a2dal

we have booked the Thistle Victoria for an overnight layover 7/17/05 for 99 pounds - I have looked at biddingfortravel.com and it looks like most 4*s are less than that (and the Thistle Vic I can't even find, so I am guessing it is not a 4* but maybe a 3?) Do you think I should try to bid for a better deal? I have never used Priceline when location matters so much - we are flying into LGW, taking the express to Victoria Station to be close to some easy sights for the night (thanks to advice from fodorites), then back out to LGW for a noonish flight, so being in Vicoria Station is a must for this plan.

Sorry for the novice question but I am a little scared of bidding on Priceline! I used them once, years ago, for a flight, and the result was awful - I know hotels are different, but I am gunshy. . .

Kayb95

I've had great luck with Priceline for London. I think it's the best way to get the most for your hotel dollar in London. If you want to be near Victoria, you'd just want to bid on the Westminster area. But keep in mind that you may get a hotel that is not within walking distance to Victoria. You may have to take the tube or a taxi to/from your hotel.

The Thistle Victoria is a 3* for Priceline. Check out all the hotels on the Bidding For Travel website and if you are willing to accept any of them, why not give it a try. It's just for one night.

kenderina

If you have booked it , I believe you cannot try for another bid without losing the money for the first.
Anyway, it's a layover on a great location and I think the price is good.
The best price on his site is 99.45 so it's not a big deal but it's a fair price.

LAwoman

Thistle Victoria is listed as a 3 star in Westminster zone. Would think you could get a 3 star in that zone for $80 or less (before tax, which appears to run around $20.) So it depends on how fond you are of your money. You could probably bid on a 4 star and cut your cost in half. If you have more than 2 in your party wouldn't do a priceline bid, though.

I personally wouldn't worry about staying so close to Victoria station because it's so easy to get around London. We are also doing an overnight between flights in a couple months and got a 4 star in Mayfair/Soho (very central) for $100.

But if you're not comfortable bidding on Priceline, don't do it, it's not for everyone.

Patrick

kenderina, I think a2dal meant they booked it direct and are thinking of trying a Priceline bid to see if they can get it or another option for less.

Another consideration is -- is there a possibility you'll want or need to cancel, for example a delayed or cancelled flight? If it's only a small difference between a Priceline award that can't be changed or cancelled and a slightly more expensive one that you CAN cancel, I'd personally feel more comfortable with the latter.

kenderina

Ohh, OK. I misunderstood it, sorry !!!

WillTravel

The Westminster zone on Priceline is set up to include hotels south of the Thames, including the relatively new 4* Riverside Park Plaza (a hotel that just showed up on Betterbidding.com).
Most people don't intend to get a south of the Thames hotel, so this is something to keep in mind.

Kate_W

I'm a priceline novice, but can offer one recommendation. Bid for hotels at least 1* (by priceline standards) higher than the hotel you've booked by traditional (e.g. picked the hotel, got a cancellable rate) methods. Priceline star ratings are sometimes a little disappointing, and sometimes you'll get one of the least desirable rooms in the hotel. But if you bid for at least 1* above what you've already booked (and don't bid above what you can get via a traditional booking; I'd say don't bid more than 75% of what you'd pay for a traditional booking), then you're probably going to get a bargain.

In London a month ago, we made a refundable booking at a 3*, and bid on priceline for 4 and 5*s. We got the Thistle Charing Cross for about US 120 (the hotel's rate offered on the internet was about 112 pounds, and the rate at our other hotel was about the same). Not exactly what we would have chosen, but we were perfectly happy with our bargain for the last two nights of our holiday.

And a second recommendation. Overnight layovers can be a good time to bid on priceline. It's not like one night in a so-so hotel is going to ruin your holiday.

kenderina

Your last paragraph is a good tip, Kate ! I haven't bid for a hotel before and I was tempted for my hotel in London but finally I booked an offer on the hotel page because I was afraid of ruining my first vacation abroad in 10 years (even it's only a 3 days one). But I will try it if I have to book only for a night and see how it works.

a2dal

does the warning not to use priceline with a party larger than 2 apply if you are a party of 2 adult, 2 small (under 3 years) children?

chepar

I check betterbidding.com every once in a while to see what rooms are currently going for in certain zones - and I noticed the other day that apparently there is no longer the Southbank - Vauxhall zone. When did this happen?

So it appears there is no longer a free rebid zone for a 4* now, is that correct? I've never had occasion to use Priceline yet, but I've been planning on using it for an upcoming trip to London. I guess I'll have to rethink my bidding strategy now -such as it is - if there's no free rebid zone.

obxgirl

>does the warning not to use priceline with a party larger than 2 apply if you are a party of 2 adult, 2 small (under 3 years) children?<

I wouldn't bid on a PL room in London for 2 adults and 2 under-3s. PL guarantees you a room which will sleep 2 people. Period. London hotel rooms can be ridiculously small. You could conceivably end up with a room so tiny it couldn't fit an extra bed for your little ones. Hotels will often work to accommodate your needs but it's always a risk that they won't or can't.

LAwoman

Right, no longer a free rebid zone for a 4* now. Happened about a month a go. My strategy (not very sophisticated) is just to rebid every 72 hrs.

111op

By the way, it's possible to rebid on PL using a different credit card (even if that's your name). I'm not a seasoned user by any means -- I only first used it for my past trip.

I think that it's the best to exhaust all the bids (if there're free rebids) and then start over every 72 hours. If you've three credit cards, you can effectively bid every 24 hours.

Card 1
Card 2
Card 3
Card 1
etc.

I was fascinated with the system, but in the end, I wasn't able to secure a hotel for my first night in London through Priceline (which was a Saturday -- supposedly more difficult).

My return was a Sunday night and I got Thistle Charing Cross.

travelinwifey

That's incorrect, you cannot keep rebidding on Priceline by using different credit cards. There are cookies when you bid on PL that stop this but you can use a different computer to bid again within 3 days.

If you do a text search you will find many comments on bidding PL for London, imo it's probably the best single city for PL deals, most at 50% off or more. It's the only way we have done London for the past 3 years with 10+ stays for us and family.

A2dal, you cannot use PL for >2 in a hotel room in London. Any room with bedding for more than 2 people is considered an upgrade. Many rooms are small and simply cannot accomodate a 3rd person. Unfortunately it's all been wiped away now from biddingfortravel but just about every person that has showed up with an additional person has been hit with additional fees, some as high as an extra 30-50 pounds per night which wipes out any PL savings.

Where2Travel

Some people set up accounts on different versions of Priceline (eg US, UK, Hong Kong etc). As long as you have enough different e-mail addresses, credit cards and understand the currencies to bid confidently then it's easy enough. You just need to clear your cookies between the different sites.

travelinwifey

Interresting Where2. I have never tried using the websites for the diff't countries. That would save the hassle of driving to my spouse's office. Thanks for the tip. Can anyone else confirm? The diffn't email addy & credit card has never worked for me when using PL's US site.

WillTravel

You have to clear the cookies and close the browser.

travelinwifey

Thanks, I'll try

111op

Actually I don't know if you need to delete your cookies. I forget.

But for sure you need a different e-mail address and a different CC if you want to rebid within 72 hours. Sorry that I neglected to mention this.

Let's see. I've, hm..., 7 e-mail accounts that I can think of.

It's not that I've anything to hide, but I prefer to keep my various lives separate -- for example, I've an account that I only use on Fodors. I've a blog, and I've an e-mail account that's set up for it.

You get the idea.