When bidding in a smaller (non-metropolitan, without multiple bidding zones) cities, Priceline often indicates that this is the only zone in the area, making it appear that there are no free rebids available. In other instances, Priceline will list mutliple cities to bid from--some of which might allow for free rebids. However, in both these situations, other free rebid possibilities may be available. By starting your bid in a different nearby city, Priceline will sometimes list other nearby cities with Priceline hotels, in addition to your desired city, and these other cities may be free rebid zones.
The site moderators have set up a thread in the Forum Suggestions section for members to list such free rebid possibilities. Link. I've come up with the following 'recipe' for determining if there are rebids for a small town. I think it should work quite consistently--it seems to have for me--but if there are problems with this recipe, feel free to shoot holes in it.. As you find zones, please help out your fellow BFTers and post them on the thread!
1) Determine if the city you're wanting a hotel in even has Priceline hotels, and if so, what star levels they're available at. Other than entering it in and checking by pretending to start a bid, a good way of doing this is by going to Priceline's list of cities they have hotels in: Priceline's city list
2) Using this same list, and a map, determine if there are any other cities within about 60 miles of your desired city that a) are on the Priceline list, and b) have a maximum star rating lower than your desired city's maximum star rating. These are your *potential* rebid zones. (The further these rebid zones are from your desired city, the lower the chance that the next step will work.)
3) Again using the list and a map, look for a city which is approximately mid-way between your desired city and each potential rebid zone, which is NOT on the Priceline list. If the desired city and the potential rebid city are close together, pick any city that is within roughly 30 miles of BOTH cities. This will be your bidding city. Priceline seems pretty good at recognizing even tiny cities, so if it appears on a map, odds are pretty good that it will work.
4) Start a Priceline bid, and enter the bidding city as your desired location. Priceline should come up with the ability to choose your desired city and the possible rebid. If so, you can now do your bid/rebid like any other bid. If Priceline doesn't come up with both, repeat step 3, and find a different bid city to try. (If your bid city is more than approximately 35 miles from either the desired city or the possible rebid city, it might not catch them. Also, if you're close to--but not within--a metro area with multiple bid zones, or even with just one zone that has a Priceline bid zone map, sometimes this won't work.)
One other note--If you are one to maximize your bids by using rebid permutations (turning, for example, three rebid zones into seven allowed rebids--for more info, click here), this will still allow you to do that--provided that you can find bidding cities that are within about 35 miles of multiple potential rebid cities, such that they all appear at one time. If the geography prevents that, you'll need to use each rebid city independently.
Good luck!
--Bill
The site moderators have set up a thread in the Forum Suggestions section for members to list such free rebid possibilities. Link. I've come up with the following 'recipe' for determining if there are rebids for a small town. I think it should work quite consistently--it seems to have for me--but if there are problems with this recipe, feel free to shoot holes in it.. As you find zones, please help out your fellow BFTers and post them on the thread!
1) Determine if the city you're wanting a hotel in even has Priceline hotels, and if so, what star levels they're available at. Other than entering it in and checking by pretending to start a bid, a good way of doing this is by going to Priceline's list of cities they have hotels in: Priceline's city list
2) Using this same list, and a map, determine if there are any other cities within about 60 miles of your desired city that a) are on the Priceline list, and b) have a maximum star rating lower than your desired city's maximum star rating. These are your *potential* rebid zones. (The further these rebid zones are from your desired city, the lower the chance that the next step will work.)
3) Again using the list and a map, look for a city which is approximately mid-way between your desired city and each potential rebid zone, which is NOT on the Priceline list. If the desired city and the potential rebid city are close together, pick any city that is within roughly 30 miles of BOTH cities. This will be your bidding city. Priceline seems pretty good at recognizing even tiny cities, so if it appears on a map, odds are pretty good that it will work.
4) Start a Priceline bid, and enter the bidding city as your desired location. Priceline should come up with the ability to choose your desired city and the possible rebid. If so, you can now do your bid/rebid like any other bid. If Priceline doesn't come up with both, repeat step 3, and find a different bid city to try. (If your bid city is more than approximately 35 miles from either the desired city or the possible rebid city, it might not catch them. Also, if you're close to--but not within--a metro area with multiple bid zones, or even with just one zone that has a Priceline bid zone map, sometimes this won't work.)
One other note--If you are one to maximize your bids by using rebid permutations (turning, for example, three rebid zones into seven allowed rebids--for more info, click here), this will still allow you to do that--provided that you can find bidding cities that are within about 35 miles of multiple potential rebid cities, such that they all appear at one time. If the geography prevents that, you'll need to use each rebid city independently.
Good luck!
--Bill
