ttrfanatic
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2010
- Messages
- 18
Just to throw in my 2 cents...
I have used PL serveral times myself over the last few years and have saved so much money by doing so. I am sorry to hear that the OP had such a bad experience. I have seen where so many have asked the star level that was booked and it has never been given. I would assume from the story that the star level was probably less than 3 stars but then again I'm assuming here and I know that isn't a good thing to do. ;-)
I usually try and bid on 3.5 and above star hotels and by doing so I have gotten some incredible deals. We just stayed at the Crowne Plaza (3.5*) near Disneyland for $39/night using PL and every year my gf and I book a resort in the Palm Springs area for around $50/night. Usually we go off season to Palm Springs so I'm sure that helps in getting such a low price. But I have seen where others get incredible deals (up to 75% off) throughout the year.
There's always a risk of having a bad experience no matter where you end up going but I think you can minimize that risk as well. I know I have seen others mention BetterBidding in this thread but I use TripDucky.com when doing my research. Just found them actually and they have some unique tools that I haven't seen anyone else implement like generating a rebid chart for you to use when bidding on PL.
Anyway, I also wanted to point out that PL actually has a minimum bidding point at which you can start when bidding on different star levels. They don't keep you from starting at a lower dollar amount when bidding but if you do then you will be guaranteed not to get a hotel until your bid rises above this level. The last I checked the breakdown is as follows:
Star Level Minimum Bid
------------- ------------
5* $55
Resort $40
4* $40
3.5* $25
3* $25
2.5* $19
2* $17
1* $15
I have used PL serveral times myself over the last few years and have saved so much money by doing so. I am sorry to hear that the OP had such a bad experience. I have seen where so many have asked the star level that was booked and it has never been given. I would assume from the story that the star level was probably less than 3 stars but then again I'm assuming here and I know that isn't a good thing to do. ;-)
I usually try and bid on 3.5 and above star hotels and by doing so I have gotten some incredible deals. We just stayed at the Crowne Plaza (3.5*) near Disneyland for $39/night using PL and every year my gf and I book a resort in the Palm Springs area for around $50/night. Usually we go off season to Palm Springs so I'm sure that helps in getting such a low price. But I have seen where others get incredible deals (up to 75% off) throughout the year.
There's always a risk of having a bad experience no matter where you end up going but I think you can minimize that risk as well. I know I have seen others mention BetterBidding in this thread but I use TripDucky.com when doing my research. Just found them actually and they have some unique tools that I haven't seen anyone else implement like generating a rebid chart for you to use when bidding on PL.
Anyway, I also wanted to point out that PL actually has a minimum bidding point at which you can start when bidding on different star levels. They don't keep you from starting at a lower dollar amount when bidding but if you do then you will be guaranteed not to get a hotel until your bid rises above this level. The last I checked the breakdown is as follows:
Star Level Minimum Bid
------------- ------------
5* $55
Resort $40
4* $40
3.5* $25
3* $25
2.5* $19
2* $17
1* $15
