Priceline?

[riu girl]

For several days I have been watching priceline (for hotels in Cozumel).
Over and over again, the same 3 , 3 star hotels keep appearing. I am very interested in two of the three 3 star hotels but not too interested in the third (which is also the least expensive of the three).

My question:
Looking at the priceline info. it states that the priceline hotels are for double occupancy and that the bedding configuration is set up this way (therefore the possibility of getting only one bed per room).
What do families do (2 adults, 2 kids) do in cases like this?
Simply not bid on priceline for hotel rooms?

Also, is there a web site that I can look at to learn more about the whole bidding process? If I can get a room that will accommodate two adults, 2 kids I would be interested in this, if not, don't worry about posting a link.

Thank you

 

[runner26.2]

Check out this website. It is an excellent place for a beginner to figure out how Priceline works and exactly what hotels you are bidding on.

http://www.betterbidding.com/

 

[Northstar]

Hi, Riu Girl. You and I seem to be learning about the same things at about the same time! (have seen your posts on Seaworld board).

Because there's no guarantee about two beds with Priceline, families have to decide whether they can cope if there's only one bed. (I spent my rare childhood visits to hotels and/or Grandma's sleeping on the floor with a blanket and pillow so I figure what was good enough for me won't kill my kid...) Most people call/fax the hotel once they've won their Priceline bid and request two beds. Mostly they get it, but just occasionally it won't be available.

Have just got my first Priceline hotel rez for next summer (did it just before they started putting Canadian provinces on the pulldown list so I had to do the CA/99999 address that betterbidding and folks on this board told me about. Hope they don't question that weird address when I check in!) Am hoping DD doesn't end up on the floor, but if she does, she'll still sleep like a log. I guess it depends on what kind of sleepers you've got.

 

[alohamom]

I use Priceline all the time. I actually just returned Friday from a California/Hawaii trip that I really would not have been able to do for as long with out using Priceline. I have been using it since March 2003 and travel 2 or 3 times a year. We got DTD Hilton for 65/night once. Anyway,only once did we ever have a problem and that was in Hawaii on our last trip there. We got bumped out of a Hyatt and into a Sheraton for the first two nights of our stay. The only room they has was a huge 1 bedroom suite with a king size bed however there are 4 of us, 2 adults 2 kids and it just too tight so we ordered a roll away twin bed and it worked out fine. I always phone about 2 or 3 days after I "win" a bid to the hotel reservations and confirm my times and politely request 2 double beds in a non smoking room. I call the day before to the hotel and repeat the request. I also sign up for the points cards that the particular hotel offers and present it at check in. You cannot get points for Priceline stays, but sometimes it allows you some leverage with room choice. Also, if you read some of the reviews on www.biddingfortravel.com you will see where many times people will be assigned a room, go to it, find out it is not suitable for whatever reason, go back to the front desk and are reassigned better rooms. I always look around the room first, make sure the view isn't of the garbage dumpster etc and only then begin to unpack. I have often thought about doing Mexico on Priceline, but I can never seem to find cheap enough flights. Let me know how it goes.The bottom line is you can't be picky and you have to take what you get, but you can save sooo much this way. We just paid 95/night in Hawaii for 11 nights in a 4* which has a rack rate of 300/night! It was awesome-Enjoy learning about it.

 

[alohamom]

BTW, Northstar, the hotel won't see the address you gave Priceline and will not question you on it so don't worry about it.

 

[alohamom]

Sorry to chime in on this again RIU Girl but I thought I'd also tell you that a great way to get a feel for what is avaliable for you time frame is to look at the web sites for all the hotels that are in the zone(s) you are bidding for. Punch in your dates and see if there is avaliability. If one particular hotel has no rooms avaliable, then the chance of you gettin that hotel is very low. However, that doe not mean they have not sold a block of rooms to Priceline or hotwire or a travel company. You could still get that hotel. just the chances are very slim. Alos, keep in mind that new hotels come up all the time, so there may be 3 listed in a zone, but you could get a hotel that is not listed. That is very rare, but it can happen so be aware of that. Also, in the summer, I bid in 4* category and got upgraded to a resort property, which meant a better hotel but it was much further from where I wanted to be located. It was an excellent deal.

 

[riu girl]

Right now by looking at Priceline for the dates in Cozumel, there are three 3* hotels listed, to buy outright from Priceline (without bidding) the prices are $92 - $129 per night.
I am very interested in 2 of the 3 hotels but not the least expensive one since it only offers a jacuzzi, vs. a pool at the hotel.
I will keep watching priceline but wouldn't bid if I see this hotel in their regular offerings.
Does that make sense?

Unfortunately for the weeks I am looking at, priceline is not offering any 4 star resorts, just 2, 3 and resort (with reosrt being close to $400/night).

Still brand new to priceline so will take some time on the web sites listed to get familiar.

