HotelChatter

First we had problems finding free weekends that would accept the promo code. November, for instance, seems to be blacked out. That's a problem since this is the kind of deal that targets weekend travelers looking hopping out of town. The people locking in rooms for March are mostly going to be convention goers, and they're scoring the conference rate anyway.

Just for the sake of argument, though, we found available rooms on the first weekend in March. Using the promo code spits out a rate of $159.00. If you don't use the code though, you can get a room for the first weekend in March at the exact same price. So unless you're planning to rent a car in New Orleans - and if you are, don't - this just gets silly.

Listen. Even without the bidding hacks we periodically remind you about, there's no secret to scoring a good hotel deal in a market like New Orleans. You go to Priceline, you go to Name Your Own Price, you choose the regions around the French Quarter and crank up the star rating, and then you bid $15 less than the lowest Hotwire price at that rating.

So for New Orleans in the near future, Hotwire shows a 4 star hotel like the Renaissance Arts--which is a very nice hotel by the way--going for $68. A quick run over to the Renaissance Arts page on Better Bidding shows that people are getting rooms at the hotel for November with bids as low as $50. So not so much with this deal.

[Photo: Concierge.com]