Priceline Express Deals

[VAlegacy]

We are st


We are staying at Coronado this weekend on a Priceline blind bid. I called wholesale and was told they no longer add additional guests, that the wholesaler would need to reach out on our behalf. A quick web chat to priceline and they called wholesale, received an email address to send the request and VOILA! It took about 1.5 days before I could see my son added, but it was super simple! No need for all of this craziness.

It's not about Disney not liking Priceline, it's about Priceline and Hotwire maintaining control of their reservations AND Disney controlling Call Center costs. Just like booking through ANY travel agent, you should not be able to call and make changes yourself. Priceline CS had no issues making the request for me, and the whole process was quick and painless. From start to finish (including a call to wholesale where they told me they can no longer assist) I spent 40 minutes getting my son added to our reservation. Most of that time was waiting while the chat person at Priceline got on the phone with Disney and filled out the email (while I cooked dinner!)

This is great if it's applied evenly, but that hasn't been the case so far.
I like standards and knowing what the rules are so I know what to expect.

Hopefully things are changing and the word is getting out to the 3rd parties.

 

[VAlegacy]

I'm not so sure of that. If PL/HW didn't want people to be able to figure out the hotel, they wouldn't have so many identifying clues. I think what they want is plausible deniability. They want the deals hidden just enough that the hotel owner isn't going to get mad at them for undercutting the regular prices too much. They want the deals hidden just enough that many guests will pay more for the sure thing of a revealed booking.

But PL/HW wants enough people to be confident enough in what they're getting to take the risk on a non-refundable booking that they don't know for SURE in advance. How many of us would pay for a Disney moderate opaque booking if there were a high probability we'd end up with TownPlace Suites? Not many.

It's a delicate balance.

Exactly.
The hotels want to move inventory without cannibalising regular rates. I wonder what percentage of opaque deals are people who have a good handle on them? I bet not many.

 

[Lewisc]

I mentioned the bolded part pages ago - it's a high risk/high reward deal. In addition to Disney not expecting people realizing all it would take is a call to add guests, I'm sure PL & HW never expected people to figure out how to know what hotel they're "blindly" booking ... and yet, here we are. I was well aware of the risk before I booked my room 10 days ago, but my previous experience told me that was a good risk to take, so I did.

it is going to be interesting to see how travel trends over the spring & summer and how that relates to 3rd party vendors. I remember the post 9-11 deals well. that's when we got hooked on WDW.

Opaque bookings want it to have enough "hints" to encourage bookings but not so much as to canibilze regular bookings or trigger, when applicable, best rate guarantee.

Last year a poster complained when Disney assigned Kindai when, based on "research" was convinced she was getting Jambo House. Complained and was able to get it switched. It's not really opaque when there are enough clues to differentiate between the All Star Resorts.


A number of years ago one of the opaque booking sites gave you everything but the name. Told you the number of floors, number of rooms and, when possible, gave you a unique hotel feature. A swan on the roof of the hotel, even listing size and weight. A hotel which features ducks parading through the lobby twice a day.

I'm surprised Disney doesn't avoid the middle man. Set up direct booking. Let you book by class of hotel and not even give you the property name unit a day or two before check in. Disney will assign you to a hotel within 5 days of your stay based on availability.

 

[VAlegacy]

I’ve been having so much trouble with this lately! Does anyone see anything for March 27-30?

I see AoA for $103/night HW
Csr 134

 

[Leigh L]

I see AoA for $103/night HW
Csr 134

Wow!

 

[VAlegacy]

I see AoA for $103/night HW
Csr 134

Looks like its changed...I now see POR for $139!

 

[Rcdisnewbie]

Still struggling to confirm even after re reading this thread. Hotwire hotdeal 3/16-3/20, I think I see Dolphin for $141 but I’m so unsure. Anyone?

 

[sanibel11]

Assuming this is Beach Club but it goes away in Priceline Express when I select Airport Shuttle?
4 Stars 9.0 rating 60 reviews in Bonnet Creek. 48% off. March 24-26. Can anyone help me confirm

 

[VAlegacy]

Still struggling to confirm even after re reading this thread. Hotwire hotdeal 3/16-3/20, I think I see Dolphin for $141 but I’m so unsure. Anyone?

Yes

 

[Rcdisnewbie]

Yes

View attachment 478769

Thanks. Couldn’t get that draw it to work and it seeing number of reviews to match up had me second guessing. Just to confirm, if I book I can add it to my Disney experience, then cancel our CSR reservation and not loose the fast passes we booked 45 days ago?

thank you

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thanks. Couldn’t get that draw it to work and it seeing number of reviews to match up had me second guessing. Just to confirm, if I book I can add it to my Disney experience, then cancel our CSR reservation and not loose the fast passes we booked 45 days ago?

thank you

yes

 

[Rcdisnewbie]

yes

Awesome! Just got Dolphin! will it automatically add to MDE and if so when? Since I booked it through HW and added my daughter in the booking I don’t need to worry about all the talk on the last few pages of adding kids right?

 

[Jessica Geisler]

Assuming this is Beach Club but it goes away in Priceline Express when I select Airport Shuttle?
4 Stars 9.0 rating 60 reviews in Bonnet Creek. 48% off. March 24-26. Can anyone help me confirm

It is!! I booked it for the 22-26th!

 

[ClapYourHands]

Awesome! Just got Dolphin! will it automatically add to MDE and if so when? Since I booked it through HW and added my daughter in the booking I don’t need to worry about all the talk on the last few pages of adding kids right?

No, you will need to link it yourself. The HW booking email should have a confirmation number you can use.
There shouldn't be any issues if you booked for the number of people you plan to have in the room. I think most of the talk on the past few pages highlighted MDE as the sticking point with adding kids, and that's not applicable to a Dolphin stay.

 

[sanibel11]

It is!! I booked it for the 22-26th!

Thank you!

 

[Rcdisnewbie]

No, you will need to link it yourself. The HW booking email should have a confirmation number you can use.
There shouldn't be any issues if you booked for the number of people you plan to have in the room. I think most of the talk on the past few pages highlighted MDE as the sticking point with adding kids, and that's not applicable to a Dolphin stay.

Thank you. Just tried adding it with the confirmation number that was emailed, but it didn’t work. i think I read that it takes time before I can add it?

 

[Lewisc]

You can call the Dolphin. Ask for your Disney reservation number.

 

[emmabelle]

Thank you. Just tried adding it with the confirmation number that was emailed, but it didn’t work. i think I read that it takes time before I can add it?

It took me close to a week before the Swan saw my Disney confirmation number. I called every day. My trip is July 4th week.

 

[Anne Ritchey]

*Coupon valid for one Express Deals® hotel itinerary. Book by 03/07/2020 23:59:59 EST, travel any time.

I never get these when I'm looking. Now, two days in a row!

 

[ILuvDisney78]

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Book by 03/07/2020 23:59:59 EST, travel any time. Coupon valid for one-time use only, discount applies before taxes and fees.