Have you ever planned to start a Priceline bid, had three or four rebid zones, and wished you had many more? Maybe youd like to use one or two for true lowball bids, just to see if they could work. Or maybe youre wanting to increase your bid only $1 per rebid attempt, just to make sure you get accepted at the lowest possible price. Well, read on--this may be good news for you!
Many BFT users who have read the Hotel FAQ are under the belief that the number of free rebids available is equal to the number of free rebid zones in the bidding area. This is true if you have zero or one free rebid zone available--but if you have muptiple free rebid zones to work with, this is not the case, and the number of free rebids can be significantly higher! The secret is to have an understanding of the concept of permutation bidding. By doing this, you can increase your number of free rebids as follows:
Free rebid zones: 0
Free rebids (traditional method): 0
Free rebids (permutation method): 0
Free rebid zones: 1
Free rebids (traditional method): 1
Free rebids (permutation method): 1
Free rebid zones: 2
Free rebids (traditional method): 2
Free rebids (permutation method): 3
Free rebid zones: 3
Free rebids (traditional method): 3
Free rebids (permutation method): 7
Free rebid zones: 4
Free rebids (traditional method): 4
Free rebids (permutation method): 15
Free rebid zones: 5
Free rebids (traditional method): 5
Free rebids (permutation method): 31
So how does this work???
When you place a bid involving multiple zones (usually your desired zone plus one or more free rebid zones), Priceline recognizes the bid as a unique (and therefore acceptable) bid if the combination of zones is not an exact duplicate of a previously bid combination, AND if the combination isnt IN ITS ENTIRETY a PORTION of a previously bid combination. This means, for example, that if youve previously bid on zones A/B/C, you could not now bid on zones A/C (that combination was part of your previous bid), but you can now bid on zones A/B/D (a completely new combination), or on A/B/C/D (adding a zone), among many others.
So how do you maximize your possible free rebids? USE EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION, and IN THE CORRECT ORDER so you dont cancel out any of your unused free rebids!
But how can you bid on A/B/D, when the rejection screen from your previous A/B/C bid doesnt allow you to remove C? The secret is to START A BRAND NEW BID. When you do this, you can create any zone combination you want. It is key to maximizing your rebids--in fact, to truly maximize them, youll need to start a new bid on every other attempt, as youll see below. To start a new bid, just go back to the main Priceline screen (using the A-B link, of course!), and go through the bid process like youre just starting.
With that, you should be ready to go! Start by assigning letters to all your zones. Give the letter X to your desired zone, and A, B, C, etc., to all your available free rebid zones. (These zones are determined in exactly the same way as traditional bidding.) Then simply start working your way down the appropriate list below! You'll cover every possible combination, avoid eliminating possible rebids by using a combination too soon, and minimize the frequency of needing to start brand new bids.
For one free rebid zone:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
For two free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
For three free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
Rebid #4) New bid: XC
Rebid #5) Rebid screen: XC, add A
Rebid #6) New bid: XBC
Rebid #7) Rebid screen: XBC, add A
For four free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
Rebid #4) New bid: XC
Rebid #5) Rebid screen: XC, add A
Rebid #6) New bid: XBC
Rebid #7) Rebid screen: XBC, add A
Rebid #8 ) New bid: XD
Rebid #9) Rebid screen: XD, add A
Rebid #10) New bid: XBD
Rebid #11) Rebid screen: XBD, add A
Rebid #12) New bid: XCD
Rebid #13) Rebid screen: XCD, add A
Rebid #14) New bid: XBCD
Rebid #15) Rebid screen: XBCD, add A
Have five free rebid zones? Just make a copy of the entire list of rebids for four zones (including the original bid), paste that copy at the end of the four zone list, and add the letter E to the end of each zone--youll now have 31 rebids. (Note that to make the four rebid zone list above, I simply copied the three rebid zone list and pasted it onto the end of itself, adding the letter D to the copy, thus creating rebids #8 through #15.)
And thats all there is to it! If you have multiple acceptable desired zones, you can do the appropriate list above for each zone independently, or for all those zones combined.
