Priceline Bidding - Free Rebids
March 24th, 2007Utilizing “free rebids” is basically a method for repeating Priceline bids without waiting 24 hours between each rejection. You effectively keep the same bidding criteria, but get faster results.
It’s a little confusing, so I definitely recommend that you already have some familiarity with Priceline (read about it and look at it) before trying to figure this method out.
-The city you are bidding in has many areas or “zones” on Priceline
-You are bidding for a 4-star hotel
-It’s important to you that you win a hotel in a particular zone
The strategy is made possible by the fact that not all Priceline zones in large regions offer high star level hotels. Remember from “A Priceline Primer,” you can place another bid immediately after a failed bid if you either reduce your minimum star level requirement, or if you add another zone to your bid. Adding a zone means that you have to be willing to accept winning a hotel in that zone as well.
Except if that zone doesn’t have any participating hotels in the high star levels you are bidding on. If you add a zone like that, you know you won’t win a hotel in that zone because none of the hotels there meet your star criteria.
To say it another way, here’s BiddingForTravel’s definition: “A free re-bid is adding a zone that has only up to a lower quality level than you are bidding, to a rejected bid.”
OK, time for a concrete example. This was a scenario I faced when booking a hotel for my husband’s business trip to Washington DC: I want a 4-star hotel only in the Downtown/White House zone so that he can walk to his meeting. I do some research and place a first bid at maybe $70, just for the White House zone. My offer is not accepted.
Now I have two options: Wait 24 hours and try again with a slightly higher price OR find some free re-bid zones.
How do I find out which zones are free re-bids?
1. Go to Priceline’s Name Your Own Price Step 1 - “Choose where you want to stay.” This lists all the possible zones for the area, in this case Washington DC and there are 8 different zones. I need to check each one individually to see what star levels are offered in it. I do this by checking the box next to the zone…
2. And then looking at Step 2 - “Choose the star level for your hotel.” If there are any star levels not available in that zone, that star level will be grayed out. Then look at the next zone by checking it and unchecking the selection of the first zone. (It’s very important that you only have one zone box checked at a time; otherwise you can’t isolate availability)
Here are results for DC zones:
Alexandria/Old Town - No 4-star hotels
Arlington - No 4-star hotels
Convention Center/Capitol Hill - All star levels available
Crystal City - No 4-star or 1-star hotels
Dupont Circle/Woodley Park - No 1-star hotels
Georgetown/Foggy Bottom - No 2.5-star hotels
Springfield - No 4 or 3-star hotels
White House/Downtown - All star levels available
So which zones are free rebids for my 4-star search? Alexandria, Arlington, Crystal City, and Springfield - none of them have any 4-star hotels participating with Priceline.
My next step is to add one of those zones to my Downtown/White House bid, and increase my offer price. So I’ll submit a bid for $75 in the Downtown/White House and Alexandria zones. If that’s rejected as well, I’ll try $80 in Downtown/White House and Alexandria and Arlington zones. Because there are 4 zones without 4-star hotels, I have up to 4 extra chances (free rebids!) to win a 4-star hotel in my desired area around the White House.
Let’s say my offer is finally accepted at $85, on my 3rd rebid. The hotel I won is still guaranteed to be in the White House zone!
Some additional thoughts:
1. Notice that if I were looking for a 3-star hotel around the White House, I would have 1 free rebid. Springfield doesn’t have any 4 or 3-star hotels, so I can add that zone knowing that I won’t win anything in it.
2. So does that mean there are two free rebids for 1-star hotels? As you can see, Crystal City and Dupont Circle/Woodley Park don’t offer 1-star accommodations . Unfortunately, the strategy doesn’t work here, because Priceline can automatically upgrade you to a higher star level than what you are bidding on. This means that if I bid for a 1-star hotel in the White House zone, and then add Crystal City, I run the risk of being “upgraded” and winning a 2-star hotel in Crystal City. You’re only safe to rebid in zones that only offer hotels at lower star levels than your bid.
3. The Priceline zones and/or star levels offered in each zone can change at any time. You need to check exactly what’s available every time you try to use free rebids.
4. For other explanations of what free re-bids are and how to use them, read BiddingForTravel -> Hotels -> Hotel FAQ -> #9 What is a free re-bid? and BetterBidding -> Tips and Tricks for Priceline-> General Priceline Tips -> “Bidding Again before 72 Hours” (has changed to 24 hours)
5. There is even a next level of free re-bidding, involving permutations. I haven’t tried it, but if you’re interested, go to BiddingForTravel-> Hotels-> “Advanced Free Re-Bidding for Experienced Hotel Bidders” and follow the link.
Do you need to understand this long explanation to use Priceline? Nope. Especially since the wait for regular re-bids has dropped from 72 hours to 24, you may as well just wait a day and bid the same criteria again. But if you’re in a time crunch and can’t wait a few days, or if you just like immediate gratification, free re-bidding is a good trick to know.
(Part 1: A Priceline Primer
Part 2: Priceline Resources)