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Summary of winning bids on Priceline

dmk

By dmk,
in West Coast Departures

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maryh307

maryh307

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Posted (edited)

I did try a bid yesterday at $84 for Sept 15th for a DT Vancouver hotel. I didn't expect good results but wanted to try my first bidding. I wanted to get a feel for it. One of the responses was that there may not be inventory in addition to their suggestions. I did check last year's winning bids on the better bidding sites for VC. The winners were posting about 2 months out of their hotel stay dates with great rates. From your experience, is it best to wait till 2-3 months before. I suppose it would be best to book something in a 3 star rate that can be cancelled, if I'm unsuccessful on PL or Hotwire. If I get a PL winning bid, I assume I will get a 4* hotel for less than a 3* by the looks of things. If I do get a hotel through a bid, I will have a hard time paying full price again.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Jersey Cruiser

Edited by maryh307
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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

Posted
Posted (edited)
I did try a bid yesterday at $84 for Sept 15th for a DT Vancouver hotel. I didn't expect good results but wanted to try my first bidding. I wanted to get a feel for it. One of the responses was that there may not be inventory in addition to their suggestions. I did check last year's winning bids on the better bidding sites for VC. The winners were posting about 2 months out of their hotel stay dates with great rates. From your experience, is it best to wait till 2-3 months before. I suppose it would be best to book something in a 3 star rate that can be cancelled, if I'm unsuccessful on PL or Hotwire. If I get a PL winning bid, I assume I will get a 4* hotel for less than a 3* by the looks of things. If I do get a hotel through a bid, I will have a hard time paying full price again.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Jersey Cruiser

I have used Priceline quite a few times with happy results and yes, it is hard to go back to full price, LOL! However I do just that if we are traveling with other people and/or need specific accommodations. For example, for our cruise to the Mexican Riviera in May we are in a full price hotel as we are with a group and wanted a specific hotel. Also once when traveling with my Mom I did full price as we did not want to risk a room with only one bed (some hotels will give you two beds if you call and ask, but that cannot be guaranteed).

 

Back to your question. I will start bidding about 6 weeks ahead of time. Two months at the most. If you want to start bidding earlier you may but remember that Priceline is a clearing house for unsold rooms and some of the best deals may not be released yet. If you want to start bidding be sure to set yourself a limit and do NOT go above that limit. I would never go over half off the best online price for 4*s in that area at the time you want to travel. Check out Better Bidding's Hotel List for known Priceline 4* hotels in VC first.

 

I have booked a 3.5* that I can cancel in Seattle for July and will start bidding for a 4* 6 weeks prior to the cruise. I know many people who will wait until 2 weeks before, but I am too impatient, LOL. If I travel to Chicago in February I will not reserve a back up hotel as the chances of things being booked at that time of year there are pretty slim. But Seattle & VC in the summer are a different story.

 

Another thing to keep in mind - when setting your price do not only look at the best price for a 4* (half is usually a max to set) but keep in mind the price of your back up. If your back up is an acceptable accommodation for you do not go over that price, either. As a matter of fact I will usually keep my max below my back up price as I have found that 4* hotels often have additional cost that a 3 or 3.5 hotel may not have. If your back up has a free breakfast, for example keep that in mind. Most 4* hotels have a pricey breakfast restaurant or you may have to find an off site location to eat. Also, if you have your own car or a rental parking has been a common add on cost for us at many 4* hotels. Parking at our San Diego 4* hotel last week was $32 per night with no alternatives while our full price hotel a couple of months before (and only 2 miles away) was free. Breakfast at the 3* was also free while we had to find a Denny's near the 4* for breakfast. Internet was $15 per day at the 4*, free at the 3,5* (I took a CC break for a few days!). Working it all out we paid about the same for the two locations, but the accommodations were so much nicer at the 4* I did not mind. After all, it was all about a romantic weekend away from home, not just about the bottom line. So, we still came out ahead.:)

 

I hope that helped.:cool:

Edited by Sunny AZ Girl
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maryh307

maryh307

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Yes, this helped to get me in the right direction. I have found even the 3* hotels to be in the $125-$150 range in VC. I think it's sound advice to book something that is in a lower pool that can be withdrawn if I get a successful 4* bid. We won't be driving so we can save the expense of paying for parking. I know what you mean about not always using a discount bidding site. After our grandchildren came along, we returned to a hotel in VA Beach each summer with daughter and family. We have gone to the same hotel for 13 years now and wouldn't think of doing PL for a better price. Still, other trips that we do on our own will allow us to save on the hotel and use it for tours etc.

