Using Priceline is a great way to get a hotel room at a discount. But how much should you bid? Here are some bidding guidelines gleaned from www.biddingfortravel.com. They run a great free service, so if you'd like to help them out, start your Priceline bidding through their referral link.

When coming for our 3 day training, you'll want to stay in the "Hotel Circle - Mission Valley West" area of San Diego. Our advice is to bid for a 3.5 star hotel (Hilton, Marriott, Doubletree, Sheraton) as it gives you the most re-bid opportunities (explained below). Please book your stay to include the night before your training so you can wake up and travel just the short 5-10 minutes to our office and be ready to go at 7:30 AM. And if you want to impress Ward, get there on Lombardi time, 7:15 AM.

What can you do if you're not successful with your first bid on Priceline? Well, you can re-bid, as long as you change something about your offer, other than the price. Priceline requires you to change your travel dates, or room star rating, or widen your area. Obviously you can't change your travel dates, and you probably don't want to change your hotel quality.

So here's how you change your bid. Expand the area! Don't worry, you'll still be staying in Mission Valley. Choose an area that has a lower star rating than "Hotel Circle - Mission Valley". You effectively get a "free" re-bid, and yet you don't have to stay in the lower quality hotel or area. Currently as of December 15, 2011, San Diego County has ten zones that have less than a 3.5 star rating. That gives 1024 bidding permutations! NOTE!! Do not change the star level, just the area!

VERY IMPORTANT POINT: If Priceline adds a 3.5 star hotel to one of the free rebid zones areas mentioned above, you could end up staying there! The chart below is current as of December 15, 2011.

Here are the detailed instructions on how to bid:

Go to Priceline using referral link mentioned above.
Make sure you're using the "Name Your Own Price" form! Choose San Diego, put in your travel dates, and submit the form.
Check the box next to Hotel Circle - Mission Valley West and go to the next section.
Choose 3.5 stars, bid $55 bucks, enter your name, and then complete the process.
Got your room? Congratulations!! If not, continue below.
1. Do not accept counter offer, if given one.
2. Change your offer by adding the El Cajon area.
3. Increase bid to $60 and complete the process. You could bid in smaller increments, if you want.
4. Got your room? Congratulations!! If not, continue below.
  1. Do not accept counter offer, if given one.
  2. Start a whole new bid, with new zones. That means go back to the beginning! It's important to start all over again, in order to maximize the number of unique combinations of bids. We'll change the zones in step 5.
  3. Start over again at Priceline using referral link mentioned above.
  4. Make sure you're using the "Name Your Own Price" form! Choose San Diego, put in your travel dates, and submit the form.
  5. Check the boxes next to Hotel Circle - Mission Valley West and Escondido, go to the next section.
  6. Choose 3.5 stars, bid $65 bucks (or whatever your next increment is), enter your name, and then complete the process.
  7. Got your room? Congratulations!! If not, continue below.
    1. Do not accept counter offer, if given one.
    2. Change your offer by adding the El Cajon area.
    3. Increase your bid to $70 bucks (or whatever your next increment is), enter your name, and then complete the process.
    4. Got your room? Congratulations!! If not, continue below.
      1. Now that you understand the procedure, use the chart below to continue bidding and re-bidding.
      2. You should consider bidding in $3-$5 increments, though you could go in $1 increments if you have all day. The Excel chart link below has 128 permutations!

To summarize: (Download the handy spreadsheet)

Bid # Bid Type Area Quality Suggested Bid

1 New Bid Hotel Circle 3.5 Star $55

2 Re-Bid, add zone El Cajon Hotel Circle, El Cajon 3.5 Star $60

3 New Bid, Start Over Hotel Circle, Escondido 3.5 Star $65

4 Re-Bid, add zone El Cajon Hotel Circle, Escondido, El Cajon 3.5 Star $70

5 New Bid, Start Over Hotel Circle, La Mesa 3.5 Star $75

6 Re-Bid, add zone El Cajon Hotel Circle, La Mesa, El Cajon 3.5 Star $80

7 New Bid, Start Over Hotel Circle, Escondido, La Mesa 3.5 Star $85

8 Re-Bid, add zone El Cajon Hotel Circle, Escondido, La Mesa, El Cajon 3.5 Star $90

Now that you got the idea, you can keep bidding in increments until you get your room. Here's an Excel spreadsheet with up to 128 permutations to help you bid for San Diego or wherever else you are traveling, www.foreclosureforum.com/forms/priceline-bidding-sheet.xls

Information provided by this website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult your investment advisor and/or attorney before entering into any transaction. Read our privacy policy.

InnoVest Resource Management, 4569-A Mission Gorge Place, San Diego CA 92120-4112
(619) 283-5444, Fax (619) 283-5455