Dman

Great deal! This Hilton is one of the best hotels on the corridor (Other than Los Ventanas and Palmilla, which are $700+ a night properties).

No, it's been around a long time. I stayed there about 6 years ago. It's a perfectly decent condo complex, but it's not on the beach - it's probably a mile or so from the nearest beach. It's right on the border of Kihei and Wailea. Joe's is a really good (but not cheap) Bev Gannon restaurant that's a short walk away from the complex. Probably the reason you don't see many reviews is that individual units vary by who owns and manages them, so reviews don't add a lot of value. It's what I'd call a midrange complex - better than most in Kihei, but not as upscale as most others in Wailea. Assuming you have a rent-a-car, it's fine. If not, the location would be rather isolated from stuff you'd like to do, other than play tennis (It adjoins the Wailea Tennis Center). There are several pools. but they are all quite small - similar in size to a backyard pool of a house.

It's a good price, but calling this place a 5* is clearly a stretch. Too bad, as Nusa Dua has several LEGITIMATE 5* places, like the Sheraton Laguna and the Nikko and the Conrad and the St. Regis that are FAR more luxurious than this Novotel. That being said, it's still a good price even for a 3.5-4* resort that this place legitimately is - but unfortunately, it's presence on PL as a "5*" keeps one from being able to bid for the Sheraton Laguna - for prices in the low hundreds, which would still be bargain rates for deluxe places like that which book for prices in the $200+ range when booked directly.

I disagree - I think that his strategy is sound. In fact, the Hotel Wailea has recently been taken over by the Aqua group - and the Aqua hotels do appear on both Priceline and Hotwire. But interestingly enough, my experience is that the lowest winning price on PL for Aqua inventory is generally the same price that it comes up on Hotwire. I recently experienced this first hand, when I got the Aqua Surf off Hotwire for $59, after failed PL bids up to $58, and shortly after, someone reported a win for $60 on PL. But that being said, in fact, these hotels can be gotten for the same price - maybe even a few dollars less - because of the saved Hotwire or Priceline fees on the Aqua direct booking website. I found that I actually could have saved $2 a night after fees had I booked the Aqua Surf directly. If he actually wants to stay at the Hotel Wailea - I'd recommend booking it on the Aqua direct website - so long as he has enough time to get their 60 day advance no cancellation rate - which is as cheap or maybe even cheaper than the place could be gotten on Hotwire or PL, after fees are considered.

The centrally located 3* boutique hotel is the Aqua Aloha Surf

You didn't seriously expect to get a 4* or Resort in Waikiki for under $100 while excluding the Marina zone on Labor Day weekend, did you?

The short answer to your question is: No. You have a pretty good chance of being right using that methodology, but you cannot be completely certain. For example, supposing the Prince got itself reclassified as a resort?

Strategically speaking, that's correct, what you did actually maxed out your probability of getting the Marriott - but obviously, the Marriott didn't have inventory on PL - but even so, you actually got the best price for the Sheraton. Nobody's reported it for less than $175 a night in a long time.

Several years ago (at least 6), I won the Royal Hawaiian for a bid of $156 when the lowest direct book rate was $299. But who knows what the parameters are nowadays. But frankly, I didn't think it was any nicer than the Hyatt or the Marriott which can surely be won for cheaper (I did think it was better than the Sheraton Waikiki) and for what it's worth, both the Royal Hawaiian and the Sheraton Waikiki have undergone some significant renovation since that time.

Frankly, I would have no idea, as the dates have not been reported and they are unlike any other dates during the year, But if it were me, I would simply start my bidding at something like $160-175, which are the rates that the Hyatt and Sheraton normally come up at, and work my way up. You've got plenty of time, you might as well use it - you can bid again for the same zones and dates after waiting at least one day after a failed bid. Assuming that you only want Kaanapaali, not Wailea, and only want to consider a resort property, I would start at $160, add the free rebid zone of Kahului and up the bid $5. Then add the free rebid zone of Kihei and up the bid $5 more. After that fails, wait a day, and start at $175 and do the same thing again. If that fails, wait a day, start at $190 and do the same thing again. Keep trying this until you reach the maximum you would be willing to spend (I assume it's probably somewhere in the $250-300 range, which, BTW I think there's a good chance you'll win in that range). But it might be a good idea not to go above $250 or so for the next month or two because there's a good chance that those resorts won't put ANY Priceline inventory out there for those dates until 2-3 months before hand, because they would obviously prefer to sell the rooms for $400+, and that's possibly the only week of the year that they actually have a chance to sell out at those rates. However, if they are not close to selling out those dates by October, they will probably release more Priceline cut-price rooms. Also, if that's beyond their budgets, there are also some good 3-3.5* resort properties on Kaanapaali as well, but the bidding strategy is different because Kihei is no longer a free-rebid zone if 3 and 3.5* properties are being considered.

Actually, sounds like an echo in here.

I only dragged it out for him because he seems pretty determined to get the pricing well under $120, even though you and I both know that $120 is still a darn good deal.

