Originally Posted by NCRBILL
if you can get a rate that low on PL, then Hilton should really look at the price they are charging and maybe bring in some of the lower rates.
I've never done the PL thing. Can someone tell me how it works that you get such a good rate for such a nice property? Are you always sure to get the hotel you want or is it hit and miss?
You should first peruse FT’s ‘Travel Bidding’ forum under Travel & Dining, if not just so you understand that you can’t just post anything on BFT.
For your insomnia pleasure:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302136
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301795
www.biddingfortravel.com, is the most comprehensive forum for PL bidding and hotel lists right now. Read Sheral’s FAQ’s before posting!
I like
www.betterbidding.com too because you can find out about more PL ‘tricks’ and about Hotwire, another opaque booking site (but generally more expensive than PL) Better Bidding doesn’t have near the PL ‘wins’ and hotel lists that BFT has, yet.
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong Bill, but I've always been under the impression that PL's appeal to a hotel is that they can keep the majority of paying guests at published rates or discounts, but fill some anticipated empty rooms with some bargain-hunting guests. A-few-bucks-are-better-than-none mentality w/ essentially the same overhead. I think the hotel pre-enters # of rooms and minimum prices for each night into the PL databank, but I'm not exactly sure about this. This also CAN be an excellent venue for a hotel to show a customer they are worthy of future business at a higher price.
No, you are NOT guaranteed to get the Riverside Hilton when bidding for a 4* in the NOLA Convention Center/Garden District, but it appears that it is a very good likelyhood right now, if the hotel has made rooms available to PL and you bid at least the hotel’s minimum for the nights you want. The gamble is Hotel X that hasn’t been reported yet on BFT has just decided to participate in PL and you have a room at Hotel X (no refunds on PL).
Sorry to ramble, I love PL and try to sell it to any of my friends that I can. If you don’t mind the research and a sort of gamble, PL can work well. I’m also a poor bargain-hunter by nature whose parents spoiled me with nice hotels growing up, yet another reason I personally like PL for leisure travel. I also like being able to afford an adjoining room (not guarteed adjoining, but I’ve not had a problem yet) for the children. HH gives us a couple of trips a year, but we like to travel more than that!