Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Possible to get a Courtyard or Res Inn in Seattle (weekday)??

Not sure if I've been doing something wrong. Have been trying to get courtyards or Res Inn's in Redmond/Bellevue, for Sun-Wed. I am there on a regular basis on those days. There is one CY and two Res Inn's

However, whenever I bid, I end up getting "upgraded" to the 3*'s (Hyatt / Sheraton / Marriott), which charge $10 each for parking & internet (free at CY & Res Inn). I am generally starting at $40 in redmond (zilch), go to $48 including bellevue and end up with Hyatt / Sheraton (If I go bellevue at $40 or $45 and then bellevue-bothell at $48, I still end up with Hyatt / Sheraton). If I stay in Redmond (using Bothell, the only 2.5 free re-bid zone), I get nothing until about $60 and then get upgraded to the Marriott.

Is there some way for me to get a 2.5 in redmond or bellevue, or are CY & RI just full on weekdays?

Welcome to the Priceline upgrade scam. It is happening at more cities too so my P/L stays have dropped over 50% recently. The only way to lessen it is to keep your bid price at a minimum (ie $4-$8 less than what the 3* typically go for) or dont give P/L your business for a while. They will get the message eventually.

MisterNice

print all your privceline reciepts showing the time that you have stayed there
and the price

then show them all the times you were upgraded

write a letter to the manager directly
ask for the $50 or $55 or $60 rate with a certain advanced notice
and then they reduce their priceline inventory by 1 room


Not sure if I've been doing something wrong. Have been trying to get courtyards or Res Inn's in Redmond/Bellevue, for Sun-Wed. I am there on a regular basis on those days. There is one CY and two Res Inn's

However, whenever I bid, I end up getting "upgraded" to the 3*'s (Hyatt / Sheraton / Marriott), which charge $10 each for parking & internet (free at CY & Res Inn). I am generally starting at $40 in redmond (zilch), go to $48 including bellevue and end up with Hyatt / Sheraton (If I go bellevue at $40 or $45 and then bellevue-bothell at $48, I still end up with Hyatt / Sheraton). If I stay in Redmond (using Bothell, the only 2.5 free re-bid zone), I get nothing until about $60 and then get upgraded to the Marriott.

Is there some way for me to get a 2.5 in redmond or bellevue, or are CY & RI just full on weekdays?

From MisterNice: "Welcome to the Priceline upgrade scam."

I totally agree. It's kept me from using them many times.

PL hotel * upgrades occur in many other cities besides Seattle and seem especially prevalent at the 2.5* level. Of course, there are also a few people who use PL's upgrade practice as an advantage: there are reports of the upgraded hotel being obtained at a rate below the minimum bid amount for the higher star level. Not to mention you're staying at a nicer hotel, desirable or not. Regardless, PL is still an excellent value for it's intended purpose, i.e. a star level generic hotel for a steeply discounted price, not a guess-your-hotel for your named price. I for one am

Still Using PL in the Fog,

mrspilot

Most of the time the 2.5* gives you an excellent rebid opportunity that I have used for my advantage many many times.