thereuare

Unfortunately, there isn't any history for Hotwire in Hawii (yet). The way you would check is by going to Hawaii>> Priceline/Hotwire Hotel List and Tips. If there were already results for Hotwire in Hawaii, there would be a 'pinned' topic at the top, entitled "Hotwire Hotel Lists and Tips". Although not confirmed by an actual purchase, one of our members believes they have identified a Hotwire hotel given the description (because it's not confirmed, i haven't added it a "Master List" in a 'Hotwire Hotel List and Tips'). You can read what this user thinks by looking at the topic: 'Kauai-Wiamea Plantation Gardens' in the Hotwire/Priceline Hotel List and Tips. Hope you followed all of this (i'm not sure i did and i actually wrote it!). If you didn't, just reply to this post and i'll explain further and give direct links.

By the way, i'm pretty familiar with this area and the hotel is nice. Have fun at the show (i've seen him 10+ times).

Looks like somebody needs some dental work :) As always, thanks for posting.

All of the links have now expired. For the next promotion/bonus money offer, we'll start a new topic in this same area so that users don't need to scroll thru all of the above to get to it. I would like to thank everyone for their generosity in posting links they weren't going to use. We're buidling a nice community here, and it makes me feel good to see the goal of the board coming to fruition... "users helping users."

Bid for 4* and Resort at $65 + $10 Bonus and was rejected. Looks like inventory isn't available yet in San Juan for this far into the future, as $75 is often an accepted bid, and i can't imagine it being high season in the middle of the summer. Just need one nite for a pre-cruise stay.

Hey, VERY cool story about you living in hotels. I recall my first hotel stay as a little kid (at Disneyworld) and i thought it was exciting being someplace other than home. Back then i thought, "why don't we stay here all the time", well you my friend are making that a reality! Way to be your own person!

Unfortunately i'm not a programmer (ok, i take that back, fortunately i'm not a programmer :) ). If i recall correctly i resized the "send this page to a friend" frequently, and one of the problems i was having was getting the text next to the graphic to be legible, as i couldn't figure out how to get the text on 3 lines as it appears now. I resorted to adding the text to the picutre, so the text is actual part of the picture now, which lessens the quality somewhat and therefore requires a slightly larger size than is necessary. I'm sure it can be done so that the text appears on 3 lines as actual text, in which case i could make the picture a little smaller. I'll put this on the list of things to do. The way the board is set up i don't think it's possible to only have the "we have a new name...." to appear only on the home page. Anything that goes in that white space will end up on every page. I'm not to worried about this aspect so much because this text WILL eventually be taken off the board, so in the long term it's not an issue, although i will look into the spacing issue of it which might help. Now that i'm thinking about the code and your comments, i'm going to go back and see if i can get the "send this page to a friend" to appear on the right margin but on the same horizontal level as the "we have a new name". If i can do that, then i think it will solve most of the cosmetic issues we're talking about and will move the "board" up about an inch, or whatever the height is of the "send this page". I do appreciate your suggestions. If you look through all the topics in this section, you will see that most of the suggestions that have been made are now incorporated into the board. I want this board to be a place where people can come to get the information they're looking for as well as have "fun" doing it. Part of that requires that the user like the format and not be "inconvenienced", and the only way that i will know what members like/don't like is thru feedback such as this... so 'thank you'.

I will add to BurBunny's comments that "inventory and pricing changes all the time". Just because a hotel is shown at $331/nite today does NOT mean that it will be that rate tomorrow. Book a cancelllable back up where there is no penalty, then keep trying Hotwire to see if the rate has come down. If it stays at $331 as your date gets closer, then you can decide to keep your back-up, go for a different star level via Hotwire, or see what you can end up with using Priceline. Don't get discouraged and keep us up to date.

I'll research if the spacing can be changed, and if so, how to do it. The announcement of a new name will eventually be taken away, but we still have a lot of visitors coming from our old URL (the board is actually only 1 month old today, with the current URL being only 2 weeks old). The send this link to a friend page will likely remain as it makes for an easy way to have our members spread the word about the site, as they can send our link to up to 10 people at once.

Just to confirm.... i didn't see a "downtown" area. Is this simpy refered to as "Harrisburg" by Priceline? Thanks.

