Hotwire and Priceline help

[Irish9697]

I know of the betterbidding site and it has been extremely helpful to me in the past few years for stays in New Orleans, St. Louis and Atlanta, to name a few.

Each of those times, I used Hotwire. I had used Hotwire many times before (in Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston, to name a few), but each time I had done my own research so that I felt almost positive as to what I would get before I clicked the submit button and committed.

We are going to Atlanta and Chattanooga this weekend. It's my mom, me and my 2 kids who are 9 and 8. I booked a great room through Hotwire for Atlanta, but am now at Chattanooga. From what I'm gathering on betterbidding, the same rooms on Hotwire are going for cheaper on Priceline for very similar dates to ours (cheaper by 10-18 per night!!). I have never used Priceline, but I feel like I remember someone saying that they base all reservations on 2 people so that we may end up with a king room. Well, if it has a sofa, that's fine because I can take the bed with the kids and my mom the sofa. If not, it won't work. With Hotwire you can choose 2 adults and 2 kids, so I feel better about getting a room that fits us. We're planning to check in during the late afternoon/early evening (5-6pm probably) on Friday, so room availability should be decent then I'd think.

Can anyone help and tell me if I should attempt the Priceline route or stick with Hotwire because of the bed configuration? Also, are there any other sites like betterbidding that might help me?

Thanks!

(By the way, I've been to Chattanooga and have relatives and friends there, so I have more specific hopes for which hotel we win. I mean, I know which have good reputations vs. which do not.)

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

With Priceline and more than 2 people you are really just gambling. That's not to say I have not done it before on several occasions. Personally, I have not had a problem getting a 2 bed room from the hotel but I have read horror stories on the internet about people being denied more than a king room.

Even when I booked our NJ trip on HotWire this March they sent the request to the hotel as a king room. Thankfully the hotel had no problem switching us to a 2 double bed room.

Later during that same trip we hit Gettysburg and had a Priceline hotel. At check-in I went in and requested a 2 double bed room, and they had no problem accommodating me. The back-up plan was to have the kids sleep on the floor with their sleeping bags.

Usually Priceline will have cheaper rates. I tend to prefer HotWire because you can have a pretty good educated guess at what hotel you are getting.

Good luck and happy traveling!

 

[torinsmom]

I just got back from DC, where we booked 2 different hotels through Priceline. For both, I just called as soon as the reservation was done and asked to have a room with 2 beds. It was not a problem either place. We are staying at Hyatt Place Universal in 2 weeks(also through Priceline for $30/nt) and called and requested two beds as well. They said no problem. I think that would be the case at most hotels. I think it's important to call and ask vs. asking when you get there.

Marsha

 

[Green Tea]

I've never been denied the bedding I requested, but I'm sure it can and does happen. If it is a big worry, then you can't use PL. It is just part of their deal.

 

[pamjb]

I have used Priceline "Name Your own Price" twice for hotels near the Orlando Airport. Both times I called a few days after my bid was accepted to request rooms with 2 double beds. Neither time was a problem. The hotels were the Hyatt in the Orlando airport and the Marriott Orlando Airport.

 

[LKHomemail]

there is another website you can also reference biddingfortravel.com , that might be able to help you.
both betterbidding and biddingfortravel are awesome resources!

i would go with hotwire for a family. do you know in the calendar of wins that better bidding has , there is a way to search for 14 days of wins that are hotwire ones.

priceline is usually cheaper than hotwire by a few dollars, but, when you need 4 in a room, your best bet is to go with priceline. unless of course, the bid for 3 rooms is cheaper on priceline than for 2 on hotwire , which is sometimes the case. not sure if your group of 6 is a family and want/need to share 2 rooms or if 3 rooms are acceptable if it was cost effective.

good luck to you, don't forget to post your winnings and to use the site that you selects link to support their efforts which help all of us get great deals. i love those 2 sites.! really am appreciate of the moderators who maintain them and the travellers that add winnings.

 

[bumbershoot]

both betterbidding and biddingfortravel are awesome resources!

I've used the first listed and it's very helpful.

 

[mamilovesdisney]

To be honest, I never use anything other than priceline for the hotels. One of the previous posts is correct, as soon as your bid is confirmed, you can call the hotel and request two beds. I have never had a problem. The one time I did was because I waited until I checked in. There is also another site that I use that is helpful... bidding for travel. Good luck!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I guess I am in the minority, but when I pricelined a hotel in Naperville, IL (a suburb of Chicago), I won a Courtyard by Marriott.

They assigned us a king room and refused to change it to 2 doubles. They finally gave us a king room with a "sofa" (loveseat), so 3 of us slept in the king bed and my oldest slept on the sleeper sofa.

I stick with hotwire now.

 

[torinsmom]

I guess I am in the minority, but when I pricelined a hotel in Naperville, IL (a suburb of Chicago), I won a Courtyard by Marriott.

They assigned us a king room and refused to change it to 2 doubles. They finally gave us a king room with a "sofa" (loveseat), so 3 of us slept in the king bed and my oldest slept on the sleeper sofa.

I stick with hotwire now.

Did you call and make the request before your arrival date or did you ask at check-in? Just wondering.

Marsha

 

[RangerPooh]

We've used both hotwire and priceline on many occassions for rooms throughout the US. One of the sites that we go to is biddingfortravel.com It gives you an idea of what the rooms are going for in designated markets. As for the bed situation, It has been a mixed bag for us. Some have king rooms and don't want to switch, others have no probelm. Honestly we don't complain too much, especially when we're getting a really nice hotel for cheap.

However if you are uncertain and it's for more than 1 nights stay I would stick with hotwire as they do allow you to imput the appropriate number of people in the room.

 

[jrasmom]

I'm curious about this betterbidding site, I've seen it mentioned before and remember checking it out. But it seems all the post are a few years old. Maybe it's just the section I'm looking at (Hawaii)? It just scares me to read all those & use that as a guide if it's not been updated since 2003, 2004, or 2007 in some instances, am I not looking in the right spot or what?

 

[torinsmom]

I don't know; for Washington DC, there are lots of recent posts.

Marsha