DO YOUR HOMEWORK !

[PierreandBetty]

Hello everyone:



I've only recently started entering the Community chat so maybe this subject has beencovered before.



My husband and I wanted to spend a few days in Montreal for a birthday in April. We therefore put in the starting bid of $395 on a $1121 retailvalue package at the Hotel XIX Sicle. We then went to the website for driving directions. As soon as we entered the website we got pop-ups about discounted rates and 'stay 3 nights pay for 2' etc. We therefore filled in the "check availability" on the home page: 3 nights in a Junior Suite and put in the dates we wanted in April. Well a Junior Suite for 3 days plus taxes including buffet breakfast came out at $380. Even adding taxes it would still be less than the starting bid plus auction fees. The only extra on the package was a bottle of sparkling wine (we could bring our own) and one drink at the bar (which we probably wouldn't have used). Were we ever glad when we were outbid!



This is probably an exception, we might have logged in just as a promotion was being offered but it wouldn't hurt to check the website before putting in your bid.



Regards.

[jashermd]

Hello,

I definitely agree that it's a good idea to check rates at the hotel (and elsewhere on the Internet) before bidding. The LL packages are almost always very good value for money compared to rack rate, but sometimes there are better deals from the hotel or online through sites like hotels.com

Cheers,
Julian

[lhbrown]

Hi everyone,

Yes, it is always a good idea to do your homework! and I did..... Sometimes, however, the best layed plans will back fire. We auctioned the LL Andrassy Hotel in Budapest for 4 nights, including one dinner last Fall for a visit in March of this year. When I made our reservation, earlier this month, I also checked out the Andrassy hotel site while I was at it. I found that because of the Winter Festival they are having in Budapest, the Andrassy Hotel (and many other hotels too) is offering a free night when you pay for 3 under the Pay for 3 nights, stay for 4 promotion. This makes our LL package really not such a good deal any more since we are paying for 4 nights. It looks like LL is not passing on the savings since the LL auction offering has actually gone up in price since we auctioned the Andrassy package last Fall.

[imbues]

Hi PierreandBetty, I also noticed that about this property. Thanks for posting about it. You do need to check out the properties website, call them and look at Trip Advisor before bidding. Not every property listed here is a good value.

Are you a Canuck?

PierreandBetty wrote:

Hello everyone:



I've only recently started entering the Community chat so maybe this subject has beencovered before.



My husband and I wanted to spend a few days in Montreal for a birthday in April. We therefore put in the starting bid of $395 on a $1121 retailvalue package at the Hotel XIX Sicle. We then went to the website for driving directions. As soon as we entered the website we got pop-ups about discounted rates and 'stay 3 nights pay for 2' etc. We therefore filled in the "check availability" on the home page: 3 nights in a Junior Suite and put in the dates we wanted in April. Well a Junior Suite for 3 days plus taxes including buffet breakfast came out at $380. Even adding taxes it would still be less than the starting bid plus auction fees. The only extra on the package was a bottle of sparkling wine (we could bring our own) and one drink at the bar (which we probably wouldn't have used). Were we ever glad when we were outbid!



This is probably an exception, we might have logged in just as a promotion was being offered but it wouldn't hurt to check the website before putting in your bid.



Regards.

[ShirleyT]

You sure do have to do your homework! I'm happy to report that doing so just saved me a huge amount with a LL auction, as well as getting a much better room.



We often stay at SPG (Starwood) properties in Europe. I had one of their "SPG 50" certificates, which give you half off the rack rate.. which is rarely a better deal than the rates offered on the website. But... using it produced a 245 Euro rate for a standard room at the Westin Palace in Madrid.... far less than the other rates on their website. I reserved it, and then saw the package on LL for a Junior Suite. Bottom line, I cancelled the reservation, bid on the LL package and won.With the taxes included, as well as breakfast, a dinner,and drinks in the ,we saved well over $1200 for the five days, and have a huge 2- room suite instead of a standard small room.



This is the sixth LL package we've purchased... all in Europe. All have been between 30-60% less than I was able to do through the hotels directly.Still, many of the LL packages are now becoming very pricey. I've noticed that particularly with the Paris properties, the LL minimum bids are reflecting the very high prices associated with the USD's decline against the Euro. There are great deals to be had, but you have to be very selective and do a lot of research!

[maylinglai1]

It is interesting to hear that this has happened; and thanks for the heads up. I remember when I first started using LL in 2001/2002, during the market decline, you really had to double check to make sure that the hotel hadn't created some exciting promotion in the hopes of replacing a slow down in business traffic. For the most part LL still had a the best rate or some additional perk, but occassionally on particularly low dates, the hotel or B&B might slip in a rate that was more attractive.



It be interesting to see what else people are seeing in the way of increase promotion activity.

[curtiejoe]

Hi Julian



Sage advice indeed. I've made a point of always checking the best-available rates offered by the property we're planning to bid on or Buy Now at LL. Like you, I've found for the most part that the prices available though LL have been somewhat below or the same as those you can get directly from the establishment in question. I have seen a few instances where (as travelfan/lhbrown has noted in one of her posts) after buying accommodation or a travel package through LL, there's been a special promotion offered by the hotel, such as "four nights for the price of three". Unfortunately by that time, it's too late to take advantage of the promotion. And, I don't feel LL should be expected to pass on any such after-the-fact discount .



Curt