Priceline- Name your own Price? Anyone done this?

[mandanjeremy]

Just curious if anyone has done this before. I was thinking of trying it, but dont want to buy a hotel room before I know what Im in for. Had anyone tried it before, and had good luck?

 

[keishashadow]

priceline only guarantees bedding for 2 people

with hotwire u can indicate family size (ex 2 adults, 2 children)

hotwire won't guarantee u 2 beds in this case, think possible King bed & double sofa bed

i tried it recently for westin in seattle pre-cruise, no room @ inn for us when we checked innor for 2 other '3rd party' type guests in front of me, yet the gent behind me who booked thru hotel had his room

we were taxi'd to another hotel, still not what i wanted to deal with @ end of long day of travel.

good luck, do a search there's a site where u can betterbid, they'll help u identify the hotel by amenties before u bid/buy

 

[DisneyDayTripper]

We did it over 4th of July weekend for Tampa because we were wanting to get do a last minute getaway. We got a 4 star hotel in Tampa for $45 ($57 after taxes and other fees)....mind you this is on the 4th of July. So it was a GREAT deal. We ended up staying in the Hyatt and noticed that it was extremely empty. It was definitely great getting to watch the fireworks from all the surrounding areas...really cool stuff!

 

[momrek06]

I use priceline ALLOT. Love it. Just this past weekend I wanted to spend the entire Sunday at the San Diego Zoo with my family. It is a good 70 miles south from our home...decided to get a room for Sat night (11th)....went on priceline, selected 4 stars, (I always select 4 stars) put in $100.00..woo hoo..it was accepted and we stayed at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa....lovely lovely lovely hotel. When I checked in, I asked for 2 queen beds, NO PROBLEM at all!!!!!!! I went on trip advisor after winning my bid and the rooms were starting at $299.00 per night!!!!!! We even went to SD early Saturday, check in is at 4pm, we checked in at 3pm, NO ISSUES!!!!!!

I just finished the priceline survey they emailed me asking about my stay!!!!

I even searched and search coupons for the SD Zoo....$9.00 OFF with AAA!!! So we had a great weekend away!!!

 

[suzieqinga]

We've used Priceline many times and have never had a bad experience. I always go to biddingfortravel.com first and read a little bit about other winning bids in the area. With a little research and realistic expectations, you can get some incredible deals with Priceline.

Good Luck!!

 

[minniemomof3]

I have use priceline many times with children and never had a problem getting two beds on check in or just by calling the hotel ahead of time.

Defiitely use betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com to help with narrowing down your hotel.

 

[DISboardser]

I stopped using priceline.

They only guarantee bedding for two. For real.

But their idea of two and mine are different. We often got a tiny (double) bed instead of queens or whatever....that's a tight fit.

 

[Purseval]

If you look at the top of this forum you will see a thread (many, many pages long) that is nothing but winning Priceline bids. We use Priceline all the time, our last stay in Orlando (July 9-12) cost us $21/night for a 3-star hotel. You may hear a few complainers but they are totally drowned out by the satisfied customers.

 

[DVC California]

They only guarantee bedding for two. For real.....

While this is technically true, it is not completely accurate, especially in the Orlando market which caters to families.

I use Priceline 2-3 times a year and have always been happy with my wins and have always gotten a room with two doubles for my family of four. We sometimes call the hotel directly to note the bedding request on the reservation but most times we just ask nicely at the front desk.

Definitely visit BiddingForTravel.com to learn how to bid, what free rebids are, and to monitor the going rates for hotels in your bid region.

Good luck! Steve

 

[ChristinaN]

My friend uses Priceline for the Disney area, chooses 4 star and ends up at the Gaylord Palms all the time for around $99. Gaylord is an incredible hotel.

 

[torinsmom]

I got the Marriott Wardman Park in DC for only $95/night---rack rate was $299/nt and then the Hilton in Alexandria for $70/nt--rack rate was $159 in June when we went to DC. Then earlier this month, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Universal for $30/nt(Rack rate $149/nt) for our trip to Universal. I had two double beds in all three hotels. I just called as soon as I got my confirmation and requested two beds. If you wait until you get there and the double beds are all taken, you could be out of luck, whether you go through Priceline or not.

