Could someone explain to me why it is suggested that one increase the bid price on a free re-bid(A-B step) Why not just increase your bid on the required zone and forego the A-B step? Doesn't that come to the same thing??
Joe

It is because Priceline requires you to change more than just the price you are offering to be allowed to rebid within 24 hours.

And just make sure that you add a zone whose highest star quality is lower than the zone you are actually trying to bid on. If that "free rebid" zone has a resort level, it can NOT be used as a free rebid zone.

John

Try it and see what happens.

If all Priceline required to rebid was an increase in your bid price, then all anyone would have to do to be successful would be to increase by $1 until you finally "hit" the magic number. Think of the thousands and thousands of bids Priceline would have to process, possibly overtaxing their system?

True.

If you are offered a free re-bid, however, I would advise you not accept it. You can usually get the room for less than half of the rebid price.

For example: I recently bid $130 for a resort in Honolulu. Denied, with an offer to try again for $147. I declined, added a zone that did not have a resort, and rebid for $136. Got the room.

I believe Priceline often calls this a "counter offer."

When receiving such counteroffers, I have been able to bid $1 more than my original bid in one case and was accepted. In another case, I could not even bid up to the price they countered at. As a general rule (I hate general rules!), you can usually split the difference between your bid and the counter offer if you have a free rebid left.

You can increase your bid amount on the Priceline Hong Kong site without waiting 24 hours:

www.priceline.com.hk

You can re-bid, adding a zone and remaining at the same star level, without raising your bid price. If you are adding a zone with at least the star level of your previous bid, depending on the going rates for the newly added star level and zone, you might want to lower your bid price.

A free re-bid is where you do not change the star level, and you add a zone that does not offer a star level as high as your previous bid. PL will not require you to increase your bid, but since your previous bid was rejected and you are in effect, bidding on the same star level and zone, obviously you will need to increase your bid to gain acceptance.

Never raise your bid by $17 in response to a counter-offer, start a new bid in that zone and star level and go up by $3, although as a poster noted $1 has been known to work.