Big cities are notorious for wrecking your budget.
But I landed rooms in Chicago and Detroit at $50 USD or less. These were not far-flung locations, but prime business addresses.
First, the Raphael Hotel Chicago, one block east of Michigan Avenue at the John Hancock Center: Priceline bid: $48 Room rate shown on hotel Web site: $133 USD. Best discount rate found: $95. Savings on Priceline: $47 USD X three nights=$141
This budget hotel is in a prime location. Some reviewers on the Internet have posted bad notices, but we found it quite nice.
As an aside, never sacrifice cleanliness or safety. The two-star Raphael was both clean and safe. Their elevator is a little slow.
The lesson learned here is that although I did fairly well, I could have done even better.
The very same day as I secured the Raphael, someone posted a lower successful bid on BiddingForTravel in the same zone. They got a four-star hotel.
So on my next trip, to Detroit, I decided to set my sights on a four.
Detroit appears to have only one such Priceline client, the Westin Southfield.
Understand that there is no way to make that statement with any certainty. Priceline's inventory changes constantly.
But BiddingForTravel does a good job of tracking the changes as loyal posters send updates to the Web site.
So, I was able to bid on four-stars in some Detroit zones, knowing only one had such a property. The idea was to get plenty of bidding tries, but it only took two.
Here, Priceline made a counteroffer. Rather than turn down the first bid of $45 USD, I was told to increase the bid to $62.
Instead, I added $5 and another zone. Priceline bid: $50 Room rate shown on hotel Web site: $97-249 USD. Best discount rate found: $81. Savings on Priceline: $31
So far, I've saved more than $300 on five nights of lodging in large cities. Click "next" and find out about some smaller cities and Priceline bidding.
