Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - When did Priceline start coaching bids?

I placed a bid for a stay in Chicago next month. I figured it would probably go for $75, but I placed a bid for $60 anyway. I got a reply that my bid was rejected, but if I was willing to bid $17 higher, they think my chances would be better, and I wouldn't have to add zones. How about that, the $77 bid was accepted.

When did this start?

You need to ignore this and all other bidding "advice" from PL. The $17 trick is discussed at great length on the bidding sites and probably on older threads here. Probably a new bid at $62 or $63 would have sufficed.

When did this start?

It's been there for years, but it's not to your advantage to use it. Instead, add on a free rebid zone and raise your bid a few dollars, or just start a new bid in 24 hours that's a few dollars higher. I've never accepted one of their counter offers.

Only once in many years of PL bidding would one of the hotel counteroffers have saved me money, some two years ago in Singapore. I ended up using all rebids (without preserving the counteroffer link), tried again the next day, and ended up paying $8 more than the counteroffer was. For cars, I've encountered three incidents where the counteroffer actually represented a deal (high-demand, last-minute bids; $35 for a compact in HNL).

Most of the time, though, as previous posters said, the counteroffer suggests that you're really close to the "right" price. In any case, it never hurts to log out and start a new bid, to preserve the counteroffer, just in case you need to go back to it later.

As far as I can recall (and I should be able to remember this because I've seen the messages often enough) there are two types of message, for example (not exact wording, I'm guessing a bit):

1* Raise your bid to $77 and there is a hotel that will accept your bid
2* If you are willing to raise your bid by $17 (i.e. to $77 in this example) you can bid again without changing any of the parameters.

Are these basically the same message - i.e. example 2 above is guaranteeing a room? The wording suggests it's not guaranteed but that may just be sloppy wording.

In any event, for a hotel bid, they're best ignored unless you have no free rebid zones AND you don't have time to wait 24 hours (eg it's a same day or next day check-in).

I've always wondered whether those "if you raise your bid by $17" messages result in more revenue or less revenue for Priceline. Experienced priceline customers love them because, at least 98% of the time, it means you're very close -- so you know you can get a room and should start raising your bid in dollar or two dollar increments. Basically, the $17 (or whatever the amount they state is) is the "fair profit margin" that priceline would like to receive from you.

I've always wondered if only newbie priceline bidders would simply click on the counteroffer (unless they were in dire straights without rebid options), but it seems like the pitch works for all but the most experienced bidders. Good! I hope they continue to offer this "guidance."

When your hotel bid is successful, Priceline will often tell you what the lowest bid they will accept for a car rental is. They give you your acceptance for the hotel and have "add a car for only...". You click on that, change the dates and location and size as needed and it will show you the price. If you go lower you will not get the car. You then place the bid into the form. I have tried this many times. It keeps live as long as it is prior to your trip. I currently have an active offer from Priceline for a car for $9 a day (that I can't take because I accepted it at $12 a few days before).

Huh. In all my years of PL bidding -- been using them since the very beginning -- I've never run into the coaching offer ... until today.

Obviously, I now know what to bid tomorrow for the same zone and star rating. :: heh heh :: Sometimes a rejection isn't just a rejection.

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First, log in to Priceline with a profile. That helps keep things organized.

Second, when you get a counteroffer, don't proceed any further with that bid, unless you want to accept it. Go to your email and note the time of the counteroffer email.

Third, if you want to try to undercut the counteroffer by adding a different zone, start a completely new bid. If this fails, you will still be able to go back to the original email, follow the link, and get to a counteroffer.

It is possible that availability can disappear at any time, so no counteroffer is 100% guaranteed.

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Agree with others that the coached rebid of $77 is an indication that you are close. Never accept the counter. Bidding a few dollars more or splitting the difference are good strategies.

Regarding free re-bids on the same day, I have had up to about six rebids on same bidding session when bidding on 4**** hotel in San Francisco. The trick is knowing the zones where the 4**** hotels are located or not.

