Priceline/Hotwire....yay or nay?

[pittsburghmom]

Looking for feedback, whether it be positive or negative. Will be booking a 2 night stay in Cleveland for a swim meet at the beginning of December. Last year, we paid $72/night at a LaQuinta, but the room was pretty shabby (and I am pretty easy to please lol). Was looking at bidding history for Priceline bids for 3.5 star properties coming in starting at $51/night, but have to wonder what the catch might be??

 

[Darcy03231]

I use Hot wire and have always chosen a 3* or better and have never been disappointed. We've gotten Wyndam, Sheraton, Doubletree, Hilton & Hyatt.

 

[pittsburghmom]

I use Hot wire and have always chosen a 3* or better and have never been disappointed. We've gotten Wyndam, Sheraton, Doubletree, Hilton & Hyatt.

Thanks for the feedback =)

 

[Kae]

try betterbidding.com or biddingfortravel.com

 

[Hook326]

I almost always book through hotwire & have never been disappointed. In fact, usually very happy with what we've gotten. I just always make sure I list the amenities we want.

 

[pittsburghmom]

From what I am reading, it looks like booking with Hotwire vs. Priceline might be the way to go, since you can put in requests for #beds/room. We would definitely want 2 beds. How soon in advance do you typically bid? Do you advise waiting until a week or so prior to get the best price? Thanks!

 

[Ngwira]

I say nay...I find certain hotels treat you like a second class citizen when they see you've booked through a 3rd party.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I do Priceline quite a bit for one-night only hotels. I use it if we are vacationing away from an airport and want to be close by on the night before an early morning flight. Or, if we are doing a driving trip and just need a hotel to crash for the night. I use the sites already mentioned to see what hotels people are getting in each class range. You could see previously accepted prices.

I would not do PL for an extended trip as I'd want to make sure the hotel that I'm staying at has exactly (and exact location) what I need. For a single night, I will do 3.5 or 4* and have never ended up in a dump. Sometimes the location could be better but for the $30 I usually save per night it works out fine.

 

[littledebbie335]

I love using the Priceline bidding feature. The only warning I have is that it takes the reservation out of the hands of the hotel you're staying at. I worked at a Marriott for a short period of time, and occasionally, people would make mistakes on their Priceline/Expedia bookings (wrong date, wrong room type, etc), and there wasn't really much we could do about it because the booking company "owns" the reservation, not the hotel. I also suggest trying to call the hotel you'd like to stay at directly (not the 1-800 number, but the actual physical location) and asking about the best available rate, because a lot of times, the hotel can give you a comparable rate. If they have rooms available on any of those booking services, it's because they're having problems filling up their hotel, and they'd much rather give you a cheaper rate than pay a third party. It never hurts to ask!

 

[Kae]

I say nay...I find certain hotels treat you like a second class citizen when they see you've booked through a 3rd party.

We have never had that problem. I use hotwire, priceline, expedia, Travelocity...

Kae

 

[robinb]

I use Priceline and Hotwire all the time! In your case, I would go with Hotwire because you'll be able to designate that you have 2 kids (plus the baby). Priceline does not guarantee a room with 2 beds and you may end up with a strange queen sized bed (like at an Extended Stay) or a king bed with no where for your kids to sleep.

Use the Better Bidding website to help you figure out what hotel it might be. If you're comparing amenities from Hotwire to Priceline, remember that (in general) Hotwire inflates their rating system by 1/2*. So a 2 1/2* at Hotwire will usually be a 2* at Priceline.

 

[Starshine]

We do both Hotwire and Priceline for weekend trips all the time, the prices can't be beat. In the 10 years or so I've been doing it, I can think of only two times I had issues. Once we ended up at a Doubletree that had an ant problem in the room they put us in. Hotwire refunded our money so fast I had barely hung up the phone before the email credit came through. The other time we had done a vacation package from Priceline (one where we actually knew which hotel and flights we were getting) and when we got there the Courtyard by Marriott tried to bump us to another one 20 minutes away (even though they still showed nights available at 3 times the price on their website). I argued that one with the hotel manager and ended up moved to the Marriott across the street. Neither experience was enough to turn me off from using them.

I tend to find the sweet spot booking about a month out unless it's a really last minute trip. I got a 4.5* Omni in Pittsburgh for $69 on Hotwire for this coming Friday night. Except for that Courtyard by Marriott (it was in downtown Indianapolis), I've never had any problems being treated differently.

 

[robinb]

I tend to find the sweet spot booking about a month out unless it's a really last minute trip. I got a 4.5* Omni in Pittsburgh for $69 on Hotwire for this coming Friday night. Except for that Courtyard by Marriott (it was in downtown Indianapolis), I've never had any problems being treated differently.

Swim meets tend to fill up neighboring hotels pretty fast.