Thank you

 

[mapletree]

alohamom,

Any advice on best time to look for air to Hawaii. Six months in advance or earlier? We are considering late July, Xmas06, or March break 07. Do you have a favourite website for air?

What 4* for $95 did you get and would you stay there again? TIA

 

[riu girl]

Well I spent some time on both of the sites reccommended but stillhave a few quetions:
I ahev read that you can try to figure out what hotel priceline will put you in by reading the description?? Perhaps osmeone could walk me through this.

We are not going to Cozumel until next December but since those dates aren't availableto book yet, I am looking at Dec 2006 just for an idea of whatis avialable pricing etc.
When I go on priceline and ask for hotels in Cozumel (Dec 23 - Jan 6, 07) three 3 star hotels pop up (prices between $92 per night - $130 per night). Then it asks me if I would be interested in bidding on a three star property. I went through that process as far as I could (until I would actuallyhaev to enter my cc info. and bid).
But how do I guess what three star I would be given. For an explanation, it just tells about what is found inthe average three star, nothing else).
If I can't find out any more specifics then this, I won't consider bidding since 2 (Coral Princess, Agua) of the 3 hotels look very good, but one looks awful (vista del mar) (it is also the least expensive) so I couldn't risk it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alohamom]

ok, there are really two different ways of purchasing travel from Priceline. One way is to purchase directly without bidding as you are sort of describing. I have done this once in desperation in a very last minute situation BUT if you are purchasing directly check out all prices on Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire first. They will probably all be within a few dollars of each other. Then, call the hotel or hotel reservation line directly and tell them what prices you are seeing on line. See if they will match or even go lower, sometimes they will. Then join their reward or point membership(if free) and use the stay to add up points, they can accumulate so fast. If you want to BID on a hotel stay, it is a different proccess. It can be confusing as it all comes up on the same web site AFTER they offer you the pricing for hotel to purchase directly. It sounds like you went through to the point where you would have to give your info. After you have bid, (I usually go about 1/3 to 1/2 the price on line at the hotel's web site) you wait to see if accepted. They give you a confirmation and off you go, super easy although it can be nerve racking if you don't get bids accepted right away. I think it is too early to bid for Dec/07 but you never know. I would probably wait unitl next January just in case the ressie was confused with Dec/06(you never know). To give you an example of the price difference between purchasing directly and bidding, I stayed in California on the way back from Hawaii last week(sigh, only a week ago we were in the warm Hawaii waters, not looking at snow). Anyway, I was looking at the Sheraton Gateway at LAX on Expedia and I think the price was in the neighbourhood of 189/night CND. We got it for 100/USD/night on Priceline through the bidding process. To address you question on how do you know which hote, the simple answer is you don't and it is a true gamble. If you are not willing to stay in all of the different hotels offered than you probably should not use Priceline. However, there are ways to find out which hotel it PROBABLY is. I use www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com for updated info on recent bids. Plus as I said to you in the previous post, you can check the hotel websites for avaliability during you time and if any are fully booked, say with a convention, the chances of you getting the hotel on Priceline is slim. I have never used Hotwire as the prices are higher than Priceline. At www.betterbidding.com, there is a moderator with the screen name "there you are" who is excent at helping you find out which hotel Hotwire has for sale based on the info Hotwire gives you(they don't tell you the name of the hotel but tell you all the amenities, location etc and you base you purchase ahead of time on that-different than Priceline). Hotwire is better for advance purchases so you may want to try this route. Plug in your dates, see what they offer you and then use better bidding to figure it out (easy to sign up). YIKES< I just gave you so much info, I hope it is not too confusing. I don't know where you are located, but if you have any little get aways planned for a weekend away ( like Niagara Falls or whatever) you could try Priceline to get a feel for how it works. If I remember correctly, we got the Renaissance, which was very nice, for a super cheap price on Priceline. Anyway, feel free to ask anything else, I am happy to help. Good luck.

 

[Lewisc]

You're confused:

1) You can use the amenities and better bidding to try to identify the hotel with hotwire (not priceline).

2) Priceline has 2 ways of booking, one way is basically using them as a travel agent and the other is with "bidding" Different hotels may come up.

3) Look at BFT and betterbidding and see what hotels come up in the * category and zone you're interested in. IF THERE ANY HOTELS YOU CAN'T accept DON'T BID. Even if the hotel is sold out on their website PL might have some rooms.

4) You're bidding on double occupancy. In Orlando almost any hotel will accomodate a family of 4. In cities such as NY you might get a room that not only will only have 1 bed but won't even have room for a rollaway or even an air matress. You're going to be in a foreign country. What will you do if they give you a room for two and insist you purchase a second room, at rack rate? Hotwire does allow you to specify the number in your party and will guarantee you'll get a room that will accomodate your party size.