For example, on your first bid, select a zone that you want that includes a 4**** hotel. If 1st bid is rejected, select the original zone + a zone that does oat include a 4**** hotel, but still bid on the 4**** hotel. This allows you to make a 2nd bid on the same day for the preferred zone. Being flexible with a willingness to accept a second choice zone is helpful, too.

To learn all of the bidding ins and outs of Priceline, read the hotel FAQ's at www.biddingfortravel.com

Agree with others that the coached rebid of $77 is an indication that you are close. Never accept the counter. Bidding a few dollars more or splitting the difference are good strategies.

Regarding free re-bids on the same day, I have had up to about six rebids on same bidding session when bidding on 4**** hotel in San Francisco. The trick is knowing the zones where the 4**** hotels are located or not.

For example, on your first bid, select a zone that you want that includes a 4**** hotel. If 1st bid is rejected, select the original zone + a zone that does oat include a 4**** hotel, but still bid on the 4**** hotel. This allows you to make a 2nd bid on the same day for the preferred zone. Being flexible with a willingness to accept a second choice zone is helpful, too.

To learn all of the bidding ins and outs of Priceline, read the hotel FAQ's at www.biddingfortravel.com

Thanks for the info. Will use it when I bid for a hotel in Houston. Is now too early to bid for a end of May visit?

Thanks for the info. Will use it when I bid for a hotel in Houston. Is now too early to bid for a end of May visit?
You can bid up to 11 months in advance. It's never too early after that point. If you don't win with all your re-bidding, try again 24 hours later.

I've won bids at 11 months out and on the day before the stay. Lots of people have won on same day bidding as stay.

No, I don't think it's too early to bid for hotel in Houston. Caveat: Rooms will continue to be released into the Priceline inventory, so if you don't get the price you want, try again in a week or so.

Regarding rebidding in the Houston area, you are in luck! Priceline lists 17 bidding regions for the Houston/Galveston area, but only two of those regions (Galleria and Downtown) have 4**** hotels. This means that you should be able to rebid about 15 times in the same session.

If you want to check where 4**** hotels are located yourself, when you get to step #1 of Priceline's bidding process, you will see 17 Houston areas. Check the 1st area, and then look below the list to see if a 4**** is highlighted. If not, uncheck and move on through the entire list. Make a note of which areas have 4**** hotels.

If you want to stay Downtown, don't bid in the Galleria area, the only other area with a 4**** hotel. Rebids should only be in the desired area and areas that do NOT have 4**** hotels. This can be confusing, but is really fairly easy.

Don't bid in two 4**** areas at the same time, unless you don't care which area your hotel is located. I prefer to control the specific area.

www.biddingfortravel.com provides bidding assistance if you need it, but you will need to fill out a questionnaire and do some preliminary legwork. Detailed instructions are in the FAQ's.

Check the Houston section of that web site and you will get an idea of what 4**** hotels have been going for: http://p198.ezboard.com/Texas--HoustonGalveston/fpricelineandexpediabiddinghouston

That section of the web site also lists the available hotels in each Houston area along with the star rating. Hope this helps.

www.biddingfortravel.com provides bidding assistance if you need it, but you will need to fill out a questionnaire and do some preliminary legwork. Detailed instructions are in the FAQ's.
s.

that web site is so out of date. And the people trying to be mods have stolen hotel lists from better sites like betterbidding.com. B4T is worthless.

that web site is so out of date. And the people trying to be mods have stolen hotel lists from better sites like betterbidding.com. B4T is worthless.

I respectfully disagree. There is a good bidding history through March 2008 and even July 2008. I really don't consider that outdated. You seem to have inside information. Perhaps you could add something useful and constructive. ;)

I guess I'm a moron :o

Last week I bidded twice for the different dates at the same property. The first one I missed and it gave me a counteroffer, I did the same the second time around. I'm such a fool!

Either way I was quite happy with the price I paid. Was less than 50% of the cost of going through the hotels own website, I'll just have to forego the elite status bennies and points...