feel free to ask any questions you may have and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board (you have FOUR of them when bidding 4* in Washington DC). If you read the above and are still confused and don't know where to start just post back and we'll break it down for you one step at a time.

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

[swendl]

I actually did read the information, but was stymied by the inconsistent zone situation I referred to in my earlier post. Apples to oranges. What am I missing? Sorry to be such an idjit.

[thereuare]

I actually did read the information, but was stymied by the inconsistent zone situation I referred to in my earlier post. Apples to oranges. What am I missing?

You don't want to use the "retail" section at all when trying to determine your re-bid zones.

You want to go to the "bidding" section of PRICELINE, select ONE zone (the first in the list) and then look lower down the page to see which star levels are available in that one zone. Then UNcheck the selected zone, select the next zone in the list, and note which star levels are available in that zone, repeat the process going thru each zone in the region... then i'd confirm the information with the board. :)

If the above doesn't clarify things just post back and we'll break it down further.

[swendl]

OK, thank you, I'm catching on now.

My target zone is White House Downtown. After using all my "free" rebids I got as high as $100 per night, all rejected. Am I starting this process too early? I see most bidders are bidding on dates quite a bit earlier than mine. Any advice?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

It could just be that it's early, but...

Washington DC is a location where rates are largely determined by "who's in town"... conventions, government meetings, and rallys/protests effect hotels rates in a big way. Rates at the moment don't look too bad for your dates, but you are looking for a long-ish stay and if something is happening on any of the 7 nites of your stay it could negatively effect your ability to get a winning bid accepted (see SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID)

Not sure of your plans while you're in town, but if any other zones are acceptable you might increase your chances by adding them as it enables more hotels to possibly accept your bid.

To confirm, you found FOUR re-bid zones at the 4* level?

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

[swendl]

Yes, 4 rebid zones.

Regarding splitting the bid, what would your recommendation be for our Saturday-to-Saturday stay?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

It looks like the Mon-Wed are the expensive nites so SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID is going to be tough since it falls in the middle of your stay.

However, one option to consider is the Hotel Helix which you can book HERE for $149/nite (includes evening wine reception and and free internet)... this is only rated 3* by PRICELINE but the reviews are very good. Would work well for your needs?

As well, the above appears to be cancellable (doublecheck cancellation policy yourself during the checkout process) so this could serve as a good backup reservation while you continue to see if you can 'better' it in the coming months... but your protected with this should rate go up from here or can't find anything thru priceline or hotwire as you get closer your travel dates.

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

Thougths?