Thanks for all the info guys. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. I'll let you know how I did.

Alright, I posted my first bid tonight on Priceline at $70, for 4 nights and it was accepted! I got the Thistle Marble Arch.

Is that unusual?

However, when I went back and posted a bid for the second 4 nights, at the same price, it was rejected. I got a counteroffer for $88. I added another zone and upped my bid to $73. Rejected and countered again at $88.

I should let you know that the second segment covers the weekend. Should I take the $88 offer, or try again in 3 days?

All normal. Some people have gotten the Thistle Marble Arch for as low as $55 recently. So, in fact you may overbid your first stay.

And the accepting rates differ, depending on the dates you want. So, it's normal you don't win the other bid.

Since you bid $70-73 and they offer $88, a succeessful price is probably around $80-82.

And you can bid again in 24 hours, not 72. It's been changed for some weeks now.

I'm wondering why you split your bid? Did you try the entire stay first before doing this?

I would recommend trying the "add nights" immediately. OR, phone Priceline and tell them that you probably should have bid your entire stay, but this is your first bid and you mistakenly took advice to split your bid - they just might be willing to re-do the whole bid for you, this time only...

See http://tickets.priceline.com/custome...4&plf=pcln

When you start a new bid, you could wind up in a different hotel.

$70 is a ridiculously low rate for the Thistle Marble Arch (which we enjoyed in every way). Check your dates/rates at the Thistle website!

Weekend rates in summer are higher than weekday rates, so $88 is certainly not unreasonable. But, there's no guarantee it's for the Thistle Marble Arch.

You might also want to check rates for your dates at Londontown.com

djkbooks, I split my bid because it was suggested on betterbidding.com that you may have better luck with a bid in the zone you want if your stay isn't so long. Also, since I'm taveling alone, I really don't have a problem with switching hotels. I look at it as an adventure.

I started at $70 because that seemd to be the ballpark bid for the area. Although $55 a night would be nice, I'm happy with the $70, especially since the going rate (via the Thistle Hotels web site) for the Marble Arch is $164! Londontown was $165.

This being my first bid on Priceline and my first trip to London, I feel like I just got handed the keys to a Godiva chocolate store!

Thanks for the 24 hour info. I'll give it a go again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

You've already succeeded with your first bid, so you don't need much more advice, but for future reference and for others who are considering Priceline, I would make one suggestion:

Use Priceline to get a splurge-worthy hotel at a bargain rate. If you normally stay in 3* or higher hotels, don't bid for anything less than a 4*, or you could end up being very disappointed. If you are a super-budget traveller, i.e. someone who stays in hostels or 1* hotels, then you might try for a 3* hotel in your hostel-1* price range.

Tonight I went back to Priceline and started bidding again for the second leg of my London stay. I was shot down yesterday at $73.

I started the bidding at $75 (Bloomsbury). Got rejected and was countered at $88. Added Mayfair/Soho and bid $81. Rejected again and countered again at $88.

Added Westminster and bid $85. Got rejected and countered with $88.

Since $88 seems to be the cut off price, I accepted the $88. Mind you this segment includes the Labor Day weekend (if that makes a difference in the U.K.). And, the extra $12 isn't going to kill me.

Overall, I'm pretty please with the prices and hotels I got. I get to experience 2 different hotels, which should be fun.

Funny thing is, these 8 nights are costing me less than the 4 nights in Edinburgh. I didn't use Priceline there because I wanted a really nice place to stay on the last leg of my trip.

Thanks for all the help and info. Now it's time to plan my itineray. I just sent off for a ticket to see the Ceremony of the Keys.

What is your second hotel?

I got the Thistle Marble Arch for $88 (plus taxes and fees) in June. I probably could have gotten it for a few dollars lower, since I didn't start too low based on what others were getting it for. So $70 in August sounds good to me.

Oops, sorry. I was so excited I forgot. Thistle Charing Cross.

You will be very pleased with the Thistle Charing Cross. You can just hop a bus from the Thistle Marble Arch (there is space for luggage on the buses) over to Thistle Charing Cross.

I am soooooo looking forward to this vacation! Haven't been on a real vacation in 4 years!

rkkwan, many thanks for your short tutorial. I'm one of those who looked at Priceline some time ago, got a headache and put it in the too-hard basket - your guide has revived my interest.

A general question: as a general rule, how soon before travelling should one start bidding? We're about 15 weeks away from a trip, and I'm wondering whether the deals tend to get better the later you wait. Or is it just best to start early to take advantage of greater availability and be prepared to pay a few more dollars?

I don't think there is necessarily a "best" time to start bidding on Priceline. Generally I've seen people starting to bid around 2-3 months prior, but I have seen great deals being won both way in advance and at the last minute.

If you are targeting specific hotels or zones, keep checking biddingfortravel.com to see if winning bids at those hotels or zones are being posted for around your dates of travel. See what the winning bid amounts are and decide if that's a good price for you.

I would also take a look at some of the older winning bids to see if you can get an idea of the lowest price won for that hotel or zone you're considering.

I placed my bid for a London hotel more than 8 months in advance because I saw that people were posting their winning bids for the June 2006 timeframe. That's how I got the Thistle Marble Arch for $55 per night.

When bidding on a city that I know nothing about, I do a lot of research.

First, I go into Priceline as rkkwan has suggested and get to the zones map for that city, then I print out that map.

Next, I go into BFT and start charting the bids, and the star level.

E.g., I'll list 4* Downtown with their most recent bids:
Hilton $55, $65, $75, $60
Marriott $90, $85
Hyatt $100

This way, I know that the hotel I'll most likely get in the downtown area is the Hilton at, maybe, a low of $55. This would particularly be true if BFT shows a number of recent winning bids, all at the Hilton.

If I don't like the results of this search, I choose another zone and do the same thing.

I also read the reviews of the hotels in BFT as well as in Tripadvisor and, sometimes, Mytravelguide and Yahoo.

In Toronto, e.g., I got the Courtyard in Markham for $35 (this was a couple of years ago!). It was very, very clean; the room was huge, the staff very friendly - all in all, a terrific bargain, even tho it was a 30-minute drive from DT Toronto.

Morale of the story: if you do a lot of research for a new city, you'll pretty much know which hotel you will get and at what price. I often end up with having to place only one bid, the winning bid.

I start bidding as soon as I'm certain I will going on that trip. Like after I book my plane ticket.

Good job and congratulations. Have stayed in priceline rooms at Holiday Inn Kensington Forum and St. James Crowne Plaza in London, both fine and VERY inexpensive. Makes sense to save money on this, and you're protected from big increases if the dollar moves downward.

I'm another who starts shopping as soon as I know I'm going.

Though the advice on BFT is usually to wait until closer to your dates to start bidding, I bid off and on very early. I am convinced that Priceline inventory, nowadays, is more likely to decrease than increase. As hotel fill rates increase for your dates, rooms available to Priceline decrease. (This has changed since after 9/11 when travel was down.)

I've also had fabulous luck with Priceline packages, where you can pick the hotel and your flight times. Year before last, we stayed at Millennium Bailey's with round trip air from Boston on Virgin Atlantic for $1600 (including the optional trip insurance).

It is prudent, though, to thoroughly understand the advice on BFT and keep an eye on the winning bids.

Another option might be the new www.base2stay.com hotel in Kensington (well, they say they're in Kensington but they're closest to the Earl's Court tube). TA reviews are mixed; apparently the singles are quite small.

A tip I learned from BiddingforTravel: When you're presented with a counter offer, rebid for half that offer. Worth a try!