I am researching hotels at Port Columbus Airport Ohio for 27th & 28th May for DD and SIL. They are flying NZ to LAX, arrive LAX 12.30pm then leave for Ohio at 3.30pm arriving Ohio 12.55am.

They want a hotel that has a 24 hour shuttle from the airport but I don't think this can be guareenteed using Priceline can it?

I have been looking at Biddingfortravel and Better Bidding but only seems to be 2 star hotels in the airport zone. The hotel list seems very old too, done in 2003, how can you get a current list?

Thanks for your help

The date of the biddingfortravel post on hotels is the date that it was originally set up; at the bottom of the list will be a note about when it was most recently updated. Those are the only lists there are.

Priceline gives bidders no say in whether the hotel they win has any specific services such as an airport shuttle.

It can work, and here's why.

Priceline has a 3* category for CMH-Gahanna. People have reported the Radisson, which is now a Marriott. It also has a 2.5 category, which has come up as the Courtyard.

No other hotels have been reported, which doesn't mean much, but I don't think there are other 2.5 - 3* hotels in that zone that is NOT an airport hotel from a major chain.

So, they should be fairly confident that it'll be an airport hotel with a shuttle.

I search for those dates, and cheapest airport hotel is the Best Western for $88. The Marriott is $195.

So, if they win a bid on 3* for say $60, and even in the worse case scenario that they have to take a taxi to such nameless 3* hotel, they'll still come out ahead.

I will definitely try 3* and 2.5* for this zone.

Thanks rwkkan, I will give it a try tonight.

If you have no success, do a bit of searching on www.kayak.com and www.travelocity.com.

Just tried priceline but live in New Zealand, seems I can only use it if I live in the US or Canada. Is this correct, or is there a way for international customers to book hotels using this method.

Arriving in Ohio at 12:55 AM - I am not sure, Priceline or not, you are going to find a hotel with a shuttle that operates at that hour.

The cheapest hotel at the airport is the Baymont Inn. We stayed there last year and will again in a couple weeks before leaving on an early flight. The shuttle is 24 hours - the staff was excellent and the rooms were ok enough for us to stay multiple times. Hope this helps.

Even if the shuttle isn't running, or if the hotel has no shuttle at all; if they're staying at the airport, they can take a taxi from the terminal to the hotel for a few dollars.

According to the very helpful web site, biddingfortravel.com (BFT), it is possible for non-US residents to use PL. They must have a major credit card, which in the US usually means Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Check the PL web site to see if others might also be acceptable.

Another obstacle that foreign bidders sometimes encounter is (as BFT puts it) "making your foreign address look like a US one". In other words, our postal codes have 5 digits so that's what you must enter in the PL form, etc. The BFT FAQ has some specific suggestions:

http://p198.ezboard.com/NonUS-Reside...opicID=6.topic

nelsonian -

Try the UK site:

www.priceline.co.uk/nyop.html

or the Hong Kong site (see the blue box halfway down on the left):

travel.priceline.com.hk/eng/retailair/select.aspx

I've read that these two Priceline sites have "Name Your Own Price" that work with international addresses and credit cards.

Arriving into Columbus at that hour doesn't sound right. Are you sure it's Columus? It may be Cincinnati which is about an hour south of Columbus. You might check before you book the hotel.

Southwest WN95 LAS-CMH 5:55p-12:55a+1. It is definitely correct.

The OP is probably connecting from WN2907, which is now 3:40p-4:45p LAX-LAS.

Baynont hotels are now a part of the La Quinta chain.

If you can get a good price on this particular hotel from the La Quinta website, I'd definitely just book directly with the hotel website. Always cancellable 24 hours ahead of time.

http://www.lq.com/lq/index.jsp

The La Quinta Columbus Ohio Airport location is currently listed at about $75 a night.

While some airport shuttles may operate 24 hours, at non busy airports (Columbus, for example as compared to LAX), the every 20 minute schedule may dwindle to every hour or even less. So just miss one shuttle and wait another hour or longer to get the next? I'd take the advice of not worrying about getting a taxi in such an event, rather than give up the possibility of big savings.

Travelbuff, I'm curious why you thought it couldn't be Columbus at that hour?

Easytraveler:
You may be correct about Baymont being connected to La Quinta, but I think they are Triprewards and now affiliated with Wyndham. The website shows the hotel you are thinking of as being in Reynoldsburg with no airport shuttle. There is a Baymont on the site of Columbus airport that does have a shuttle. I can update after May 10th if anybody is interested.

Baymont was sold to La Quinta in 2004, but it was then sold to Wyndham in 2006. Some properties that used to be Baymont had been converted to La Quinta and has remained La Quinta.

ccolor

What rate did you manage to get for the Baymont Inn. I still haven't been brave enough to try Priceline, some of the 2.5 star hotels don't seem to have 24 hour check-in which will be a necessity.

nelsonian:

We got 76.00 for one night, but I don't remember what site I went to to find it. It may have been through Triprewards with either a AAA or AARP discount. Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

I'm also surprised that a flight comes in to CMH at 12:55. That airport quiets down pretty much after 11-12 PM - or then again, maybe I have just been asleep by then and didn't notice. That's probably more likely.

All of those hotels will have 24-hour check-in. I have never stayed at chain hotel/motel in the US, no matter how crappy, that doesn't have that. They'll always have a night shift clerk.

Thanks again,for your advice.

Rwkan when I have read the web-sites for some of the hotels they say they don't have 24 hour reception. Are you saying they will still have someone on hand to book people in at that ungodly hour of the morning. If so I will have another try on Priceline.

I did try last night started off at $ 45.00 for three star, wasn't very hopeful, then tried the same price for a 2.5 star with no luck. I will raise the price today to $ 50.00.