Anyone ever have trouble getting an Orlando airport 3* hotel via PL

[kmc33]

We are arriving Orlando on a late flight (Thur, 9/25) and I have bid up to $37 on three separate occasions within the past 2 weeks and have struck out. I know that I still have time and when posting on bidding for travel, Sheryl seems confident that I will get a 3* for $37 or less if I wait it out. But I am somewhat shocked. I truly expected to get a hotel for $25-$30 based on watching other posts. I will most likely try again this weekend. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this experience? Maybe people don't post the failed attempts as much. Any other experiences having difficulty getting a MCO airport via priceline?

 

[spiceycat]

if you are only asking for the airport area then that might be your problem.

no problem getting a 3-star - but I generally ask for the area around WDW (if nothing), add Kissimmee (if Nothing), add I-B

or I generally get one if I am looking for around SW

 

[Emerald31]

Hello,
I got a 3* hotel for $40. It took multiple attempts and I did get a hotel in Downtown Disney. I started at $30 and with free rebids I worked my way up. Got the Hotel Royal Plaza.

 

[Sammy]

kmc33:

I'm in the same boat as you.....I'm looking for a one-night stay at an airport hotel for the night of 9/27. I bid up to $40 before stopping (of course, adding the other areas without 3*), and couldn't get anything! I also saw your post on biddingfortravel where Sheryl seems confident you (we) can get something for around $37, but I'm gonna start to get nervous if nothing comes up within the next 2 weeks!

I'm also trying to get one night at a Universal/Seaworld resort and nothing's coming up there either.....even at the same bids everyone else seems to be successful with. Wonder what's going on??

Good luck and keep us posted. I'm going to be eligible to bid again tomorrow afternoon, so I'll try again too!

Sammy

 

[DVC California]

Hi kmc33 -

I read your post over at BFT also. Although Sheryl claims not to have a crystal ball that is able to divine future rates and availability, she has seen enough bids and bidding startegy to give good advice. And that is to be patient. Not only do hotels have different and sliding Priceline rates, they change availability of rooms to Priceline constantly.

A few months ago, I was bidding for a 3*hotel in Meadowlands, NJ for a NYC trip I was taking. All historical information had $35.00 as the winning bid. I checked the hotels web site to verify availability and that their standard rates indicated normal volumn of guests.

I saw someone had just won a bid a few days earlier for about the same time my stay was going to be. Of course my bid was rejected, as well as my free rebid. In fact, I had to bid once a week for three weeks before finally getting my $35.00 bid accepted. I also noticed that after I posted my win, othere wins for the same hotel stated poping up. My guess was that othere were also trying, but because the hotel hadn't made low rates available to Priceline yet, we were all rejected.

I recommend booking a backup reservation that you can cancel at the last minute. Then patiently continue using Priceline until you get a bid accepted thta is withing your budget.

HTH, Steve

 

[kmc33]

Thanks for posting, Sammy -- at least I know it's not just me! From watching MCO PL wins on bidding for travel, I really thought I would get the Marriott on the first bid at $25, or maybe even if I had to up it to $26 or $27 with free re-bids. I just tried again yesterday afternoon up to $38. And now that I know you tried $40, I guess that's not the magic number either. I really don't want to go any higher; I would rather go to 2-1/2 star and get something like Amerisuites or Courtyard by Marriott.

I have been watching my date on hotwire too and where there usually seems to be more variability from day to day, I keep seeing the same prices each day and they are higher than other dates. I just put in your night and the prices are about the same as mine. If I go back to 9/24 they are a little lower and the hotel that I believe to be the MCO Marriott comes up on the 24th but not the 25th, 26th or 27th. And since that's the hotel frequently posted on bidding for travel, I wonder if that's why neither of us have had success.

I wonder if something special is going on in Orlando that weekend. Anyone know?!

 

[kmc33]

That's good advice, Steve. Maybe I should book something else in the meantime. We actually have reservations for four nights at PBH and even though it's a good rate, since our flight doesn't arrive the first night until 11:00 am, I was thinking I would get an inexpensive room at MCO for the first night and then just keep the other 3 nights at PBH. Originally I though if I couldn't get an airport hotel cheap enough I would keep my PBH reservation for the first night, but I guess I really thought PL would be easy to get a room! Now that's it's not proving to be easy, maybe I should make another cancellable reservation at MCO.

