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April 1, 2005
Priceline for the Timid III: More pre-bid research
FURTHER BIDDING RESEARCH - CHECKING OTHER SITES
Check Hotwire
- Hotwire is almost always more expensive for the same properties, so if any of them can be identified with the assistance of the lists on Better Bidding (there aren’t any at Bidding for Travel), it gives you an idea of a bidding ceiling.
- Star ratings on Hotwire vs. Star ratings on Priceline. Each company uses their own system of rating, and they are not standardized. Hotwire’s are usually, but not always, slightly higher, so a 2.5* hotel on Priceline might be 3* on Hotwire.
- In Philadelphia, Hotwire has a 4.5* in the City Center East zone for $107 a night. According to Better Bidding, this might be the Westin, which is offering a prepaid $209 rate on its site. And in the Waterfront zone there’s a 4* that’s twice the price of everyone else at $249. Look at the amenities. . .yup, it’s the Hyatt Penns Landing, which must be hosting something that weekend.
- The only hotels identified at the Better Bidding DC forum for the Kennedy Center area are 4.5* hotels, and what showed up here are a 4* and 3* hotel for $110 and $117 respectively. Worth noting in other zones were two inexpensive options, a 3* in the Capital Hill area for $57/night that is probably the Phoenix Park Hotel and a 2* in the South of Mall area for $50/night that is probably the Capitol Hill Suites. Should nothing acceptable pan out near the Kennedy Center, both would probably be available for less on Priceline.
- And for poor Birmingham? Well, Hotwire will give me a room in Birmingham Alabama, but not Birmingham England.
Create an Imaginary Vacation Package on Priceline
- Priceline Vacations offers packages with opaque air but transparent hotel, and many of the hotels also give inventory for opaque bidding.
- In order to get the least distortion from the bundled air/hotel price, search for an imaginary vacation package for one adult for your dates and city. Make the departure city a major gateway city such as New York; it doesn’t matter which but it helps to have an idea of what the ballpark airfare would be from the departure city to the destination. Sort the results by price. Make a note of the cheapest hotels coming up in your zone and star level. Those are the most likely hotels to win on an opaque bid. Don’t assume anything, but it helps you with an educated guess.
Here's what I came up with in Washington
- Phoenix Park 3* Capitol Hill $273
- Club Quarters 2.5* Downtown $371
- Court Yard Embassy Row 2.5* Downtown $374
- Holiday Inn Central 3* Downtown $378
- Melrose 4* Georgetown $400
- Omni Shoreham 4* Bouffant Circle $459
- Marriott Westend 3* Georgetown $485
Q: Did you hear about the woman who got assaulted in Dupont Circle?A:
Four guys held her down while the fifth did her hair.
Philadelphia – all Downtown Zone (creating a flight from Boston rather than NY - flights from NY to Philadelphia cost a fortune because they're rare)
- Crowne Plaza 3* $380
- Radisson Warwick 3* $391
- Courtyard by Marriott 2.5* $482
- Club Quarters 3* $484
- Marriott Downtown 3* $505
Again, Birmingham is the poor sibling. No vacation packages, unless you feel like going to Alabama.
Some English on the ball: Priceline’s inventory is not static. When I checked these same packages three days ago, in DC, the Marriott Westend package was $519, and the Melrose was $422. Both have dropped. In Philadelphia, the Courtyard was less than the Crowne Plaza. Alas, I didn’t make a note of exact figures – be sure you do. These changes will probably factor into opaque bidding as well.
You think you're ready to bid?
Well, not quite. There's just a little more to go in the next post!
Posted by Leigh Witchel at April 1, 2005 1:11 AM
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