BTW, we were very happy with all our accomodations and will use Priceline again!

Marsha

 

[gfellenz]

I have used them a TON and especially for the Orlando area. I'm in FL and Orlando is 2 hours away, so it's our usual vacation spot! I've gotten some really nice hotels for a really good price. I always try for a 3 star or a resort. I will do 2.5 stars, but don't usually go any lower than that.

 

[pomlover]

I always use them in Orlando as well. Seems that you can get the cheapest hotel prices there with Priceline compared to other cities. Orlando in general has reallllly cheap hotel options though.

 

[Cdn Gal]

I'm in a hotel right now thanks to Priceline. $40 for a 3 star hotel in Toronto. It's a great deal!!

 

[bearzabout]

I keep track of my wins and am up to 184 nights booked through Priceline.

Homework is critical to avoid getting a bad location or overbidding.

Besides biddingfortravel.com, also use betterbidding.com to see what others have gotten.

I love getting 2 star hotels for $24 and Hyatt Place hotels for $38 (plus taxes and fees).

I've lucked into great deals during very busy times when the hotel forgets to block the dates way ahead of time. I've gotten the Rosen in Orlando and Hyatt McCormick Place during a major trade show at the convention centers.

Now I mainly book through Skyauction getting timeshares for $179/week. I can't beat that nightly price on Priceline.

I often bid the day before I plan to arrive and have always been able to get something. Be careful when bidding close to your vacation dates. They limit rebidding opportunities so you have to bid carefully to win at the last minute.

Taxes and fees can add 15-25% onto the room price. Keep that in mind when bidding.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I stopped using priceline.

They only guarantee bedding for two. For real.

But their idea of two and mine are different. We often got a tiny (double) bed instead of queens or whatever....that's a tight fit.

I have encountered this problem myself in the past, though not with WDW-area hotels. No matter how I configured the bid, I always ended up getting a room with one bed. Then I telephone the hotel directly to ask about getting two beds, and half the time there are no such rooms available, and other times they upcharge me 15 or 20 bucks per night for the two-bed room. I recognize that this scenario is not too likely in a family-focused market like Orlando. But given the substantial time and expense that a WDW vacation requires, I feel I can't risk it. (I wonder if there are any data out there on the percentage of Priceline users who got stuck with a one-bed room in the WDW area.)

 

[jpeppers]

I just got the Regal Sun in DTD for the 1st night of my trip and the last night in May of 2010 for $44. I guess the resort fee will be added onto that but I still feel it is a good deal.

 

[bunny213]

Can anyone explain how skyauction works to me? I've never done anything like this before...is there any "inside" information that's important? TIA Barb

 

[cats mom]

I'm a priceline fan too, but I would definitely echo the warning to folks who book priceline rooms for more than 2 people. please only do so with the knowledge that priceline does not guarantee that you will be able to get a room that sleeps more than 2 people.

More often than not I've been able to get my requests granted, even with priceline ressies, but not always.

My most recent priceline experience was at a Residence Inn (not FL or CA) Even though the hotel was practically deserted the whole time we were there, they flat out told me that priceline bookings were assigned queen studio rooms only. I couldn't even talk them into a queen 1 bedroom (exact same price as a queen studio) and a regular 2 queen suite was absolutely out of the question, even when I offered to pay an upgrade fee. They did offer a rollaway bed for the low, low price of $25 a night (advertised at $15 a night on their own website) It's a good thing there were just 2 of us that trip.

I do think the above case was an abberration. The hotel manager definitely had an attitude about priceline bookings that filtered down to all the front desk employees. In fact in reading other reviews of the hotel, said manager apparently has an attitude about a lot of things.

But the fact remains that if I had booked that hotel for a family of 4, none of us would have been happy campers.

 

[Stevesmiles]

taxes are so high on Orlando vacation services