Ken, give this a read: How Priceline and Hotwire Work: Similarities and Differences Short Version: With Priceline you are able to pick the area you

Bid this for my cousin: Grand Hyatt New York Park Avenue At Grand Central Station New York, New York 10017 212-883-1234 Check-In Date: Sunday, March 2, 2003 Check-Out Date: Monday, March 3, 2003 Your Offer Price: $65.00 (+$10 Bonus) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $65.00 Processing Fee ($5.95 per room): $5.95 Local Taxes and Fees: $9.94 Total Charges: $80.89

There's no way to request 2 beds and sofabed at the time of reservation thru Hotwire (or Priceline), but you should just call as soon as the hotel is revealed to you and request your bed preference as well as smoking/non-smoking. Your request will be honored if inventory is available at time of check-in (you shouldn't be treated any better/worse than any other customer who booked directly thru the hotel or other traditional methods). Also, 3 in a room usually isn't an issue in areas like this (where it can be a big issue in places like NYC which are known for tiny rooms), but it would probably be best to not mention it when you call on the phone to request your preferences. It's also always a good idea to behave yourself, especially at check-in... the front desk clerk is the one that ultimately determines where your room is located.

bjems, I looked up your dates using Hotwire (Boca Raton) and assume i saw the same thing you did: 3.5* $82 suite (yes laundry / no kitchenette) 3* $136 Suite (yes kitchenette / no laundry) To answer your question, there have been cases where more amenities are offered than appear on the Hotwire screen. If you want to pursue this to the next level i would call each of the suite hotels in the area and ask each of them if their rooms have kitchenettes and if there are laundry facilities on the premises (you MUST ask each hotel BOTH questions, in case this is a case where Hotwire isn't showing ALL the amenities offered). Hopefully this will add some insight as to which hotels are being offered. If you think you can pinpoint it after the above phone calls, then maybe it's worth the risk (remember, there can always be another suite hotel in the area that you're not aware of which would put a 'wrench' in all of your research). It sounds to me like your main concern is a suite hotel, so what would you really be risking if you buy the Boca Raton 'blind' (this isn't rhetorical, i can't answer because i don't know the difference in quality between Embassy Suites, Comfort Suites, Amerisuites, etc). If you want as close to a sure thing as possible, you can take the safe® bet of the Ft. Lauderdale area and go for the ES, but if you think you'd be happy with ANY suite hotel, then maybe the chance is worth it to you (somebody's gotta be a pioneer :) ) I would explain the facts to each of your friends and make a group decision. Be sure to let us know what you decide and how it works out (and of course, post your winning results if you end up using Hotwire). Most importantly, enjoy the games!!

Can you please clarify if this is in the "Clearwater" or "Clearwater Beach" zone so that i can put it in the appropriate category in the 'master list'. Looking forward to the reviews. Thanks!

But what if the opposite happens, and Priceline decides that they now want to make $10 profit per room above their cost (in addition to the $5.95 fee). As Hotwire is privately owned, we have no idea how much business they do or if they're profitable or not. Judging by the posts here, it appears that Hotwire does significantly less business than Priceline; i agree that some sort of shakeout will occur in the future, but i'm not sure if it means higher prices at Priceline or lower prices at Hotwire. Looking towards an uncertain future is why i felt it was important to maintain a database on BOTH services, as well as welcome other deals from other companies... it's all about getting the best deal! I also agree that Hotwire's process is more user friendly as a result of the icons and should generate more business for them in that sense, but they need to be more compeitive on price. Most people are smart enough to consider "total price" and to pay a few dollars more to be guaranteed an amenity like a shuttle bus when in an airport zone instead of having to pay for a taxi would be worth it. But now, the difference in price is often $20 or more, and the additional cost is not worth the "guarantee." I do think that Hotwire is still the better choice for some families in certain situations, even with their higher price. The clearest example is a family with children who want to swim while at the hotel; Hotwire is the only way to know ahead of time if there is a pool on the premises or not, and THAT would be worth an extra $20 if a pool was important to me. My first thought on airfare is that i'd sooner use it if i could select non-stop and still have the times be unkown (anytime of day). I wonder which would make their business more worthwhile... allowing users to pick a time of day with at least one connection OR having times be totally unkown and allowing a selection of non-stop. Unfortunately, i don't think either of these scenarios will be seen anytime in the near future, as it just doesn't "fit" with their business model (airlines wouldn't want to participate out of fear of canibalizing their existing business). Interesting thoughts all around.

