In this strategy, the journeyman understands the rules set by Priceline and uses them to his advantage. For example, many cities have between five to 10 areas. However, only a handful of these areas have 4-Star Deluxe properties. The journeyman will know exactly how many “free bids” he has for 4-Star Deluxe properties within each city. For example, go to Priceline bidding, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. Baltimore has eight areas; however, if you click through each area, only Inner Harbor Area-Downtown allows you to bid on a 4-Star Deluxe property. Therefore, you have seven “free bids” for a 4-Star Deluxe property in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Next go to regular Priceline, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. In the drop down box, select Downtown-Inner Harbor and click on the Star Rating tab. On March 22, 2009, there are five 4-Star Deluxe hotels and they range in price from $229 to $339. The property for $229 is the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center, while the next cheapest property is the Hyatt Regency Baltimore at $269. The journeyman bidder knows he is likely to get one of these two properties, although there is a small chance he could get one of the other three properties on the list and a slight chance he may get a 4-Star Deluxe property that is not on the list. The journeyman bidder will also see the lowest price on the list ($229) and realize that the winning bid should be about half of that price ($115), but it could be anywhere from a third of the price ($75) to two thirds of the price ($150).
The journeyman will start with a $75 bid. If that bid is unsuccessful, he will add $5 to the bid, add one of the seven areas that DO NOT have a four star hotel and bid again. So on and so forth until either 1). the price is accepted or 2). he can no longer add any additional areas once he reaches a bid of $110. If he is unsuccessful, he will wait 24 hours, then start at Inner Harbor with a bid of $115. He will bid until he is either successful or reaches his limit, which in this case, would be $150.
If those prices are too high for some, let’s try 3 1/2-Star Upscale Plus. Go to Priceline bidding, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. Baltimore has eight areas; however, if you click through each area, only Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) and Inner Harbor Area-Downtown allow you to bid on a 3 1/2-Star Upscale Plus property. The Inner Harbor is the preferable location and we have six “free bids” in this area. Next go to regular Priceline, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. In the drop down box, select Downtown-Inner Harbor and click on the Star Rating tab. On March 22, 2009, there are two 3 1/2-Star Upscale Plus properties, Pier 5 Hotel at $229 and Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards for $279. It is likely we would get one of these two properties; however, the low ($75), median ($115) and high ($150) prices are identical to the 4-Star Deluxe properties above and if that’s the case, 4-Star Deluxe would be a better place to start.
Again, if those prices are too high, we will try the 3-Star Upscale rating. Keep in mind, however, that the lower the rating, the more common the property, the less “free bids” available. Go to Priceline bidding, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. Baltimore has eight areas; however, only two DO NOT have a 3-Star Upscale rating, Baltimore Stadium and Baltimore West. Therefore we only have two “free bids” for a 3-Star Upscale rating at the Inner Harbor. Go to regular Priceline, type in Baltimore, MD and hit submit. In the drop down box, select Downtown-Inner Harbor and click on the Star Rating tab. On March 22, 2009, there are 12 properties with a 3-Star Upscale rating, ranging from $103 to $229. Peabody Court is the cheapest, followed by Residence Inn. The likely winning price is between $35 and $70, which should fit most budgets.
The journeyman bidder will start at $35 for the Inner Harbor. If that bid is unsuccessful, he will bid $40 and add Baltimore Stadium. If that bid is unsuccessful, he will bid $45 and add Baltimore West. If he still does not get a room, he will wait 24 hours, then bid on the Inner Harbor ($50), Baltimore Stadium ($55) and Baltimore West ($60). If that doesn’t work, he will wait 24 hours and then bid $65, $70 and $75, which would be his limit.
As for timing, the journeyman bidder will wait until there is a week or less before his stay so that he can get a very good price. He will also leave a couple of days to spare in case he needs multiple days to bid.