I hope that helps! Good luck!
--Bill
Many BFT users who have read the Hotel FAQ are under the belief that the number of free rebids available is equal to the number of free rebid zones in the bidding area. This is true if you have zero or one free rebid zone available--but if you have muptiple free rebid zones to work with, this is not the case, and the number of free rebids can be significantly higher! The secret is to have an understanding of the concept of permutation bidding. By doing this, you can increase your number of free rebids as follows:
Free rebid zones: 0
Free rebids (traditional method): 0
Free rebids (permutation method): 0
Free rebid zones: 1
Free rebids (traditional method): 1
Free rebids (permutation method): 1
Free rebid zones: 2
Free rebids (traditional method): 2
Free rebids (permutation method): 3
Free rebid zones: 3
Free rebids (traditional method): 3
Free rebids (permutation method): 7
Free rebid zones: 4
Free rebids (traditional method): 4
Free rebids (permutation method): 15
Free rebid zones: 5
Free rebids (traditional method): 5
Free rebids (permutation method): 31
So how does this work???
When you place a bid involving multiple zones (usually your desired zone plus one or more free rebid zones), Priceline recognizes the bid as a unique (and therefore acceptable) bid if the combination of zones is not an exact duplicate of a previously bid combination, AND if the combination isnt IN ITS ENTIRETY a PORTION of a previously bid combination. This means, for example, that if youve previously bid on zones A/B/C, you could not now bid on zones A/C (that combination was part of your previous bid), but you can now bid on zones A/B/D (a completely new combination), or on A/B/C/D (adding a zone), among many others.
So how do you maximize your possible free rebids? USE EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION, and IN THE CORRECT ORDER so you dont cancel out any of your unused free rebids!
But how can you bid on A/B/D, when the rejection screen from your previous A/B/C bid doesnt allow you to remove C? The secret is to START A BRAND NEW BID. When you do this, you can create any zone combination you want. It is key to maximizing your rebids--in fact, to truly maximize them, youll need to start a new bid on every other attempt, as youll see below. To start a new bid, just go back to the main Priceline screen (using the A-B link, of course!), and go through the bid process like youre just starting.
With that, you should be ready to go! Start by assigning letters to all your zones. Give the letter X to your desired zone, and A, B, C, etc., to all your available free rebid zones. (These zones are determined in exactly the same way as traditional bidding.) Then simply start working your way down the appropriate list below! You'll cover every possible combination, avoid eliminating possible rebids by using a combination too soon, and minimize the frequency of needing to start brand new bids.
For one free rebid zone:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
For two free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
For three free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
Rebid #4) New bid: XC
Rebid #5) Rebid screen: XC, add A
Rebid #6) New bid: XBC
Rebid #7) Rebid screen: XBC, add A
For four free rebid zones:
First bid) New bid: X
Rebid #1) Rebid screen: X, add A
Rebid #2) New bid: XB
Rebid #3) Rebid screen: XB, add A
Rebid #4) New bid: XC
Rebid #5) Rebid screen: XC, add A
Rebid #6) New bid: XBC
Rebid #7) Rebid screen: XBC, add A
Rebid #8 ) New bid: XD
Rebid #9) Rebid screen: XD, add A
Rebid #10) New bid: XBD
Rebid #11) Rebid screen: XBD, add A
Rebid #12) New bid: XCD
Rebid #13) Rebid screen: XCD, add A
Rebid #14) New bid: XBCD
Rebid #15) Rebid screen: XBCD, add A
Have five free rebid zones? Just make a copy of the entire list of rebids for four zones (including the original bid), paste that copy at the end of the four zone list, and add the letter E to the end of each zone--youll now have 31 rebids. (Note that to make the four rebid zone list above, I simply copied the three rebid zone list and pasted it onto the end of itself, adding the letter D to the copy, thus creating rebids #8 through #15.)
And thats all there is to it! If you have multiple acceptable desired zones, you can do the appropriate list above for each zone independently, or for all those zones combined.
I hope that helps! Good luck!
--Bill