 

I really appreciate your info and will take the advice of a seasoned bidder.

 

19 days till we cruise out of home port, but who's counting!!!

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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Yes, this helped to get me in the right direction. I have found even the 3* hotels to be in the $125-$150 range in VC. I think it's sound advice to book something that is in a lower pool that can be withdrawn if I get a successful 4* bid. We won't be driving so we can save the expense of paying for parking. I know what you mean about not always using a discount bidding site. After our grandchildren came along, we returned to a hotel in VA Beach each summer with daughter and family. We have gone to the same hotel for 13 years now and wouldn't think of doing PL for a better price. Still, other trips that we do on our own will allow us to save on the hotel and use it for tours etc.

 

I really appreciate your info and will take the advice of a seasoned bidder.

 

19 days till we cruise out of home port, but who's counting!!!

Have a god time! Yes, the hotels in popular locations are pricey. But even with the add-on costs and paying the equivilent of a 3* in San Diego we still saved half the cost of the 4* room. I would have never paid the full price, so I figure we were able to enjoy the luxury amenities on a moderate budget.

 

Of course you can really save $$$ and bid for a 3*, but I am a little nervous about the quality of the 3* hotels unless I pick them out myself. so I just use PL for bidding on 4* hotels or resorts, when I want to go 'in style".:)

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maryh307

maryh307

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Ginny. I will make sure I let you know how I make out with my bidding. I was so glad to find this site. Everyone is so helpful!! Even my DH will suggest that I post a question/thread when we need an answer.

 

Mary

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budgirl

budgirl

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I got the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter for $73 on 3/26/10 yesterday.

 

I started with $50 and that was rejected. Added a zone and went to $56. Priceline rejected but said if I added $17 I could re-bid immediately - I've never had this happen before so I gave it a shot and got the room!

 

We'll have to taxi from the airport and to the ship but from what I've read that shouldn't be a problem

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budgirl

budgirl

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Bid $48 3.5* Long Beach - got immediate rebid response if I added $14 to bid.

Instead, I added $2 and the Long Beach Airport (which has no 3.5*) and got it.

 

 

Eff! I had no idea you could negotiate that step! Oh well - thanks so much for the tip!!

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cruisinez

cruisinez

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Eff! I had no idea you could negotiate that step! Oh well - thanks so much for the tip!!

 

There are a couple of web sites that I have found that are very helpful in negotiating successful bids, I think they have been mentioned before but they are www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com These sites provide a wealth of information especially if you are new to priceline. I have never increased my bid up to amount that priceline suggest for a re-bid but did a similar stragety as the previous poster and it has always worked for me. At least it has so far. On my upcoming trip I made all made hotel reservations through priceline and I have saved well over half on my hotel budget for the trip, and I'm staying places that are better than where I would have originally booked. You could say that I'm thoroughly hooked on priceline.

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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There are a couple of web sites that I have found that are very helpful in negotiating successful bids, I think they have been mentioned before but they are www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com These sites provide a wealth of information especially if you are new to priceline. I have never increased my bid up to amount that priceline suggest for a re-bid but did a similar stragety as the previous poster and it has always worked for me. At least it has so far. On my upcoming trip I made all made hotel reservations through priceline and I have saved well over half on my hotel budget for the trip, and I'm staying places that are better than where I would have originally booked. You could say that I'm thoroughly hooked on priceline.

I also use the site you mentioned. On an upcoming trip (not cruise related) I just bid and won a 3.5* (Hyatt) in Chicago for $37! The best price online for my dates was $149/night. I would have never considered bidding that low if I did not see others bidding and receiving that amount on BFT. I actually started at $32. PL came back and asked me to rebid $10 higher. I ignored that, rebid for $35 & again for $37 which was accepted. So when PL asked you to up the bid stick with your original strategy. They will often accept something in between.

 

I only bid on 3.5 or 4 star hotels, depending on the PL hotels in the area (also can be seen on BFT). However, if I am paying full price I will go 3* and below - and pay more than the PL hotels!

