Priceline Hotel: 3* Atlanta (Buckhead) Residence Inn

[jhMLB]

I initially attempted to try 4* and then 3 1/2*

My final 3 1/2* bid was for $62 at Downton, Midtown, & Buckhead

I switched over to 3 star, and started with a $50 bid on Downtown

Then $55 on Downtown & Midtown

Then $60 on Downtown, Midtown, & Buckhead.

I was awarded Residence Inn Buckhead Lenox Park for $60/night for 3 nights.

I checked their Marriott website for flat rates, and for 2 guests it is $149 & for 4 it is $219 (all for one room), as I will have 4 total people I hope that we will each have a bed to sleep on ^^

Going to call them up and confirm that we will be able to have 4 people in the room I booked.

TY everyone for your pricing tips, it really helped a lot :)

Edit:

I called and found out that it was 1 Queen sized bed, 1 Sofa bed, & non-smoking. Sounds like it's going to be pretty tight in being able to handle 4 people. Maybe once we get there they can provide an extra cot or something. There is also a free complimentary breakfast & hi-speed wifi.

[djk]

Sorry to be a wise guy, but I think you paid too much for a 3* in Buckhead. I have won 3* all over the Atlanta area in the past few months through Priceline at Galleria, Airport, Alpharetta, Duluth and Buckhead. Winning bid has always been in $30-36 range and every time the hotel was Hyatt Place, which is a great hotel for that price. You still got great deal, $60 is great price for Residence Inn, but you could have got a much better price.

Just for future reference, and I apologize if it sounds smug because it is intended only as advice, you need to learn to use free rebid zones. There are lots of them for a 3*, at least 6, and more for a 3 and half star or 4 star. You use your free rebid zones to bid low and creep up, not bid high and creep down. Also you should have started a completely new bid when you went down to 3*. Don't bid down in stars when using free rebids because it is dangerous. Just my advice, don't take it wrong.

[jhMLB]

Sorry to be a wise guy, but I think you paid too much for a 3* in Buckhead. I have won 3* all over the Atlanta area in the past few months through Priceline at Galleria, Airport, Alpharetta, Duluth and Buckhead. Winning bid has always been in $30-36 range and every time the hotel was Hyatt Place, which is a great hotel for that price. You still got great deal, $60 is great price for Residence Inn, but you could have got a much better price.

Just for future reference, and I apologize if it sounds smug because it is intended only as advice, you need to learn to use free rebid zones. There are lots of them for a 3*, at least 6, and more for a 3 and half star or 4 star. You use your free rebid zones to bid low and creep up, not bid high and creep down. Also you should have started a completely new bid when you went down to 3*. Don't bid down in stars when using free rebids because it is dangerous. Just my advice, don't take it wrong.

TY for your advice, and yea I saw that everyone was getting a lot better prices at that 3* range than what I went for. I probably should have reset it with Buckhead, definitely need to live and learn. But I didn't notice any rebid zone while I was trying out prices, maybe I should have just waited longer.

And there's going to be 20,000 college students coming for the 1/2-1/5 dates for Passion 2010, I wonder if that is playing any factor in making it harder to find a good deal. Definitely going to try to be more patient next time.

[AaronJB]

Rates vary by dates; if there is something going on during your stay, then rates are going to be much more expensive (and 20,000 college students is certainly a lot.) This is a good deal, especially considering free breakfast and reception.

[thereuare]

I think the bidding strategy could be improved upon, but likewise at less than half price of a conventional booking this is an excellent deal.

When multiple zones are acceptable, you could bid as follows using the above as an example:

$50

Downtown only

Midtown only

Buckhead only

$55

Downtown and Midtown

Downtown and Buckhead

$60

Downtown and Midtown and Buckehead

This would give you the opportunity to try all zones at lower prices to see if anything was available cheaper.

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

Feel free to ask for help before bidding on your next hotel stay.

[jhMLB]

ty thereuare, now I understand a lot better how to bid, will definitely keep this in mind for next time.

[djk]

You still need to learn to use free rebid zones. For example Jonesboro, Morrow, Forest Park and several other zones don't have 3 star hotels so they are free rebid zones. All you do is click on each zone by itself and see what is greyed out. if 3 star is greyed, it is a free rebid zone. Make sure you clear each box after viewing. Make a list of all the free rebid zones before you start bidding. I usually bid $30, then increase in $1 or $2 increments as I add free rebid zones. Often you will get an offer at a higher rate e.g. bid $8 more now. Don't fall for that. My experience is that you can always win it at lower than their offer. Also if you bid Perimeter you will likely get a hit at the Hilton Suites at $35, even though it is a 3 and half star. Good hotel but not as good as Hyatt Place and doesn't have free breakfast. Anyway, Priceline is great and you saved a lot of money.

[jhMLB]

ahhh that is what you meant by free rebid zones. I thought it was something that popped up or something, I didn't think of that, that some areas would not have 3 star hotels. That is really helpful, ty.

[thereuare]

You can learn more about re-bidding, and how to determine your re-bid zones, here: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

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