Please, need Priceline help now!
 

I'm bidding for a Heathrow London hotel. My low bid wasn't accepted. They request that I make one change and I bid higher. I keep sending it in, even changing the sum and nothing happens. I haven't used P/L for awhile, maybe I'm rusty.

Did you check www.biddingfortravel.com? Do you mean they had a counter offer for you, with a higher price that they would accept? Have read don`t take the counter offer.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, they did give me a high counter offer and I didn't take it. I'm trying to get a 3 star and have gone up to $45 from $40 but it keeps saying it's unacceptable. Do you just keep going up until they accept [or stop when you refuse to pay higher?]

I have changed one part of my original request [the price] several times and they keep repeating that sentence.

You have to change something other than the price, like the Quality or the Area. You should look at www.biddingfortravel.com - it will really help you out.

I didn't know that just changing the price isn't enough. I can't do a free bid because it appears that all the hotels in other area are also just 3 and 4 stars. I have 3 and 4 stars both checked although I don't remember clicking on the 4.

I used Priceline to reserve a room at the Sheraton at CDG which is a 4 star Hotel .My bid was for 100US dollars and I received the confirmation right way.
This was the first time that I used Priceline and was quite pleased to pay such a low price for a nice hotel.

Priceline will always look for your hotel star choice plus anything with more stars. So when you bid 3-star, the 4-star was automatically included.

Please listen to the other posters who tell you to check biddingfortravel. See whats near the airport and then CHECK their websites. You may do as well as with Priceline. I just used Priceline for Vegas. I bid 105.00 for a 4 star. Got the Luxor and on THEIR rate calendar the rooms are less! Live and learn. I usually do well with Priceline, but like everything else, the prices keep inflating.

For help see either biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com

betterbidding is a bit more user friendly, but both are very useful when bidding on Priceline.

If you can't add a zone, star level or change dates, you should probably let it go and try again in 72 hours. I've done that several times and come up a "winner." :)

The wait for rebidding is now only 24 hours....reduced from the previous restriction of 72 hours.

Wow--thanks, Lisa. It's only been since May that I used PL, for hotel rooms in Chattanooga. What an improvement in service that is--

The 24 hour bidding certainly does make it much easier! Especially in areas where there are not any "free rebidding zones". I was a big fan of priceline before, and this has made it even easier to use.

To do it before the 24-hour mark, you can set up a difference account and pay by a different credit card. Don't forget to clear the cookies of your computer as well.

Recent LHR 3* bids have been at $48-64, as reported on biddingfortravel.com. You're underbidding when you tried $40 at a zone with no rebid possible.

If you have lots of time, then sure, you can start low, and perhaps add a dollar or two a day. But if you need the hotel quick, you need to bid higher.

If you changed one thing and it was the price, then everybody would start out at a ridiculously low price and keep adding until their bid was accepted. So you have to change the date, zone, stars, or whatever and changing the price doesn`t work.

You can also try bidding 4*. Plenty of poeple are getting a room for $55-60, which is very reasonable. And if you bid 4* you have a "free rebid" zone. If you first bid fail, you can increase price and add Luton Airport to bid again without waiting for 24 hours.

Are you sure that Luton has no 4 stars? I'd hate to get a hotel at the wrong airport! I guess that there's no hidden 4 star at Luton that's going to pop up as a nasty surprise. Yes, I have been consulting Bidding for Travel all along. I'll keep trying every 24 hours. Thanks to everyone. This forum is so terrific!

Luton has no 4*. I just checked it through Priceline.com. And people have been using this strategy on biddingfortravel.com without fail.

Hi

I worked off two email address and two credit cards and also registered with PL Asia. It took me a couple of hours to get a 4* hotel in London. You have to keep your wits about you when you are juggling differnt bids.

Well, tonigt's another night but I'm hesitant now because I just noticed to more 3 stars on P/L's list - Mandeville and Central Park that do not appear on Bidding for Travel's list. They seem far from Heathrow but on P/L it says [London Heathrow Airport] next to them.
\

daph - You don't base the availability of star levels from BFT. You base it on Pricline's own website.

After you choose &quot;Name your own price&quot; for London, and then click the link to &quot;London Airports&quot;, you will come to a map with 3 zones: &quot;Luton Central-Luton Airport&quot;, &quot;Heathrow Airport&quot; and &quot;Gatwick Airport&quot;. If you check the box for &quot;Luton&quot; and then click &quot;Next&quot;, you'll see that Luton has only 2* and 3*. This means <b>you are safe</b> to use this as a &quot;free rebid&quot; zone if you are bidding 4* Heathrow, or 4* Gatwick.

That's how it's done, and why I tell you that you have a free rebid. I do not base it on any hotel list anywhere.

The Mandeville and Central Park hotels are 3 stars on Priceline's own list. When I check out their maps I can tell that they are no where near Heathrow Airport. It doesn't seem that they should be listed under Heathrow. Does anyone know anything about them? Thanks

I don't see the Central Park listed anymore and the Mandeville is wrongly listed. Don't worry, if you bid Heathrow, they won't give you those. And if they do, just call Priceline and they'll cancel it for you.

You don't give the dates. If it is for the immediate future (i.e. the summer) there might not be any inventory available - summer is a busy time for Heathrow hotels. Remember, PL only sells what the hotel thinks it can't, for whatever reason.