Priceline Hotel: 3* New Orleans (CBD) Hyatt Regency

[chen]

I tried $50 FQ for 4/28/05 - 5/02/05

rejected.

Added CBD @ $50

rejected.

Added Convention CTR @ $50

rejected.

I stayed at the Hyatt 3* last year and will stay there again but I was hoping for a 4*.

Any tips?

[swag]

It's still pretty early. I'd expect more hotels to start opening up Jazzfest inventory in another month or two. That said, for a 4*, you may need to be prepared to go a bit higher, perhaps into the $60-80 range. Some folks did get the Hilton for $50 last year, bidding in February, but there's no guarantee that deal will repeat.

[thereuare]

With a high demand time period such as this (ie- Jazzfest) there are two ways to get access to inventory:

1) very early in hopes that some hotels have overlooked bumping/inflating their rates in expectations of the high demand

2) closer to check-in date in hopes that hotels receive last minute cancellations or that demand for a particular property is softer than the hotel anticipated

As swag pointed out, it is still early, and a few other resources i checked leads me to believe that many properties have not <yet> released rooms to Priceline.

Keep us updated.

[chen]

I just got round trip airline tix out of the Boston area (Bradley) for $186.40 with pm flights and short flight times.

Now I just need a sweet hotel deal taboot.

I'm going to slowly increment up from $55, adding $2 each time I add a zone.

I'll keep you posted.

FEST!

[chen]

Swag, I got your message.

Bids of

$48, $50, and $55 all rejected for 3* (CBD, FQ, CC) for 4/28/-5/02 :)

I was tempted to add the garden district for a free rebid but I wasn't sure if they have 3* hotels and I don't want to get stuck way uptown.

Will try back in a few days.

I think I'll have to up it to $60+ for the Hyatt.

ps. Swag, please add my bids to your website. Thanks.

[swag]

Start a bid for Garden District only to see available levels.

When I try, it looks like the highest available there is 2.5 stars.

[thereuare]

Chen,

From PRICELINE BIDDING EXPLALINED:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.

[chen]

:)

Thanks for the tip. I rebid on all 5 free rebids from $55-62

REJECTED at $62 for 3* for these dates. Booh!

Swag, please add my reject to your site. I saw someone on your site got the Hyatt for $50 for 4/27-5/02. Too bad for me that I didn't add one more night.

ps. do you guys think that the prices will go down or should I keep bidding higher?

[swag]

Sometimes adding a night does the trick. $62 for 4/28-5/02 is $248. Adding a night 4/28-5/03 @ $50 is $250, only $2 more. And it might get accepted, especially if the Hyatt has a minimum stay over that period - stranger things have happened.

If it does go thru, then you can just checkout on the 2nd (as late as you want).

I wouldn't go much higher, not yet, anyway.

[chen]

Here's my question:

My flight gets in on Thurs. 5/28. Is it possible to bid/book for 4/27-5/02 and not check-in until 4/28, or will they give away my room?

ps. I apologize in advance for not reading the priceline rules, i'm sure it's right in there.

[thereuare]

It shouldn't be a problem... but there have been instances where hotels have cancelled an entire reservation when a user hasn't showed up for the first nite. I would be more cautious of doing this during a time of peak demend (like Jazzfest) where a hotel is probably looking for a reason to re-sell a room.

If you do book the extra day, you should call the hotel on 'check-in' day and tell them that you're having car trouble and won't be arriving until the following day. Give them a credit card over the phone and ask them to check you in manually.

[chen]

Bid accepted.

Hyatt Regency 3* 4/28/-5/02 (CBD, FQ) $60 (2 rooms)

I was rejected at $55 CBD and they offered to accept if I upped my bid by $15. I declined, added FQ and upped to $60 for successful bid.

Thereuare, can you edit my subject line to reflect my successful bid? Also, please remove the frowing face!

[thereuare]

Glad to see your persistence paid off in the end.

Hope you're happy with the results... certainly a HUGE savings over conventional rates!

Have a great time and enjoy the Jazz Festival and everything else New Orleans has to offer.