travelguy2

Tried $70 and was offered $82. Instead I added Balch Springs and got the first rebid at $74. Offer Price: avg. per room, per night US$ 74.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 + Add nights for the same rate! Room Subtotal: US$ 148.00 Taxes & Fees: US$ 31.06 Total Charged to Card: US$ 179.06 Best rate on the hotel website is $136 so this is about 40% off. Very nice!

At first I bid $18 and I got the "you didn't win, but we'll let you raise your bid" message. So I raised it to $19 and got this! I used the betterbidding link to bid. Your Offer Price: $19.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 3 SubTotal: $57.00 Taxes and Fees: $51.60 Total Rental Car Charges: $108.60 You saved 77%!*

I saw a price of $32/day for a minivan available on Hot.wire, and decided to try bidding on Price.line instead. Your Offer Price: $27.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 9 SubTotal: $243.00 Taxes and Fees: $138.41 Total Rental Car Charges: $381.41 This was an incredible deal as the lowest price we could find conventionally for those dates was $784. I used your PRICELINE link to begin bidding.

Your geography is a bit off. Neither the Hyatt House or Drury Inn is located in either of the zones you cited.

Thanks, that's a great tip. This is far lower than anything I've seen at Denver recently. It seems to be an especially pricey summer there. They also have other variations such as a premium car for $32.99 a day, standard SUV or convertible for $45.99 a day.

I did use the HOTWIRE link! I forgot to mention it in my post though :)

Regular price from Sheraton was $119 Amenities: Smoke Free Rooms Guest rooms at this hotel are always smoke-free. Fitness Center Guests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply. Pool(s) Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal. Restaurant(s) Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary. Business Center Guests have access to business equipment and services; an additional charge may apply. High-Speed Internet Access Guestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply. Accessible for the blind Braille or raised signage Accessible for the deaf TTY for telephone, visual or flashing fire alarm and vibrating alarm clock Accessible path of travel <amenity names only please... not descriptions> In-room accessibility Accessible path from the room entrance to the window, the bed and the bathroom; accessible hardware and minimal resistance to open the door; accessible temperature controls and window coverings Accessible bathroom Raised toilet, hand-held shower and grab bars at the tub and toilet Handicapped parking <amenity names only please... not descriptions> Roll-in shower Bathroom has a roll-in shower

I'd recommend calling Priceline back. They can't expect you to pay for a 4* if you only got a 3*. I'd demand that they reimburse you - explain to them that you're going to do a chargeback (for not providing the paid-for service), if they don't. And it will be PRICELINE, not the hotel, whose pocketbook is hurt by that. So they ought to listen.

Anecdotally, and completely from my own experience: I don't think it's that uncommon to find Hotwire rating a hotel higher than Priceline. (Generally 1/2 star to 1 star higher) I do find it is much less common to find Priceline rating a hotel higher than Hotwire. Not to say it doesn't happen, but the opposite happens a lot more. IME.

Even a "just the basics" hotel will be over $100/night in that part of Manhattan then. Frankly, even a "fall-apart roach motel" might be $100/night. If your budget doesn't allow for more than $100/night, I would suggest looking into staying either: a. On the weekend, in a part of Manhattan that empties out on the weekend and may have better hotel deals (specifically lower Manhattan) b. On the weekdays, stay across the river in NJ near a Path station - you can be in midtown in 15-20 minutes and will save a lot on your hotel. As far as splitting weekend and weeknight, as I noted above some parts of Manhattan tend to have much less activity on the weekends and you may find better deals there. The parts of Manhattan you mentioned are in demand all week long and, while rates may be lower on weekends, they aren't going to be low enough to get into your price range.

A 9 day stay may be difficult, especially in that week which includes spring break for some parts of the eastern US. If you are willing to switch hotels, try plugging in different dates into Hotwire and seeing if you get lower/higher rates for some days; it may make sense to split the trip into 2 (or potentially more than 2) segments. I'd try throwing some low bids on Priceline as well. It can't hurt, as you are so far out that you have plenty of time to try. Of course, you may also be so far out that you're not going to get much. From looking at old posts on the board, what did prices look like LAST year around that time?

After 3 days of being denied and rebidding, finally got this hotel. La Quinta Inn & Suites Loveland Loveland 1450 Cascade Ave, Loveland, CO 80538 970-622 8000 The lowest rate on the hotel website was $104, so we are saving about 33%. Not the best I've ever done on Priceline, but this is move-in weekend at nearby Colorado State U. and a lot of hotels in the area are sold out, so I consider it to be as good as I could expect. Prior bids of up to $85 for Fort Collins 3.5*, $81 for Fort Collins and Loveland 3*, and $65 for Fort Collins/Fort Collins North/Loveland 2.5* were all rejected. I used your PRICELINE link to begin the bid.

Another way to avoid it would be to bid other zones. Are there other zones in the area that have acceptable hotels at the 3* level? You also could just only bid higher star levels if that was within budget.

Originally bid $50 on a 3*. Got counter offered at $60. Added a rebid zone, bid $52, and got upgraded to this 3.5*. Very good deal as the lowest rate on the hotel's website is $149 for this date. Used the PRICELINE link to begin bidding.

Won on the first bid. Lowest rate direct from hotel was $219!