Your wife DID train you well :)

This news (or similar news) has been floating around for a few days now. I think Priceline also announced the other day that hotels bookings year-to-date are up something like +35%... but this news doesn't seem to generate as much press (we're in a slow economy, so only negative news makes the headlines). I think the public still thinks of Priceline as a company for airline tickets, while the rest of us know that the true gem of a product is their hotel business. I think there were horror stories when Priceline first came out, mostly related to their airfare business, and they are still paying the price for it. People don't know just how GREAT the hotel side of things are... especially when you take the time to educate yourself, learn the process, and consult prior winning bids and results. I too was hesitant the first few times, but getting hotel rooms at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of traditional means is worth any potential risk that still remains for me. There have been hotels that i have stayed at that were "ok", but i raved about them given the price i paid. Send me to something that's "acceptable", charge me $50, and i'll think it's the greatest bargain around. Send me to that same hotel, charge me rack rate of $150+, and i'll be cursing the whole way home.

THANKS!!! Another example where more information = BetterBidding :)

Our one nite stay (Oct. '02) at the Hyatt was great. The location was perfect for us as we arrived at the airport early in the evening and had a cruise the next day. The lobby is very nice and the hotel appeared quite clean. It served its purpose well as we ate at the nearby Bayside market place (took the MetroMover there for 25 cents each way now free). Don't know if there's really much to do in the area so i wouldn't want to stay downtown for more than one nite (unless i was here on business) but i would certainly be happy if i won this hotel again when bidding on priceline. The room had a unique set up to it, but it proved to a good one as the room was versatile. By the way, we requested and received a king bed, non-smoking, on a high floor overlooking the water (we received the 21st floor). The Bayside Market Place (an outdoor mall) has lots of restaurants if you're looking for dinner ideas. It is walkable, but not advisable at night as the area it goes thru reportedly isn't that safe. It's less than a $5 taxi ride, or you can take the underutilized Miami MetroMover (a monorail system) for 2 stops, which leaves you a 1 block walk to the Bayside Market Place. The fare for the MetroMover was a whopping 25 cents!!, but apparently now may be free, according to this website which also has a map of the system: Miami MetroMover Based upon our $27/nite winning bid, this may have been the best hotel for the buck hotel i've ever stayed at (would still be a great value at $50+/nite).

As an example, i'll have a problem with Yahoo email, and write them a letter describing the problem. I'll also tell them, "PLEASE don't instruct me to delete my cookies and temporary internet files, because i've already tried that and it doesn't solve the problem." Their reply: Thanks for contacting us. You should first try deleting your internet cookies, and if that doesn't solve the problem, try deleting your temporary internet files. Thanks for contacting us. If you continue to have problems, please let us know. "Pins and needles, needles and pins... it's a happy man that grins; now what am i mad about?" "Well you see Ralph, that landlord is raising the rent $5!" (if you don't understand the above quote, no problem, just a Honeymooner's reference for anyone that is a fan)

The way i read the letter it sounds like they are NOT going to refund the money; AND aren't even aware of the situation. They just browse the letter for a few keywords and then send "Letter x". The worst offender of this is Yahoo who you can write a letter to stating "please don't tell me to try ____ because that's not the problem"... sure enough they send you an email back instructing you to do what you just asked them NOT to suggest. I think Priceline doesn't have an "in" because it appears that this area mostly has lower star level hotels. I usually find that there is more savings in the higher quality level hotels. Fixed costs (chamber maid, front desk, etc) to run a hotel are similar at all quality levels, so the higher end hotels have more of an opportunity to give deep(er) discounts and still make a profit.

This was a Hotwire win, so taxes not an issue.

... and what's important to you (my fault, didn't tell you to post that info). Are you simply looking for the "best hotel for the buck", the absolute cheapest rate, or are things like a shuttle bus, pool, etc important to you?

Was worth the shot... thanks for updating!