Questions about bidding on hotel rooms.

[crazyme5kids]

I have never done this, but would like to try and take advantage of getting some fantastic rates. I would like to know your favorite sites to use, but am only interested in ones that I can bid for a specific hotel. Also how do you get more than one room when you need it, and can you make certain requests after you have won a bid (such as veiws, bed size etc...)? Any other advice you can give me would be most appreciated.

 

[snoopy]

I bid on Priceline for a hotel in New York City before. I've had good luck and bad luck with it. Once I got a place in the middle of Times Square that was a hole in the wall, another time I got a place in Central Park that was very exclusive for a song.

The one thing I will caution you on, is when you bid on Priceline for a hotel, you are bidding on a hotel for two people. So if you are planning on taking your kids, there is a good chance (especially in NYC!) that you will get a place with one bed. We found this out the hard way before! Nothing like being in the middle of Times Square, in a dump, with music blaring all night long and people screaming at the top of their lungs until 5am, and your whole family sleeping in one bed. We ended up giggling all night long over it, but it was a nightmare.

 

[CookieGVB]

Wow, Snoopy - what hotel was that, and how many "stars" did you bid on?

 

[snoopy]

Cookie, I don't remember the name of the hotel, I could look through my stuff though and probably find out. It was smack dab on top of a nightclub, is all I remember. It was a 3 star hotel, how it got to be 3 stars is beyond me.

 

[CookieGVB]

I'd have complained to Priceline, and definitely questioned their rating. That's awful!

 

[ByTheSea]

I've had great luck with priceline. Used it for stays in Orlando, Denver, San Francisco.... all great deals and really nice hotels.

I always check a priceline bidders BB for the list of hotels that come up at various star levels and various neighborhoods, bidding strategies, etc. I'll send you the link in a PM

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by snoopy
Cookie, I don't remember the name of the hotel, I could look through my stuff though and probably find out. It was smack dab on top of a nightclub, is all I remember. It was a 3 star hotel, how it got to be 3 stars is beyond me.

Did you get free drinks at the nightclub for staying there???

 

[disneychrista]

I am not sure of any that you can CHOOSE the hotel you want to stay at. If anyone does know of one I would love to know what it is.

 

[bsnyder]

I have had GREAT luck with Priceline!

Honestly, I can't think of a bad experience, and I've probably had 20 Priceline stays, over the last 3 years. And helped many family and friends with successful bids. Some of the deals I've gotten have been phenomenal!!! But you do need to know how the "system" works.

With Priceline, you are bidding on a certain zone and a certain "star" rating (quality level of hotel). You can't single out a certain hotel. But, you can never get a hotel that is less of a star rating than you've bid on. (but you can get a higher star rating). You also guaranteed a hotel in the zone or zones that you are bidding on.

The most helpful thing for me, is a certain web site, where people post their winning bids. By perusing the bids, you can see what hotels are offered in certain zones and what $$$ amount it takes to get a winning bid. It's not full proof, but if you do your homework, you're much more likely to have a successful bid. If you'd like the link to the website, just PM me and I'll be glad to help you.

 

[crazyme5kids]

Since I am a little slow............. With Priceline you are bidding on several hotels not one. Has and one bid using Hotel Kingdom? What are some other sites beside Priceline? This is all so confusing to me!

 

[mickeyfan1]

There are 2 other sites that I know of, Hotels.com and Hotwire.com I have used hotwire for rental cars, and to get an idea of lowest bid for airfare, but never hotels. I have heard a couple of horror stories from hotel.com bidders (they paid and arrived to find no record of the reservation, and hotel.com basically blew them off). I do know that you won't get on property at DL or WDW, they do not put room inventory any sight but their own and a few travel ones. With all of them, you are bidding on room inventory based on rating, not a specific property.

Gdod luck with your search, where are you going?

 

[babslittleones]

I have used priceline quite a few times already and love it. I usually bid on three stars or higher though since we have young kids. I think the average price we pay is between $40 to $50 a night. The running price for these rooms is usually between $80 to $150 a night so we usually save at least 50% or more on our room. We have gotten Hiltons, Courtyard by Marriots, and Radissons as our hotels. We have always been pleased and have had good service. There are a few times we have heard the check in person mumble "Oh, you are with priceline" but we just let that go in one ear and out the other. All we care about is we get a good hotel room at a great price.

Yes, priceline does say they will only quarentee bedding for two people. We always ask at checkin to get two beds and have never had a problem with that. I have heard that it can be a problem in New York City.

Did I say that "I love priceline."

I hope this helps.

 

[Robinrs]

I use Priceline alot also and have always been very satisfied and amazed. I used it for a last minute trip to Orlando last week and got a wonderful suite for $30 five minutes from Universal!

I would highly suggest you utilize www.biddingfortravel.com for info on how to successfully use Priceline. You can use it wisely or foolishly depending on what you know previously.

Checking out their list of hotels in the particular zone and star level you want is very key. Make sure that you are careful about what you want. I never bid for less than a 2 and a half because I always travel with a child. Barry Hom, the cheap room king, travels alone and has had success with one stars!

If you need any more help, let me know.

 

[glo]

I love Priceline, and use it almost everytime I travel except WDW. I have never had a bad expierience yet. I have only used them once for airfare, and was very lucky no connections and great times. I use it all the time for car rentals and hotels, and have never had a problem.

Good luck, use the site that Robin posted above, it is awesome, and gives you lots of details and help!