Have some Priceline questions

[pjlla]

Hope you all can help me with some Priceline questions. I have never used it before, but I think we will for an upcoming trip to DC this spring. I have read all of the info over at biddingfortravel.com and I am more confused than ever!! Here are my main questions....

#1. Are you limited as to the number of times you are allowed to bid on an area? In other words, if your bid is rejected are you allowed to rebid another amount or is that it for that area and # of stars??

#2. If my bid is rejected would I be better off raising my bidding amount or waiting a week or so and trying again (if that is allowed)? (That is, if you are allowed to rebid.)

#3. What would you say is the most frequently made mistake by first timers to Priceline?

#4. Would the Downtown Washington and Capital Hill areas be okay to bid on (for 3 or 4 stars)?

#5. Should I ONLY bid for 4* to be sure I get a decent property, or would it be okay to bid on a 3*?? (Not sure I would dare bid on anything lower).

#6. Since we are going to DC at a VERY busy time, would we be better off bidding sooner, rather than later??

#7. We REALLY want something within walking distance of a metro stop.... is there any way to be sure of this when we bid??

Thanks in advance for your help!....................P

 

[tar heel]

www.biddingfortravel.com will answer most of your questions.

You have to change either area or star level to do an immediate rebid. You an rebid the same ones in a few days.

Hard to say whether you should bid the same thing again. If you start out really low, you may want to change slightly.

One mistake first-timers make is raising their bid when priceline tells you it's too low. For example, if you bid $50 in a zone where average is $200, at one point you'll probably get a message saying your bid doesn't have much of a chance and an opportunity to raise it. If you study www.biddingfortravel.com's forums, you'll know what to bid and have a good idea which hotel you'll get.

Good luck.

 

[zenshome]

I concur with tarheel, go to BFT and read the FAQ's and look at what others have done it is a fantastic site!! Sheryl and the other admins will be happy to help out.

 

[my3kids]

In Washington you might not have many "free rebids" because most areas will have 3 and 4 star properties. The only way to tell if you have free rebids is to go to the PL pae for Washington. Click each zone,one at a time and write down the number of stars each zone offers. A free rebid woul be to add a zone to your bid that does not have a star zone at the same level or above. If you are bidding for only 4 stars and 2 zones only have 1,2 or 3 stars you can safely add them, thius allowing you to rebid immediately since you know you won't get that zone. Biddingfortravel will explain free rebids in their FAQ setion for hotels.

There are a lot of metro stops in DC and any property that is 3 or 4 stars in DC should be fine in terms of location and ammenities. You can compare a metro map to the PL zones, but other than that there isn't a lot of way to be sure you'll be near a stop. Even hotels in Northern VA or the MD suburbs might be near a Metro stop. The Embassy Suites in Old Towne Alexendria is right at a stop. There is also a stop in Crystal City and a lot of hotels in the area also.

If you are travelling with kids make sure 1 room will be enough. Some of the business hotels might have 1 single bed in them, really designed more for a business traveller than a family.