junecarter Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I have bid $60, $65, and $67 unsuccessfully for a 4 star in the last two days. PL counteroffers $89. I really hope I don't have to pay that.
Romelle Posted October 21, 2009 Report Posted October 21, 2009 Counter-offers are pretty random and don't mean much more than that somewhere between your last bid and the counter amount is a winning point. Generally speaking, 1/2 way there will usually do the trick. Sometimes as little as one more dollar will work, but of course sometimes people step gradually up to the full amount of the counter only to find it is no longer available (this rarely happens, but is a remote possibility). Accepting counters is only a good idea when you are completely out of time, bids, patience, nerve, or some combination of that list. Just keep working your way on up. If your budget starts getting crowded too much, those 3*s are there.You didn't mention your dates, or what areas you are bidding on? Failed bid information can help other bidders, especially with the dates and areas.If you are looking at a longer span of time, sometimes splitting your bid can help.Romelle
junecarter Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Posted October 21, 2009 I actually did mention my dates and area in the subject line. 11/14-19, city center.
brianc_li Posted October 21, 2009 Report Posted October 21, 2009 June, you can't be too far off. Just keep increasing your bids a couple of dollars a time and you'll hit soon.
thereuare Posted October 21, 2009 Report Posted October 21, 2009 I have bid $60, $65, and $67 unsuccessfully for a 4 star in the last two days. PL counteroffers $89. I really hope I don't have to pay that.What is your maximum bid?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
junecarter Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Posted October 21, 2009 What is your maximum bid?Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.I hope not to pay more than $75.
thereuare Posted October 22, 2009 Report Posted October 22, 2009 As suggested above, i'd simply increase your bids by $2 for the next two days (bidding $69 and $71 next, followed by $73 and $75) which will take you to your maximum bid.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Good luck! Keep us updated and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
junecarter Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Posted October 22, 2009 I have a question. If PRICELINE refuses a bid, let's say $60, does that mean that they never will accept $60 for that particular time period/star rating? Meaning, if I bid 60 on Monday, and they refuse, is it possible that they would accept that same 60 on Wednesday? Must I keep upping my bid, or is there a chance they accept my same bid on a different day?
Romelle Posted October 22, 2009 Report Posted October 22, 2009 Hotels can add rooms to PRICELINE inventory, or change prices, at any time. So, yes, it is possible a $60 bid will be accepted on Wednesday that was not accepted the Monday before. RomelleAnd sorry about missing that date and price info in your title.
junecarter Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Posted October 30, 2009 Alright, so I just lost bids for a 4 star City Center for the dates 11/14-19. They turned down $75, then $77 (when I added North). They countered that they would have a deal for me if I bid $97! I passed, as I still have a bit of time. I'd really like not to go higher than $80. Does anyone know if there is ever a chance of a 5 star accepting a lower bid than a 4 star?
Romelle Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Do you have a back-up cancelable reservation? That would be the first thing to do. A Priceline counter of exactly $22 seems to happen unusually often for European bids. Sort of their favorite number. And when people raise their bids and then get a counter which looks like it is also higher since it is +22, it tends to make them nervous as it looks like the hotel rate is running away from them. Sometimes the psychology works and they jump in and accept when maybe just a couple more $$ might do the trick. It wasn't clear on just which bid you got the counter, but there was a $22 difference between the counter and one of the bids, in each series you mention.I've not seen an instance where 5*s were going for less than 4*s, assuming skilled bidders at both levels, but anything is possible. You can bid the 5*s before bidding the 4*s, since lowering the star level amounts to changing an element of your bid. You still have a couple of weeks, but it might be advisable to start escalating your bid on up to your max now. If it doesn't work, some other approaches may be necessary: * Raising your max - usually not my favorite. * Considering the 3*s - also not my favorite. * I looked at some night specific rates, and some of the hotels have rates lower the first two nights of your stay than the remaining nights. If you would be willing to chance having to move midway in your stay, you might try bidding those first two nights separately. They could go for a little less than the other nights. And then your overall average might not be so bad. Priceline can offer bidders an opportunity to "add a night". Sometimes even at the same rate, but more often at a higher rate. (When I first ran your nights through Hotwire for a 4* I got $199. When I changed to just the first two nights, I got $134. This also suggests those later nights are going to be higher on PL). This has worked for me. * Sometimes people are coming in from elsewhere late in the day, or leaving early in the day, and an airport hotel can make sense for those nights. The airport hotels are sometimes less expensive than the downtown ones so you could bid those days separately. This has also worked for me. * And Amsterdam trains from the airport run every 15 minutes and are inexpensive. Sometimes a budget solution is to just stay in the airport hotels for the whole visit. Tougher choice, but this has worked for me.Hope something works for you.Romelle
thereuare Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Does anyone know if there is ever a chance of a 5 star accepting a lower bid than a 4 star?The star rating you select is the minimum that you are willing to accept, so if you bid for a 4* hotel, and 5* is available for that price, your 4* bid would get upgraded and awarded the 5* property... so you would never see a 5* won for an amount lower than just bid for a 4*, as the 4* bid would have been upgraded.Please remember to use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your bidding (and not any links in PRICELINE emails)Thanks, good luck and keep us updated. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
junecarter Posted November 2, 2009 Author Report Posted November 2, 2009 Just won the Movenpick for 11/14-11/19 @ $82/night, total $470. The hotel's website lists the same room for that time period at 745 Euros, which is about $1098, so I got a great deal and am quite pleased. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and help.My bidding tonight started at 80 for a 4 star in the City Center. It was rejected and they wanted me to up my bid by $22. I passed on that, went back, added North as a location, bid 82, and got Movenpick.If you are interested in my prior bidding history, please see my additional posts here.
yellowdog Posted November 2, 2009 Report Posted November 2, 2009 Thank you for sharing your result with the board!Enjoy your stay.Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.Yellowdog.
Romelle Posted November 2, 2009 Report Posted November 2, 2009 June - I'm glad something finally worked for you! And it looks like you scored a really nice hotel.See you back here on your next trip!Romelle
dambuster Posted November 16, 2009 Report Posted November 16, 2009 Hi June,I'm also new to this site & find it a great resource.Could I please ask you, did your $82 winning bid include or exclude the priceline fee/taxes?Many thanks...DamBuster
yellowdog Posted November 16, 2009 Report Posted November 16, 2009 dambusterThis is without taxes and fees.Yellowdog.
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