sheetz

Hi! I've never posted before, but I think there are lots of people who would be interested in hearing my experiences with Priceline. I'm a starving student and I was looking a room at ORD for 2 weeknights in Oct. The cheapest room I could find in the immediate area was at a Motel 6 for $50/night. So at Priceline I bid $40 + $25 bonus(for applying for a credit card) for a 3 star hotel, not really expecting to have it accepted. You can imagine my surprise when I received a confirmation for 2 nights at the Westin O'hare! Including taxes, I'm being charged $94 for the 2 nights. Now, I checked around, and the lowest rate I could find for this place was $169/night with Hotel Reservations Network. What a deal!

The only downside is that the Westin charges $12/day for parking. But if I have to choose between Westin and Motel 6, there's really no choice, is there?

RichG

The Westin definitely has nicer sheetz, Sheetz.

jexjex

That's because Westin is RichR, RichG.

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JAWS_II

sheetz, welcome aboard and thanks for posting your Priceline experience.

However, you must be careful, Westin, because they are RichR, changes the sheetz every night.

Sheryl

Congratulations. I would say you got VERY lucky and thanks for sharing such a fantastic winning Priceline.com bid. I agree that the O'Hare area nicer hotels can be very expensive. One of the guys I work with regularly stays at the Sheraton Gateway by O'Hare during the week, and he's paid as much as $229 per night plus tax.

Last month, I set up a "Club" at Yahoo to discuss Priceline bids for hotels and airfares. Stop by and share your story.
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/pricelinedeals

shadow

From the Frequent Flier Crier 9/9/99:

Since Expedia is the latecomer to this party, they're offering a launch incentive to get your attention: if you make a hotel booking through Hotel Price Matcher between September 9 and October 6, 1999, you will receive a $25 rebate on your credit card.

Jon Toner

I decided to try out the priceline.com hotel bookings. I selected 3-star hotel for the rate I'm reserved for a nearby hotel already ($75/night). I tried two separate dates for nights I'll be in DFW.

I got the Marriott and Hyatt respectively - a nice step up.

Of course, now I'm kicking myself for not being a little more aggressive with a price...



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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

Sheryl

Could you post the exact location of those two DFW hotels? And are your winning bids for a weeknight or weekend? If weekend, is it during the State Fair?

If your stays are either during the week or during the State Fair, I doubt you could have done better than $75 per night for a 3 star hotel in Dallas. I'd be quite pleased with the rate myself.

Here are 2 winning bids I'm aware of for Dallas, both 3 star hotels and both located on Stemmons at Market Center:

Renaissance $80 weeknight
Crowne Plaza $65 (Thurs-Sat stay, so a combination of weeknight and weekend)

Anyway, I'm keeping track of all winning Priceline bids, so I hope you'll answer my questions.

Thanks.

flyguy

Welcome to the boards sheetz. We all benefit from the experiences of others. I hope to use Priceline for future reservations.

Jon Toner

I got the Marriott on 9/12 - 9/13 (Sunday). It's just down the road from DFW (<1 mile?)

I got the Hilton on 9/20 - 9/21 (Monday). It's in DFW.

I don't know how if this coincides with the state fair. I've got 6:00am flights the next day, so I just wanted quick access to the airport.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."


[This message has been edited by Jon Toner (edited 09-10-1999).]

shadow

Jon, you got good rates at good hotels. The Marriott is at Rt. 114 & Esters Rd, only about 3 short exits from the airport. And the Hilton at DFW was a nice property the last time I stayed (last year).

Jon Toner

I would never dream of booking a flight through priceline, but these hotel rates will bring me back providing I don't get to the hotel and discover I'm sleeping in a linen closet behind the elevator.

I looked at Expedia's service, but they don't serve as many cities. Dallas wasn't even on the list!



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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

RichG

Jon Toner: All linen closets and rooms next to the elevator, ice maker, and soda machine are reserved for me. I don't think you can get one. I've recorded the ice maker crash and play it through my home stereo with a timer several times a night so I can sleep as well as I do on the road.

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I'm only in it for the mileage

shadow

Well Rich, I must have been across the hall from you...

Bluebonnet

Jon Toner: double check the location of that Hilton. The only two hotels located ON the DFW proper are Hyatt East and Hyatt West. The Hilton is nearby, but it's not actually on airport property. It does have a convenient to the airport location, and fairly nice landscaping for a nice view, though. Get ready for the 100 degree days and 85 degree nights!