Doski

I will be flying out to Denver for a ski trip on 2/20 and returning 2/27 (saturday to saturday). I will be traveling with 5 others and we're going to rent a minivan or SUV. I didn't see any information on denver car rentals in this forum. The best rate I have seen is $400 for a minivan. Any information on winning bids or bidding advice would be appreciated.

Used the PRICELINE link and the $95 bid was accepted on the first try. Taxes and fees were $34 for a total of $224 for the 2 night stay.

Does anyone know of any promo codes for a deal at the ritz carlton, kapalua, maui?

$40 bid was accepted on the first try. I called the hotel and the standard room is one queen. The front desk said there "may" be a $10 charge for a king or 2 doubles. Used the PRICELINE link

$40...10/25-10/26 used the PRICELINE link

a 3 hour layover is reasonable. I would be comfortable with that. The best fair I have found is $582 (516 base, 62 taxes). total travel time is only 12 hours with 2 stops, but the connections are pretty tight. The best 1 stop flight is 700 (basically the same base/tax breakdown) and total travel time is 11 hrs. what price range would you expect on a priceline bid? most 2 stop flights i've seen are in the 16 hour travel time range, but i've seen as high as 20hrs, and i just assume that i'll get a crap itenerary with priceline. is that a harsh assumption based on what you've seen?

my total stay will be 9 nights. I was planning on staying at least one night in hana so i have to figure out the logistics, but i didn't want to bid on all 9 nights in Lahaina. Bidding on 4 nights is probably the right #, and my reason was that in case i did get a hotel i don't want, i won't be stuck there the whole trip. and if i get a hotel i do want, i can extend it. does that make sense? would you suggest a different approach? my max bid is 150. It would be nice to get 130 or less. anything over 150 and i would be tempted to go to hotwire or book some kind of package, which are pretty decent. I would be OK with Wailea, but Lahaina is the #1 choice. do you have any experience with the direct negotiation route? This would obviously land me in the exact hotel I want and I figure that I might have a decent chance at getting an upgrade thrown in up front.

I have another post in the priceline hotel forum about a honeymoon i'm planning to Maui on 10/26-11/4. I have never bid on priceline air and i'm definitely skeptical about having to deal with rediculous layovers, etc. Are there significant savings to be had with priceline air or is it a waste of time? Direct booking is in the $600 range with all taxes and fees. Could I expect to get that below $400 by bidding with priceline?

I'm planning a honeymoon to Maui from 10/26-11/4. I have focused in on Lahaina as the preferred region. Of the 4 resorts listed on this site as Lahaina options, the only one I don't want is the Whaler. It seems that most people have been getting the hyatt regency as of late, which i would be very happy with. My stay is rather long (9 nights) and I realize that I have a lot of options available. I'm considering a bid of 3 nights, which I am hoping I could "extend at the same price" for 6 if i get a resort that I'm wanting. Then I would probably book the other 3 nights at a premium resort or perhaps spend a night or two in Hana. Any thoughts on my logic? The "status quo" recommendation is to begin the bid at $100 and then increase by $10 increments. I have time on my side, so I'm happy with this approach. My only concern is that an ultra-low bid may give me a greater chance at getting the cheapest Lahaina resort (Whaler)? If that were to happen my plan B would probably be to book a 6 night stay at the Westin through Costco travel, which is listed at $780 per person and includes a rental car, partial-ocean view upgrade, and $250 in resort credit, bringing the net per night stay to the low 200's, which is somewhat reasonable. Does anyone have experience negotiating with the resorts directly? Is is reasonable to assume that I could get a per-night stay somewhere in the 180-200 range at the specific resort of my choice? That would obviously be on the very high end of an accepted priceline bid. Your advice is appreciated.