Hi, we are traveling to Toronto the first weekend in June for a big birthday party and everyone is staying at the Sheraton Centre, I was wondering how to get the best rate at this hotel by using Priceline/ Hotwire. They are quoting $179.00/night and I am trying to see if we can get it for less. On hotwire can you pick the hotel also or not???? HELP...........

In your position, you cannot really use Priceline as the chance of bidding and getting the Sheraton is very small indeed given the number of hotels in Downtown Toronto that have the same Priceline start rating. Plus the other hotels seem to come up much more often than the Sheraton.

However, in your situation Hotwire may well work because it's much easier to identify the hotels even though you don't know for definite which hotel you've got until after purchase. Hotwire provide the star rating and amenities for the hotels on offer and you can often match them up to a specific hotel. But remember there is no guarantee you've called it right so you do take a risk.

The good news is that the Sheraton is one of the easiest to identify based on previous Hotwire successes:
3.5*
Listed as a "Customer Favorite"
Restaurant
Pool
Fitness Center
Business Center
Spa Services

Just as a try, I plugged in 4-6 June (you mentioned the first w/end in June but didn't give the dates) and what appears to be the Sheraton Centre is there at $55. Given the risk attached, you need to decide whether it's worth it but I think the odds are heavily stacked in the favour of this being th Sheraton.

For much more information (and help) see www.betterbidding.com.

Thank you so much for the info, I will go to that web site and maybe take a chance....$55.00 is far less than $179.00 for sure, thanks.

There is nearly no way whatsoever to "guess" which hotel you may get when booking with Hotwire or Priceline.

You could shop "packages" on each to see whether that particular hotel is offered in the corresponding area. Still this is no guarantee.

You could try the many websources for booking hotels which give the hotel up front, such at Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Sidestep, etc....and check rates for that hotel.

You could PHONE the hotel directly (NOT the international booking number, and insist on not being transferred to same), give your dates, and ask "is that the best you can do", not mentioning that this particular hotel is your preference.

All in all, though, you may not be able to beat that $179 rate, if you are determined to book that particular hotel for those specific dates.

Thanks alot to Dave and djkbooks for their info. It seems like the Sheraton Centre is the only 3.5 star hotel downtown from what I can tell on the better bidding website, I am new to all of this, so do I take my chances or no... I can't find much on winning bids at all for this hotel though. Thanks.

I agree with djbooks more about Priceline in which I find it harder to guess the hotel.

However, using www.betterbidding.com I have had several successful guesses at Hotwire hotels just because of the regularity they appear with the same amenities and star level. The only time I haven't been able to predict the hotel was in New York when I had no idea what I was getting (but I knew the risk and was prepared).

Unfortunately, only you can decide whether it's a risk worth taking. What would you do if it wasn't the Sheraton you got? I am pretty confident it is (especially given the Customer Favorite tag) but would not guarantee this in any way. What rates are coming up for your days on Hotwire for what we think is the Sheraton? There have been a few reported wins of this hotel on Better Bidding. the rate seems to be fairly static, between $50 and $55 for end of May time.

In fact for my stay in Toronto in May, I was very close to going for the Hotwire hotel thought to be the Sheraton but decided to bid low on Priceline instead and got something on the first try.

You can consistently get the Sheraton Centre on Hotwire in the $52-$58 per night range. Just type in your dates and choose downtown as your sole area of preference. When the selections come up, look for 3.5 stars "Customer Favorite" - that is invariably the Sheraton Centre. I've gotten it every time I selected it.