Priceline Hotel: 3* Hamilton Courtyard

[uofg2000]

Hi,

2nd time using PRICELINE, not super happy this time. Others should review this as a "heads up" if you are tying to work the system using the star rating. I suspect in any other city, such as booking in Toronto in the past I wouldn't mind an upgrade since the booking areas are defined, and I am usually always booking the highest star rating, so it normally isn't an issue.

Bid on 2 1/2 star in Hamilton, ON $65 rejected.

Bid on 2 1/2 star in Hamilton, ON $73 accepted, but they upgraded me to a 3 star hotel. I don't want a 3 star hotel.

The only 2 1/2 star hotel is Stay Bridge Suites, which is downtown, new and has great reviews, 5 minutes from where I need to be. The 3 star hotel which is also new, great reviews is 20 minutes away. Whatever I would have saved, just gotten eaten up in cab fares.

I called to complain, but they wouldn't even cancel the reservation, as it is in the fine print, when naming your own price. Even though I selected a 2 1/2 star rating, Priceline runs the offer by higher star hotels, so a 3 star hotel took my offer. So live and learn I guess.

If anyone knows a way out of this one I would love to hear it, but it sounds like I am stuck.

Thanks,

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the result.

PRICELINE bids in any area can be upgraded to a higher star rating; while that is often good, there are unfortunately also times when that can be not so desirable.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE link to start your purchases.

Enjoy your stay.

[uofg2000]

Thanks, I did use your PRICELINE link at least I hope correctly, this is a great site. Will continue to use Priceline for Toronto, I don't plan on staying overnight in Hamilton since it is only a 45 minute drive away and this was for a wedding out of town. This was a safe experiment.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for using the site's PRICELINE link! :)

[fastmiele]

Sorry to hear about your auction bid/win did not turn out as hopped. On the brighter side of things you have given other members new information to consider when bidding in the future. thanx.

I have some comments to make:

1) did you look up and Hamilton hotels and found only one 2.5* star hotel (Stay Bridge Suites) ?

To be honest, I think that is great strategy, but after some research I think that was a bit risky. Why do I say that ? I was looking at the history of wins for Hamilton and I never saw the hotel "Stay Bridge Suites" pop up so it may be possible that it was never in the system. What I do see is see Hamilton Courtyard 2.5 * and Hamilton Courtyard 3 *. Who knows what is going on there ? Why does Hamilton Courtyard appear in both 2.5 and 3 star ?

It looks like its going back and forth or possibly listed in both categories.

2) Based on the history of wins, I would say you had a high chance of getting Hamilton Courtyard which is not good for your situation. If you could re-do the situation my recommendation is to try and go 3.5 star and hopefully you get Hamilton Sheraton. But then again you keep seeing varying star levels. Hamilton Sheraton was given both 3 and 3.5 star.

3) I usually look at the history of wins in an area and predict which hotels could possibly be drawn/selected. From the history of wins for Hamilton there is only 2 hotels (Sheraton and Courtyard).

4) Is there any possible way of having the hotel list updated ?

Thanks for the info and help.

[thereuare]

4) Is there any possible way of having the hotel list updated ?

It is up to date... the Priceline Hotel List only shows this property as a 3* property, which is the current star rating assigned by PRICELINE. At one point it was a 2.5* hotel, but sometime around Nov/Dec '08 it was upgraded to the 3* level, which is why in the hotel list it is listed as a 3 star property.

[fastmiele]

oh ok, I think that answer's another one of my questions regarding the hotel in question.

would it be safe to assume there is no other 2.5 * hotel in Hamilton or another possible scenario is Hamilton Courtyard categorized as both 2.5 and 3 star hotels ?

well just guessing.

[thereuare]

would it be safe to assume there is no other 2.5 * hotel in Hamilton or another possible scenario is Hamilton Courtyard categorized as both 2.5 and 3 star hotels ?

A hotel will only have one star rating at any given time (unless a different floor/section of the hotel is treated as separate property... such as the relationship between Mandalay Bay and THEhotel in Las Vegas or the Summit at Grand Sierra and the Grand Sierra in Reno; but upgrades/downgrades can occur at anytime and we won't know of the star rating change until it's reported to the board.

To determine if Hamilton has any 2.5* rated properties use the techniques in Priceline Re-Bidding Explained.

If you need help with an upcoming stay please start a NEW TOPIC for your own travel plans, and please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel searches and purchases.