Is it possible to figure out which Priceline hotel I might get?

[tanita]

I see lots of people bidding on Priceline here on this forum, but I'm perplexed because it only guarantees you a room for 2 people. Am I missing out on something here? Is it possible to figure out which hotel I'll get or are people just throwing caution to the wind when booking?

 

[xlsm]

I've never used priceline, but if you use hotwire, you have the option of adding more than two people. Hotwire also shows the trip advisor rating, so I go to trip advisor and search by the star rating of the hotel I've chosen, and use the ratings to figure it out. I have a pretty good success rate by doing that.

It isn't a bidding system, but it gives you mystery hotels with their star rankings and gives you a generalized map of what area it is in. We have always had really good luck using it.

 

[ckergald]

there are ways to figure out hotwire hotels. Priceline is a bit trickier and a little bit of a gamble but the Caribe Royale is fairly easy to get from either site and will accommodate 4.
There is a site called better bidding that will help you figure out what you may be getting. based upon amenities, location, number of stars, and resort fee.

The way I do it is with priceline there is only 2, 4* hotels in the lake buena vista east area, Caribe Royale and Marriot world center. I figure I would be happy with either and Caribe Royale is the cheaper of the 2 there fore the most likely one I'll win when underbidding. I then make note of all the other regions in orlando that do not offer a 4* or higher hotel, that way when my bid is rejected and I need to make a change I can add one of these regions knowing I am still only going to win either the Marriot or the Caribe. Doing this you should be able to get 12 bidding attempts in for just those 2 hotels.

 

[Upatnoon]

I see lots of people bidding on Priceline here on this forum, but I'm perplexed because it only guarantees you a room for 2 people. Am I missing out on something here? Is it possible to figure out which hotel I'll get or are people just throwing caution to the wind when booking?

try betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com

 

[tomgreen41]

I agree that Hotwire might be a better option for you. I'm a huge fan of both Priceline and Hotwire, but I use them in different circumstances. Priceline when I'm travelling by myself and I want the rock bottom price. Hotwire when I don't mind paying a little extra for the known amenities, like pool, kitchenette, bedrooms, etc.

There are a few good websites to check out that curate lists of known Priceline hotels. www.hoteldealsrevealed.com is a good resource, as well as others mentioned previously. They are crowd sourced, so be aware that there's risk involved whenever you use Priceline.

 

[thehogsters]

Biddingfortravel is the best site to look at. The forum is broken down by state and town so it is easier to find what area you are looking for. They even have links to priceline and hotwire. Spend 10 minutes on that site and you will know what hotel you will get.

 

[Lewisc]

I see lots of people bidding on Priceline here on this forum, but I'm perplexed because it only guarantees you a room for 2 people. Am I missing out on something here? Is it possible to figure out which hotel I'll get or are people just throwing caution to the wind when booking?

PPs already gave you some good information.

PL only guarantees double occupancy (two adults). That can be an issue in some cities where the room given to PL customers has one double bed without enough room on the floor for even an air mattress. Two queen (or double) beds is the norm for hotels in Orlando. Families rarely have an issue getting a room with 2 beds. There is a small risk. I recall one poster being given a handicap accessible room with one K bed. Hotel was fully booked. The hundreds of other posters in various internet boards never had an issue in Orlando. Hotwire asks if you have 1,2,3 or 4 guests. You'll get appropriate bedding. Hotwire tends to rate hotels higher then PL. When the same hotel is available on both PL and Hotwire you can (almost) always "win" the hotel on PL for less then the Hotwire rate.

ckergald gave some interesting advice. Generally you have to be prepared to accept a hotel which hasn't yet shown up in any of the "help" sites. Generally you have to accept the possibility of an, unwanted, upgrade. Buena Vista East doesn't offer any hotels higher then 4*. I don't think there are any other hotels in that zone which qualify as 4*. Double check. PL could change the map, very slightly, and move the Gaylord Palms into the BV East zone.

ckergald is right about using free rebids to "troll" for the lowest available rate but wrong about how many rebids are available.
http://www.biddingtraveler.com/ is a site which automates your bidding process. Using more "advanced" techniques you have 31 one bidding opportunities 30 "free rebids" I think the minimum bid suggested on biddingtravler is too high.

It takes way more then 10 minutes reading the FAQ on BFT before a reader knows enough to intelligently post and not run the risk of being "slammed" by Sheryl for wasting her time. The links to PL and Hotwire on biddingfortravel are affiliate links. BFT gets a commission. Use them if you're getting helpful information from the site.

There is a poster on Flyertalk (coolwulf) who has a thread discussing his site. You provide your dates, zone and * level. He gives you a "suggested" minimum bid which is on the money. Bid immediately and you won't be overpaying. There is a small charge for his service.

 

[DVC Doctor]

Perhaps Captain Kirk can help negotiate a best priced deal for you on Priceline.

 

[kalynn]

There are a few good websites to check out that curate lists of known Priceline hotels. HotelDealsRevealed.com is a good resource, as well as others mentioned previously. They are crowd sourced, so be aware that there's risk involved whenever you use Priceline.

Thanks for the tips Tom and Lewis. As a newbie myself, I see their are lots of good resources out there. I particularly like the method for rebidding, although I think 30 rebids would be very time consuming.

 

[DPickering]

Hotwire and Priceline are in the group of opaque bidding sites that can offer low prices as long as they keep the hotels id secret before purchase. This category of travel site has been stretched in the past few years to include member only sites that hotels are allowing to offer similar prices but you get the hotel name first and bookings are refundable. The hotel id is 'secret' in that the members only req means it's not searchable by the general public (so can not be used on brg's). travelpony.com and lmtclub.com are two such sites that I have found to be pretty good. If you join travelpony thru a members referral link you get a $35 credit. lmtclub has promo codes around the web for free membership; last one I saw was TURKEYSENTME. Between these two sites they have some insanely good prices in Orlando like Radisson Orlando for $50 or Wyndham Grand Bonnet Creek for $99.