Priceline for hotel?

[terribm]

I have not had much experience with priceline so I am hoping I can get some advice here. We are going to Orlando in Oct and know exactly which hotel we would like to stay. Is there anyway to bid and still specify a specific hotel? If not, what is the best way to go about getting the best price? BTW, we want to stay at the Hyatt Place across from Universal.

Thanks

 

[lisa-upnorth]

sadly you cannot be specific with a place BUT you can choose the area the place you like is in.I did this for DC and got the hotel I had hoped for You never know if the one you want is up for grabs on Priceline though! I would enter 4 star and near Universal.BID LOW and work up! I stayed in DC for 4 days over Memorial Day weekend this year, got Hyatt on Capital hill for $90 a night!

 

[IhrkeFamily]

Priceline can be chancey, but worth a shot. Know that due to rate parity that every brand of hotel requires, you won't find a lower price on the third party sites like Travelocity or Expedia. Only way is if it's a special with advance purchase or a minimum number of days. Most places the AAA rate is best. It doesn't hurt to try, but definitely check out the brand website.

As a hotelier I post my best discounts on the brand site. Mainly because then I don't have to pay huge commissions to the third party sites. If it's a slow time don't hesitate to call the hotel directly. Sometimes they have low occupancy and can offer a manager's discount. Good luck!

 

[CloveLeaf]

Check out these 2 forums. They are very helpful when trying priceline. I love priceline!!
http://www.betterbidding.com/
Remove the white spaces from the url below. I am not sure why. It wouldn't allow me to post this url
http://biddingfortravel. yuku. com/

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Also, know you are only guaranteed at king size bed. I pricelined a hotel in St. Louis for the first time. After I got the confirmation, I called the hotel directly and requested two queen beds and a non-smoking room. They told me they would do their best to honor my request.

I was able to get the Hilton Hotel right by the arch for $60 a night.

 

[MrsPete]

You can check out the better-bidding sites and make an educated guess about what you'll probably get -- I've found those sites to be VERY accurate -- but it is always going to be a guess. To get Priceline prices, you must be willing to give up control. Sometimes that's worthwhile, sometimes it's not.

 

[SYDCOLEMOM]

About six weeks ago I used Priceline for Universal area. We wanted to spend 2 nights near Universal before going to WDW. You can bid on different levels of hotels and they tell you what Hotel names are in that category. I bid on the Three star category (the 3-star hotel partners include Marriott Courtyard, Hyatt Place, Holiday Inn, Doubletree) I bid and won Universal Maingate Holiday Inn for $40 a night (normally $109.99 per night). Its was perfect ! what a bargain!! this was also my first experience using Priceline. No problems whatsoever. From what I have heard most people end up with Holiday Inn Maingate or the Double Tree (right next door). We also booked a car thru Priceline. Ended up with National Car Rental at MCO for $10 a day for a Midsize (thats including all fees). I love Priceline ! we will use it next trip for sure. good luck !!

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Check out these 2 forums. They are very helpful when trying priceline. I love priceline!!
http://www.betterbidding.com/
Remove the white spaces from the url below. I am not sure why. It wouldn't allow me to post this url
http://biddingfortravel. yuku. com/

Ditto this, I use those sites when I'm researching a Priceline bid, very helpful!

We also booked a car thru Priceline. Ended up with National Car Rental at MCO for $10 a day for a Midsize (thats including all fees). I love Priceline ! we will use it next trip for sure. good luck !!

I haven't tried getting a rental car through Priceline yet, glad to hear it worked well for you! I might need to go this route if my unplanned trip in January becomes a reality--looking at the prices on the rental sites made my jaw drop!

 

[jimaok]

Priceline is ok but be VERY careful because alot of hotels call themselves "Resorts" and they add on "Resort fees" on top of what you pay Priceline. Resort "fees" can be anywhere from $10 to $20 per day. So good luck.

 

[SYDCOLEMOM]

When I looked into booking Holiday Inn Maingate Universal direct they were charging a resort fee of something like $12 a night. When I booked thru Priceline there were no fees. I was surprised but pleased.

 

[Doorman]

If you have a strong preference about the particular hotel I wouldn't use Priceline in Orlando, because there are enough hotels that even with the info from better-bidding it'll be hard to be sure you're getting the right one. It can be good if you don't have strong preferences, though.

It's easier to game the system in smaller cities where there aren't as many hotels per category. I booked the exact hotel in wanted in Pasadena recently, because there are only two 4-star hotels on Priceline in Pasadena, and they have different amenities, so it's pretty easy to figure out which one they're offering you.

 

[IDoDis]

I also use betterbidding and biddingfortravel to help with bidding strategies for hotels and car rentals. By reading through the forums you can see which star ratings/hotel names are in the area you want, and other people post their bids. You can also learn bidding strategies so that you can get free rebids without waiting the 24 hours to rebid.

I've been using priceline since 2005 when I booked a San Diego hotel for a vacation and haven't turned back since. I did get burned for the first time this past October though. We went to Disneyland and I wanted to book our last night for a 4 star hotel right on the beach. I knew we'd get one of two hotels since those were the only 4 stars via priceline in the area.

When my first bid was rejected, I used a free rebid on a hotel for the Anaheim area. I bid on a 4 star, but there weren't any 4 stars in the area, so I was hoping it would snag me the 4 star by the beach (since that was the only other area in my search criteria). Well, one of the hotels in Anaheim that priceline had rated as a 3.5 star had just been upgraded to a 4 star, but it wasn't listed on the betterbidding or biddingfortravel websites as being a 4 star. So we ended up at the Anaheim Hilton for our last night, even though we wanted to be by the beach.

If rental cars are expensive during your visit, they'll be higher on priceline, too. I've been lucky and have also rented for $10 per day for a full-sized car from MCO, but other times I've ended up finding better deals on websites like http://www.rentalcars.com/search/?putype=air&dotype=&citypu=Phoenix+-+Sky+Harbor+Intl%2C+US+%28PHX%29&citydo=&pudt=10%2F22%2F2011&putm=09%3A00&dodt=10%2F24%2F2011&dotm=09%3A00&companydc=

Just make sure you book a rental first that you can cancel. Keep that as a back-up in case you can't get a lower price on priceline. I start low and then bid up a dollar a day until my bid is accepted. That way I know I've received the rock-bottom price.