Checking availability on 4* hotels on Priceline?

[pam snavely]

I've heard people advise others that you need to check the availability rate(i.e. 80%, 65%) of the hotel before you start bidding on Priceline but I can't find where they get the info.

Could someone enlighten me? I'm trying for a 4*. No bids have been accepted yet($35-$53). We are going in Nov. for 5 days.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz">

 

[waltfan]

I know you say you are going in November, but are you going during Thanksgiving week. Your bids should have garnered an acceptance at the Wyndham or MOWC judging by what you bid unless it is Turkey day you are looking for. This past Thanksgiving we were able to get the Swan at 85 a night with American Express bonus money. Are you using the bonus money?

 

[pam snavely]

Hey, thanks for the reply.We are not going on Turkey day. As a matter of fact it is the first week in nov. And no, I haven't used the bonus money. I couldn't find out how to do it. To me that site(not priceline but the one that gives you info on priceline)is confusing. I tried putting in something on priceline but it wouldn't let me put in anything past the number and a plus sign so I know I'm not doing it right.

Can anyone help me? <IMG SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif" alt="confused">

 

[Lewisc]

Priceline charges your credit card for your entire stay when your bid is accepted. THEY WILL NOT CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION. I'd suggest you go back to the website and print the FAQ section on hotels and read it carefully. If you're not sure what your're doing get a friend to help you or DON'T BID.
To get the AMEX bonus you bid throught a special URL.
You get the lowest available room rates from the hotel website (or Travel Web). A higher than normal rate normally means the hotel expects a higher than normal occupancy.

 

[robinb]

Pam:

First of all, welcome to DIS!

To check availability, all you need to do is look at how much a selection of 4* hotels are going for your travel dates. Day by day is best. I would check the Swan and/or Dolphin, the Marriott Orlando World Center, the Wyndham Palace and the Hilton. You can get all the rates in one place: www.travelweb.com . If the rates are really high then there isn't a lot of availability. If they're under $200 or in the low $200s, then there are rooms. Priceline may or may not have any of them. You have a lot of time to bid though and PL gets inventory every day.

I agree that TravelSheryl's site can be a bit confusing at first. If you want some help bidding, start a thread in the "Orlando" board and one of the moderators will be able to help you. Understanding how to bid properly on Priceline is the key to saving the most money.

You will also save $20 per night (up to $100 total) if you use the AMEX link. You don't even need a regular American Express card anymore since the Cobalt card came out. It's a debit card that you put money on. Check out www.cobaltcard.com for more info. To find the AMEX link, go to TravelSheryl's board and look under "Bonus Money Opportunites" in the "$20 Bonus Money" thread. Ezboards is down now, otherwise I would give you the URL myself.


-- Robin

 

[waltfan]

when you do go back and use the AMEX bonus I would start around where you already have for a days in November--at 35 or so.

 

[robinb]

Depending on the best available rates, $35 is a good place to start with bonus money. That's a bid of $55 to the hotel. If your bidding limit is $55 without bonus money, you will probably be disappointed .


-- Robin

 

[pam snavely]

You all are great and you gave me some good info.

I have used Priceline before for a hotel while we were traveling in VA. but never did it for Disney and wasn't sure of some of the "vocabulary". Thanks everyone for their responses. You all are Wonderful!