the_chad

Came to say the same. I looked and looked and swore I was missing something. "HOW ON EARTH CAN I NOT FIND THE NYOP?!" I thought it was just the redesign. Or not enough coffee... but sure enough, it appears gone forever.

I think more than anything, it's less about whether I would like/need a 5* hotel and want to bid via PL, but more what's the best deal? We will definitely be spending a good amount of time AWAY from the hotel, so unless a 5* is possible at or very near the 2 previously mentioned above, I'd opt for one of them. Likely the Intercontinental is it seems in a better location...

I have seen the One Farrer Hotel in HW searches as a the likely property via REVEAL. It is well rated (Trip Adv 2019 Travelers Choice), seems like decent location, and fairly inexpensive. A very good option it appears. But Grand Park Orchard may be in a better location. The Intercontinental is appealing at that price and a good location, as well as a TA Travelers Choice. Were those found on HW via BiddingHelper.com? Obviously going the PL route, I am ok with winning any hotel. Thus my "but... you know" comment 🙂 If I decide to book a specific hotel and take no chances, HW or PL, I'll be sure to use mapsandhotels.com

I've been playing around with the Bidding Helper to get some background on what appears to be a Country with not a lot of (updated?) data points. I'm looking to stay in the Colonial District, Orchard Rd, or Little India. PL itself shows 5* in those areas ~$200, so I figure bidding less than $100 probably won't get me anywhere. If HW is any indication, 5* seem to be in the $145 range, so maybe ~$120 isn't out of the question. I'd love to score a win for Hotel Fort Canning or Marriott Tang Plaza as they appear in the BB PL hotel list. But... you know. Any thoughts or advice are appreciated as always.

I used the BB quick tool and came across these amenities via PL Exp: Free Parking Business Center Restaurant Free Internet Indoor or Outdoor Pool Fitness Center Free Internet in public areas Rated 9 our of 10 or higher The "is this a good price" showed as potential options: $249...Jw Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa $353...Omni Cancun Hotel And Villas - All Inclusive $359...Paradisus Cancun - All Inclusive $369...Royal Service At Paradisus Cancun - Adults Only Taxes: $37.97 Mandatory fees (at resort): $31.01 TOTAL: $162.98 *Cursory quick search shows roughly $300 with taxes and fees if booked elsewhere

Used BiddingHelper.com as usual. From the previously posted amenities, it appeared it was the Sheraton. And it was. Amenities: Pet friendly Indoor pool(s) Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Spa services Accessibility Accessible for visually impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower

I'll be posting a new win at some point for Philadelphia, but am writing down these recommendations thereuare! Thanks for adding those to the topic; I can't wait to check them out.

The zone listed on HW is actually Ann Arbor East - University of Michigan (there is also a West). Amenities list: Free parking, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Indoor pool(s), Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Tennis nearby, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower All in $78.16 (retail price on Holiday Inn is $114+) As usual, I used the Bidding.Helper above.

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Westin, sure enough. $132 all in. This may be better for another post, but after having played the PL/HW game for years, almost solely with the help of you, aaronjb, and betterbidding (THANK YOU again), I haven't watched/experienced much in terms of price and availability fluctuations. Usually, I get the lay of the land, then decide if I'll use PL or HW/PLEx, and make it happen. This was the first time i really thought, "will the price come back down, even briefly??" So in your experience thereuare, how often does a price come back down? Or similarly, how often does waiting to the very last minute, pay off? I'm usually too risk averse to wait until the day before, but do wonder if it's possible. Sometimes I'm far less concerned about what hotel I'm getting and more concerned on getting a 4*+ for a great deal. Maybe I'll start looking the day before/of via the biddinghelper just to see what results are returned for comparisons.

Started bidding at $70 in $5 increments to $90. No luck. Median price listed at $181. Current PRICELINE EXPRESS deal shows $107. I'm not concerned (this time) on which hotel I get, PL or HW, just the area and 3.5*+ A few days ago, a 4.5* Hot.wire hotel was showing ~$69, which I returned to accept, but it was gone. It now shows $106. Not sure why all the sudden jump, esp considering my beloved Cardinals are out of the playoffs :'( It's 2 weeks away, no other areas work, date is fixed. Aside from the notion, "anything can happen," what are the chances that waiting another couple of days will yield the return of a lower priced PRICELINE EXPRESS deal (or Hot.wire)? What would you all do? As usual, I used the Bidding.Helper.

Amenities list via Bidding.Helper: Free Parking Restaurant Airport Shuttle Free Internet Indoor or Outdoor Pool Fitness Center I was hoping for Hyatt North, but this will work almost as good. $65.49 all in. (not sure if it matters, but it appears that PL labels the actual city zone as "Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)" and does not include "Aldine")

Bid accepted at $152 after using rebid zones. Total w/ tax: 368.56. Crossing my fingers for a harbor view, but pleased regardless. As always, used above Price.Line Quickquote link (and Bidding.Helper) throughout. I'll add a few more data points I scribbled if I find my little cheat sheet buried in my carryon ;) Thanks!

Started bidding at $120. Using rebids, bid until accepted at $177. With taxes total was $215. I've never stayed at Hotel Max but seems like a decent hotel and is a few blocks from the Link. A lot more than I wanted to pay for just the one night, but it seemed like everything was high. As usual, used the Price.Line Quickquote link above. Thanks again for the site and the help! For data points... PL Exp was showing a 3.5* for $183 and a 4* for $202 (though previous this was ~$247) On Orbitz, Hotel Max showed a total for the same night of $332.46 with taxes. At least i saved over $115 off the retail price.

Sorry if resurrecting, but my question is related and thought starting new topic wasn't necessary. Are we safe to assume that if a 4* hotel is shown on PRICELINE EXPRESS via Bidding Helper for $247 (6/26, 1 night, Pike Place), that naming our price wouldn't be successful until we came fairly close to that $247 price? As in, the chances are low for a bid of < $200 (maybe even $225) being accepted. Is that correct?

Kept seeing similar prices so I tried my luck on getting the Westin Bonaventure for cheaper on PL. Succeeded (barely) with a winning bid of $101, two nights w/ tax for $242.70 I posted a new topic in the PL area. Thanks for all of the help!