travelbee Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 I tried the Name Your Own Price on PRICELINE for YYC from 7/22-7/26 but the response was "unavailable". Also, the cheapest rate I found was $88/day (US$) + taxes & fees - that's outrageously high! Any idea why Priceline is unavailable and why the price is so high?? Link to comment
thereuare Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 At what point did you get the "unavailable" message... before you submitted your bid or after?If before, what exactly did you enter as a search city/airport?If after, did the message say "unavailable" or "... we were unable to accept your bid"? Do you remember (or is there a way to see) exactly what the messaged stated?Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
travelbee Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 The message I got after the bid was submitted was "We were unable to locate an available car through our Name Your Own Price service for the car type you selected. We did find the following great deals available from our rental partners." I just thought it was strange because it was not "unable to accept your bid" that we usually see. I bid $30/day for full size with no success. Link to comment
travelbee Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I meant I rebid again today at $30/day and was rejected. At least this time it was rejected instead of "unable to locate available car type". Will probably try again tomorrow at higher rate. Link to comment
blkjck1 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Being a Calgary resident, I can't think of any reason why a car rental at YYC would be that high. Your dates are not during the Stampede, and unless there is something big going on during those dates, there never has been for as long as I have lived here.I do have a thought though, why don't you take a cab to any of the car rental places to downtown Calgary. I just checked Budget Rent-a-car, and for those days, you can get a full sized car for $205 Cdn (about $190 US). The cab ride to downtown will be about $30-35 Cdn. Proud to be Canadian! Link to comment
travelbee Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Thanks for your suggestion blkjck1. I'll try that if I have no luck with PL. The hotel I am staying offers complimentary airportl shuttle so I may try to find a rental car company near there. I just don't understand why the rates are so much higher at the airport - as you said the stampede would be over by then! Link to comment
blkjck1 Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 The hotel I am staying offers complimentary airportl shuttle so I may try to find a rental car company near there.Which hotel? Proud to be Canadian! Link to comment
travelbee Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 We're staying at the Lodges at Canmore 7/22-7/23, and then the Acclaim Hotel near the airport on 7/24-7/26. Just realize the hotel shuttle would only work for the return trip to the airport. Link to comment
blkjck1 Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 If you are planning on going to Canmore, you will want to have a car for other things, especially if you wanted to go into Banff. My suggestion about getting a cab to the downtown locations still works, but a car rental company you may not have come across has a near-airport location. Try Discount Car Rental. It is a Canadian chain. I checked the rates, and they are pretty reasonable (about $45 CAD a day), and they will shuttle you to and from the airport. If you use the downtown option, you would not be too far off the beaten path to Canmore. It all depends on the time of day you arrive and get on the road. Calgary's rush hour traffic can get pretty bad sometimes.Acclaim Hotel just literally opened up, and there is not much around the area for things to do or restaurants. Proud to be Canadian! Link to comment
travelbee Posted June 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Thank you so much on the tip about Discount Car Rental! I raised my bid on PL to $34/day for a full size and still have no success. Then I tried your suggestion and got a full size car at Discount Car Rental for a total of $235 CAD - which would be equivalent to what PL would cost at $34/day. Now we're all set!! Thanks!! Link to comment
blkjck1 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 I would keep trying PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, and using your Discount Car Rental rate as a ceiling. I only say that because it would be more convenient to get your car at the YYC terminal instead of waiting for your shuttle. Compared to most US airports, YYC is not that big, and walking to the car rental area is pretty easy. Proud to be Canadian! Link to comment
blkjck1 Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I would keep trying PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, and using your Discount Car Rental rate as a ceiling. I only say that because it would be more convenient to get your car at the YYC terminal instead of waiting for your shuttle. Compared to most US airports, YYC is not that big, and walking to the car rental area is pretty easy.The Discount Car location is located on McKnight Blvd. around Barlow Trail. That is about a 5-10 minute shuttle ride from the airport, but will probably take longer as I would think they would not come to pick you up until you call them when you're ready. The best option is to still try and find someone who has a location at YYC. Proud to be Canadian! Link to comment
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