berkeleyboy

My dad ended up going with the Radisson through Hotwire! Thanks again for the help!!! (He posted a new topic in the Hotwire forum.)

thereuare: Yes, I checked hotwire out and I believe that one of the choices for Waikiki Central matched the description for the Radisson. Only $75 / night! I passed this along to my father, so now he has to decide between the convenience of the Sheraton Kaiulani ($109 / night, one block from beach) or the Radisson ($75 / night, three blocks from beach). I appreciate your response.

LoneStar: Thanks for your help. I read more about the insurance and do agree with you that it might be a pain to get reimbursed just because I don't like the hotel. I appreciate your response, however. The cleanest way is obviously to figure out if my parents can live with the Park Shore (worst case scenario). If they can't, then they shouldn't bid and should just stick with the backup plan.

I was able to secure the Hawaii Prince for myself and my girlfriend, but now I'm trying to help out my parents, who are planning a trip to Waikiki from 9/14-9/19. My dad already has secured as a back-up a small room at the Sheraton Princess Kuilana (3-stars) for $109/night. He is certain that he wants to stay in Waikiki South only. Through Priceline, he is thinking that maybe he can either (1) pay a little more for a 4-star, or (2) get a 3-star hotel for less than $109. For a 4-star, his max bid is $125. My father tried bids of $118 and $125 but got rejected. Please advise on whether you think we should be patient and try $125 again. If $125 is not feasible, then we are thinking that he could get a 3-star for much less than $109 on priceline, however we are fearful of getting the dreaded Park Shore. Thus, our idea is to bid on a 3-star and pay the $5/night cancellation insurance to hedge against the possibility of getting the Park Shore. So, if we end up with the Park Shore, we would pay the $5/night cancellation charge ($25 total) and just stay at the Kuilana. Do you think that this is a good strategy, and could you please recommend some bidding strategies? Thank you for your time!

I believe that it was $125 with North Waikiki, Airport, and Exec Center all selected. Maybe I could've bid $130 and been successful or perhaps been more patient, but all in all I think we got a fair deal. It seems that the hotels this fall are going quickly, as all of the Sheratons were sold out when I tried to secure a back up hotel.

First time poster. Was able to secure the Hawaii Prince using the re-bid strategy. Seems like prices have gone up for even the fall months in Waikiki. Maybe I could've done better if I had waited, but who knows. I had targeted the Prince, so obviously I am very happy with the results, as the Prince seems to get rave reviews. Hope this helps other people out there!