You're well on the way, but you MIGHT have to spend a few bucks more than you thought, but probably not. You got the counter offer of $120, so that means that's the most you will need to spend. But you can probably get it for $110 or less. Waikiki Central was your first free rebid, but there are others available. Diamond Head, Airport, and Executive center are also free re-bids that have no resorts. So, since you already bid $105, try adding one zone and bidding $107. If that doesn't work, add one more zone and bid $110. If that doesn't work, then try bidding $112. If that doesn't work, come back a day or 2 later and go through the exact same sequence, but starting at $112, then going to $113, then $114, and then $115. If that doesn't work, come back a day or 2 later and repeat the same sequence starting at $116, then $117, then $118 then $119. You might also have to face the reality that the best Waikiki Resort price for your exact dates might be slightly higher than $110 - although it's certainly no higher than $120. Sometimes that's just the way it is if the dates are in more demand than normal. But I am pretty sure that if you got the $120 counter offer from $100 bid, that you have a very good chance that the winning price will be between $107 and $112.

The Prince.

Kapalua is a small, self-contained upscale resort. There really is only the Ritz Carlton hotel and the Kapalua Villas that are actually within Kapalua - other than some extremely upscale private homes, which I am quite sure are not rented out via HOTWIRE or PRICELINE. Anything else that's nearby but not actually in Kapalua would probably have to describe itself as being in the Napili-Kapalua area, or some other area like Napili, Kahana, or Kaanapali, rather than actually being in Kapalua itself. That's why I said it was almost certainly the Kapalua Villas. The "almost" allows for the wiggle-room of some place inaccurately describing itself in a deceptive way - but, as I said, the ONLY actual condos in Kapalua itself are the Kapalua Villas.

It's almost certainly the Kapalua Bay Villas, but if I were you, I would not book it on HOTWIRE. You can book them without guessing, via Expedia or Travelocity in June, for rates ranging from $179 to $239 a night depending upon what type of room you choose.

Yes, as long as you are only bidding for a resort, those are also safe re-bid zones. Actually, they are safe re-bid zones for anything 3* or above.

You probably could have gotten it for $89-95 a day if you had used your free re-bids for prices lower than $100. But frankly, those prices are shockingly cheap for dates that extend into the Xmas holiday period. It's still a really good deal, even if you could have saved another $5-10 a night. Most hotel websites I've seen consider 12/18 the start of peak-season rates for 2010.

Since you have plenty of time, why not just start low, like $22 a day, and up the bid by a couple of bucks each time every couple of days. I have often gotten cars for significantly below the price where PL says you have a good chance. While I have not tried getting a convertible, I have very often gotten a plain compact car for bids of $11 when Priceline told me I had little chance, and $20 would give me a good chance, and $22 a great chance. The fact is, Priceline wants you to bid higher than their minimum price, because that's where they make their profits. It really just depends upon the inventory position of the car rental companies. If they have a glut on convertibles for your particular dates, you'd be pleasantly surprised at how low a bid that they will accept.

Wow, I didn't realize that Waikiki Parc is now considered a 4* on HOTWIRE. I wouldn't want to get hung with that for over $125 a night.

My best guesses are, top to bottom: the Prince (is a 4*, not a 3*), the Marriott, and the Aqua Palms

I think you're out of luck. You're price limits are probably about $10-15 a night too low, plus, as Thereuare mentioned, you can't target a specific place like the Moana Surfrider - and in point of fact, you're more likely to get either the Sheraton Waikiki or the Hyatt or the Marriott. With HOTWIRE, you could more effectively target a specific place (but again, the Sheraton and the Hyatt have the same amenities, I believe), and your price points are probably $25/nt or so too low with HOTWIRE.

You MIGHT get "upgraded" to a Resort and get either the Sheraton Waikiki or the Hyatt, rather than the Marriott for your bid if they have given PL room inventory, but frankly, I don't think that it's really an upgrade, as I consider all 3 of those hotels to be comparable. And yes, in any case, Priceline keeps the extra cash you bid. And IF those other places have given rooms to Priceline, chances are that they could be gotten for under $125 in any case - both of those other places have been going for rates around $119 or less, as well as the Marriott. But, when you bid more than you need to, that's just extra profit for PL - which is why William Shatner seems so happy, because he agreed to do their ads for stock, rather than cash many years ago, and his Priceline stock is worth over $500 Million dollars nowadays because of all that extra cash that they get to keep when folks over-bid.

Congratulations - nice win, and good information for the database as well. Enjoy your trip.

I have to admit, I personally think that the Ritz Carlton is pretty darn nice as well. But you won't be getting it for $200 or so on PRICELINE, and I should warn people that during the rainy season, which runs from mid-late November to some time in March, it can rain heavily and continuously in Kapalua for several hours at a time and often for many days in a row. However that being said, the place is gorgeous, and you can sometimes find rates for as low as $300-350 a night there. Alas, I last stayed there when my company was throwing a corporate junket, and those days are long gone.