Hi! Thanks for your help on many of my threads. I appreciate it. So you mentioned in my Charlotte accomodations thread to possibly try priceline.com.
Have you tried them before? I never have and I'm not really sure how it works.
Do I tell them I want a 4* hotel for the nights of 9/3 and 9/4 in center city, charlotte? If I state that, will they stick to my wishes or do you think I would be shipped out to colliseum area anyway if they don't have anything that fits my criteria (4*, center city, 9/3 and 9/4)? What about the dates...my dates aren't flexible b/c of our flights, will they just say that they don't have any available rooms for those dates if they can't accomodate me or will they switch my itinerary around and charge me for whatever dates they want whether or not i can go those dates?
Also, when do you finally find out which hotel they have selected for you? Do you get an email w/ your information right after you pay for it?
I know that you have to be careful about giving someone your cc without seeing what you are getting first, so I'm not trying to start a debate. lol I saw the other thread that spanned several seasons. lol But I'm not going to get all worried about what can/can't happen. I just would like an idea of how the process works.

Thanks!
Christy

Go to Biddingfortravel.com and see if any charlotte hotels come up there and for what price. When you bid on Priceline you are 1) bidding for a specific date. Always keep your stars high=4* in Charlotte. If you bid for center city, they will only place you there. Be very sure you have the exact dates correct when you bid--put in your bid (start lowish--if it isn't accepted you won't be able to bid for 3 days, I think). But if you could get a room downtown for $80-100 I think it would be a saving, maybe. You will just need to check the rates. There is no problem about the CC security. Just double check before you hit enter.

Hi! THanks for the help. I just went ahead and bid $45 figuring it wouldn't be accepted and it was! I couldn't believe it. I got the Hilton Charlotte Towers. The only thing I didn't think about before bidding is that parking if $14 a day..not a big deal though considering I'm saving $35 (compared to the LaQuinta i had previously booked), i get to be in Uptown, and it's a 'Hilton' compared to a LaQuinta. The only other thing I was surprised about was that there's no continental b/f... but there isn't one at the LaQuinta either, so that didn't really matter.
I was charged $110 (2 nights plus $20 taxes and fees). Is the tax/fee amount only associated with priceline? or is that what priceline charges plus the taxes that I would normally be paying? (in other words, will i be charged additional taxes/fees when I arrive for the taxes/fees that the hotel/state charges? I know i'll be charged for the parking permit).

No, the taxes and fees are the city taxes, etc. always on top of PL prices. It is all legit. You did good. You will Love it. The parking fee is also legit. Believe me. you did good.

Phone the hotel directly to make sure the process went smoothly on PL's end and that they have a record of your reservation. They probably will have a record, but it's best to be safe. Also, you can request a smoking/nonsmoking room, the kind of beds (twin, king, doubles), low/high floor, etc. that you want. No guarantees, but they'll have your requests on record. The hotel's direct telephone number should be in your confirming e-mail.

You got lucky this time! Please, please study up at www.biddingfortravel.com before you try using PL again.

I'm not connected in any way with BFT or PL, just a satisfied customer.

Thanks!
Yes, i did realize after talking with them that there probably isn't any parking in the city so it makes sense that you would pay to park. No big deal. I'm really satisfied with how everything went.
Besty, thanks for the tip. I did call right after I booked to confirm my reservation and they did have it on file. I asked them if i could request a non-smoking room and they told me that they will put it in the notes, but it's not guaranteed, which I was aware of, so that's fine. I also asked them about having a King size bed and he said that the room they have does specify a King size bed already, so that's good.
I don't really have a preference as to whether we are low or high.
I probably should have spent more time on biddingfortravel.com before I booked, but I did review it before booking. I didn't spend a whole lot of time there, though. I read the FAQ, but then I got antsy. lol I figured that the worst that could happen is that I don't get exactly what I want for $45...which isn't a big deal. It did say that there should be no worries about getting placed in a part of the city that you aren't wanting to be in b/c they do pay very close attention to the location you specify. And it also said that they won't switch dates on you. they will first tell you that those dates aren't available and then offer you other options. Those were my biggest worries so I felt confident that the worst case sinerio would be that it would have been one of the lesser of the hotels in uptown (even though i did specify a 4* --what one might consider a 4* someone else might consider a 2*, kwim?) and that still would have been better than a $73+tax/fees a night hotel in an area i wasn't interested in that was also located next to train tracks. So I didn't really feel I had much to lose. I'm very happy w/ how things went down.
And about the taxes/fees, that's really good news, however I wouldn't have been surprised if I had owed that later. lol I would have assumed I might owe those, i just wondered so that I would have that in our plans/budget when we get there.

Thanks for all the help!
Christy

PL is pretty good about their "stars" on hotels. Hotwire may shade theirs a bit lower but you do have to bid for 4* in most cases in order to be sure not to get something less. On BFT you can find out what hotels seem to be going for the number of stars. It's really good in NYC.
Also excellent for car rentals. Glad it worked out so well. I don't have occasion to try it in town, of course, so did not know.