In the meantime, I guess I will try to be patient and keep bidding once a week.

Thanks for the good advice!

 

[Sammy]

kmc33:

I guess 3rd time is the charm! I just got the Renaissance Orlando Airport for Saturday, 9/27 for $28. I was hoping for the Marriot because it has better trip reviews on the BFT website, but as long as its clean, I don't care. It's only for a place to sleep the night before our very early flight out of MCO Sunday morning.

Have you tried your bid again?

Sammy

 

[kmc33]

Sammy,

Congratulations! And thanks for posting! 3rd time wasn't the charm for me -- I have tried 5 times! The last time I went up to $39 with my free re-bids. Tonight my 72 hours is up. I was thinking of giving it a break, but with your update maybe I will try again tonight. I will post my results if I ever get a room! I did book the Holdiay Inn Express Airport West for $52. That's my cancelable back-up and about the best price I could find without booking a fleebag.

thanks again!

p.s. My 4 yr old DS selected the smiles!

 

[kmc33]

I am so glad you posted yesterday, Sammy. I was getting frustrated and going to set it aside for a week. But with your good new, I decided to give it a go. I made my first bid and $27, got a message that I could up it by $7, but instead I added a free re-bid zone and upped it to $28. Knowing you got it for $28 helped ! Our flight gets in that night at 11 pm, so I am really pleased to get a nice hotel close to the airport. I saw mixed reports on BFT, but during the past week, I saw a site where the Renaissance seemed to be rated higher than the Marriott. Hopefully we will be able to add to good reports after returning!

Have a great trip!!

 

[Sammy]

YAY!!! I'm glad you got your bid accepted! It's so frustrating reading about everyone being able to get what they want, but then not having it work for you!

I was looking around for other trip reports on the Renaissance and found two on TripAdvisor.com from earlier this year. Both were good reviews! I'll be sure to report back when I return.

Have a super trip!

Sammy

 

[kmc33]

This worked so well last time, I am at it again for our January trip! Has anyone booked an Orlando Airport hotel room through Priceline for the end of January? I am trying for 2 room for the night of January 30th, the night before our cruise on the Magic. Although I like to get the plans firmed up, I guess it's too far out to get a room without bidding too high. So, I am going to try to be patient.

 

[Sammy]

kmc33:

Can't help you out with your question, but just wanted to check in to see how you liked the Renaissance airport? I think we both paid the same amount ($28 bid) through PL. I was very pleased with our room.....huge bathroom and the beds were very comfortable. Nicely decorated. We pretty much checked in, watched a little TV, then crashed. We asked for a roll-away and it was a regular twin-sized bed that came in upright on wheels!! The shuttle in the morning (6:00 AM....yikes!) was prompt and got us to the airport very quickly. A very nice hotel.....especially for the $$ paid!!!

Good luck on your January hotel search.....I'm jealous!!

Sammy

 

[kmc33]

Hi Sammy!

We did pay the same price and in fact, thanks to your post that you had gotten it for $28!!

We too were very pleased. We got in very late. Our flight was due to arrive into Orlando at 11:00 pm and we were in a holding pattern for an extra hour due to bad weather. So it was about 12:30 am when we checked in. We were treated very nicely, in fact the clerk at the front desk pleasantly asked if I would like to give a cc for incidentals since the room was prepaid (no mention of priceline). We had a nice room with very comfy beds. How much was the rollaway? For our vacation in January, if for some reason we ended up with a king instead of two queens through priceline, we might need to get a rollaway.

I see that you stayed at the Dolphin too. How did you like that? We are spending two nights at the Dolphin when we go in January. I am really looking forward to it. Our trip in September was a long weekend getaway and went by so quickly. We are looking forward to our January vacation.

I guess with priceline you just need patience. And I expected that I might have to wait until it gets closer to our trip, but thought I would give it a try now just in case.

Thanks for the follow-up! I am glad everything worked out well for you at the Renaissance too!

 

[Sammy]

I PM'd you!!