Are people still using Priceline to book hotels?

[deedeew80]

Hi everyone! Are people still using Priceline to book hotels in the Disney area or even a Disney Resort? I feel like it was a thing many years ago, but I don't hear much about it anymore. We check in to our Disney Resort on a Saturday, but we decided to drive and will now be arriving late Friday night. So we are now in need of a one night stay. We were hoping to maybe use Priceline to get a good deal on a hotel in the Disney area or an actual Disney resort. We never used Priceline before, so we aren't sure how to do it or what to look for to get a good hotel. Thank you for any help!

 

[Pyxie]

I do and really only for the exact reason you mentioned. I booked All Star Sports for $120 so we could arrive 1 night early this week. It was $30 less than booking directly through Disney.

But for the most part, I only book direct.

 

[deedeew80]

I do and really only for the exact reason you mentioned. I booked All Star Sports for $120 so we could arrive 1 night early this week. It was $30 less than booking directly through Disney.

But for the most part, I only book direct.

So how did you do it? How did you know that it was going to be All Star Sports?

 

[Tom_E_D]

So how did you do it? How did you know that it was going to be All Star Sports?

You don't know for certain. However, all Disney resorts are in the Bonnet Creek and Disney Springs areas. Take the star rating, guest rating, and number of reviews from the Priceline Express you are interested in and insert them into this Resort Finder: https://c3acv367.caspio.com/dp/a6b6c000276612e50f7b4f49b7fb

It'll give you the hotels in that area that match those criteria. There is a long thread discussing Priceline (and sometimes Hotwire) hidden deals: https://www.disboards.com/threads/priceline-express-deals.3598657/ You can ask questions there.

The resort finder comes from JJTNY, who posts in that thread. I don't think he updates it on a daily basis, so you could be unlucky and have Priceline change things (like the guest rating) since the last time he updated it, and thus get a hotel you weren't expecting. But that is a risk many of us are willing to take to get significant savings.

Caution: don't believe the percent savings that Priceline advertises. A 10-% off deal may not really save you money compared to what you might pay elsewhere after you factor in the Priceline fees. If you do figure out what hotel you are looking at, compare the final price to what you would pay if you booked it elsewhere.

 

[deedeew80]

You don't know for certain. However, all Disney resorts are in the Bonnet Creek and Disney Springs areas. Take the star rating, guest rating, and number of reviews from the Priceline Express you are interested in and insert them into this Resort Finder: https://c3acv367.caspio.com/dp/a6b6c000276612e50f7b4f49b7fb

It'll give you the hotels in that area that match those criteria. There is a long thread discussing Priceline (and sometimes Hotwire) hidden deals: https://www.disboards.com/threads/priceline-express-deals.3598657/ You can ask questions there.

The resort finder comes from JJTNY, who posts in that thread. I don't think he updates it on a daily basis, so you could be unlucky and have Priceline change things (like the guest rating) since the last time he updated it, and thus get a hotel you weren't expecting. But that is a risk many of us are willing to take to get significant savings.

Caution: don't believe the percent savings that Priceline advertises. A 10-% off deal may not really save you money compared to what you might pay elsewhere after you factor in the Priceline fees. If you do figure out what hotel you are looking at, compare the final price to what you would pay if you booked it elsewhere.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Pyxie]

So how did you do it? How did you know that it was going to be All Star Sports?

Well this wasn't a hidden deal or anything. That's just the price it was through Priceline.

 

[Upatnoon]

I remember the good ole days when you could get a room for $40.

Betterbidding.com is still around.

Hotels have made it much harder to get deals through these websites. They would rather have rooms go empty than have fire sales.

If you really want a deal, I'd suggest renting a timeshare on Redweek, Tugbbs or eBay.