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zimmerjulie

zimmerjulie

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Hi I'm reading your messages, and think you know alot about price line. I know nothing. when i went on priceline to look at San pedro for April 9th, I put 3.5 stars, but became afraid to go further with my credit card ect, as i was afraid to get another 3.5 star hotel further away. Is there any way to garantee which hotel you may get, as I'm really looking for the crown or the double tree like you. can you fill me in on how all this works once you give them your credit card. What do you start to bid at and how often. thanks

Hi couvie,

The San Pedro area is quite small. You can see it on the "name your own price" map when you put in San pedro, ca. The other areas will show, also: Long Beach, Long Beach airport, and Torrence (I think it is). If you put your check mark in the san pedro box and only the san pedro box, and check 3 1/2 stars and only 3 1/2 stars, you will be guaranteed a 3.5 star hotel in the San Pedro area. The only 2 I have seen come up in the past 3 years are the Doubletree San Pedro and the Crown Plaza san pedro. I would start at $65. You can start lower, but you will likely lengthen out the process that way and it doesn't sound like you are comfortable messing with it that much.

 

You have to put in your credit card number and initial that you have read their cancellation policy. No refunds for cancellations, etc. Once you post your bid, they will see if they can get you a room for that price. If they can, they will book it and charge your credit card right away. It is a great way to get a hotel in San pedro. This year, I am not seeing the savings for this area and category that I have in the past. I guess they are asking more this year. Anyway, if htey reject the $65 bid, you can try again in 24 hours with a higher price.

 

A technique that many use is the "FREE RE-BID". It works like this: if your initial $65 bid is rejected, they give you an offer to "try again right now" by adding other star levels, other areas, etc. and raising your price. You can put check marks in both the "san pedro" and "long beach airport" areas, then make sure you have only your 3 1/2 star category box checked, then you can bid $70. There are no 3 1/2 star hotels in the Long beach airport area, so you effectively get another shot at the 3.5 star hotels in San Pedro without waiting the 24 hours.

 

I occasionally check to make sure they haven't added a 3.5 star in the long beach airport area before I do this.

 

Good luck. It can seem a bit risky at first, but I really love the savings of Priceline. The bidding for travel and other websites mentioned in this thread can also help break the ice.

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Nanatravel

Nanatravel

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Perfect direction of how to bid for San Pedro on Priceline. I just helped a friend who won her bid last night for the Crowne Plaza for 4/10. Although someone reported getting the CP for $77 per night for the 8th & 9th of April, both my friend and I had to go up to $95 to win the reservation. She too had to add Long beach airport to get a re-bid opportunity.

 

Give it a try. Regular rack rate was about $150 without taxes, so you do save some money.

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Nanatravel

Nanatravel

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That's great Travelbug and a great bid, but you are on the wrong forum. I just stayed there 3 weeks ago. When you are calling for the shuttle bus, make sure you ask for the Hyatt Place North as they are two different facilities and under different management.

 

Try East Coast and then Florida. This forum is for West Coast (CA, WA, etc.).

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lss111

lss111

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Got the Holiday Inn on the Bay in San Diego today for $59, with taxes and fees $73, for May 5th. Have stayed there twice before and this is the best rate yet.

Tried 4 star on Priceline bidding up to $75, then gave up.

Like Wow!!! I am glad for you.

Did you get it on Priceline or elsewhere? LSS111

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Sprocket

Sprocket

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Like Wow!!! I am glad for you.

Did you get it on Priceline or elsewhere? LSS111

 

Used Hotwire, previous 2 times it was $99 plus taxes and fees, this time I felt like I got a great deal at $59. Both times at checkin we were given a room facing the Bay, so nice to see the ship there in the morning. Hoping to get a Bay view room this time also.

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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Used Hotwire, previous 2 times it was $99 plus taxes and fees, this time I felt like I got a great deal at $59. Both times at checkin we were given a room facing the Bay, so nice to see the ship there in the morning. Hoping to get a Bay view room this time also.

 

Good to know. Next time I will check Hotwire prices before placing my bids on PL.:cool:

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Carol Anne

Carol Anne

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Used Priceline for the first time.

 

Got Grand Hyatt Seattle for $100. for early Sept for 2 nights pre cruise. Bid $85 for downtown 3 star or better and was shot down. Put in $100. and it was accepted. Their site shows it for $177. Its a 4 star but what I really was more interested in was the location so I'm a happy girl. :):p

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