LoneStar

Every airline has a group sales department. You usually need 10 or more passengers, and they don't even need to travel on the same flight. There are a couple of different types of discounts you could negotiate. To get a good price, though, your group might have to be a bit flexible. My suspicion is that your travel agent will NOT get you a good price, unless she is a particularly good agent familiar with group trips. I think it would be MUCH better for your group to travel nonstop, but that will be somewhat problematic (from a price standpoint) because there are only 2 airline (USAirways and American) which serve this market nonstop. The suggestion to call Southwest is, unfortunately, not useful in this case because the Wright Amendment prohibits them from offering service from PHL to Love Field, the airport they serve in Dallas. Neither American nor USAirways are likely to want to give you a cut rate deal. So you have your work cut out for you! My advice is to try to get each ticket for under $200 roundtrip (at least before taxes) -- not sure that's possible, but it isn't crazy. Every once in a while there are even lower fares in this market, but the odds of snagging 30 seats at a cheaper price is very remote. A charter might help, but your group may be too small. A small regional jet (the smallest commercial aircraft realistically able to travel this distance) seats 50, although there are a few that seat 37. Feel free to PM if I can be of further help to you. I will likely be facing a similar youth-group travel dilemna, and while I've got tons of experience with individual travel, I wouldn't mind gaining some experience on a group contract.

The Sheraton Kauai was ONCE a 3-star -- I can't remember the reasons (repairing hurricane damage, maybe?). Regardless, the hotel now routinely charges rates in the $300+ per night category, so it is clearly a "resort." The Sheraton Keauhou is a massive remodel of an old resort south of Kona and -- from what I've heard and the prices they're charging -- is worthy of the "resort" label. BTW, this hotel seems popular these days -- I tried to make a reservation 6 months in advance, and they were sold out! It did pop up on priceline this summer for the first time since its reopen (about 2 years ago), but we haven't seen it come up much. The Whaler on Maui is interesting because the "packages" feature lists it as a resort, but it's never been awarded on the opaque side to my knowledge. Obviously, if it were, it would annoy the folks bidding zillions of dollars for the more upscale Kaanapali resorts. I'm not familiar with the Outrigger Reef property.

I'm not aware of any 3-star Hawaiian properties put into the priceline "resort" category, and I hope that doesn't happen. I suppose the Waikoloa Marriott will move up from 4 stars to resort, but that seems justified given the nature of the property and the millions of dollars being spent there on renovations. Priceline would be dumb as dirt if they start filling $200 resort bids with "3 star" properties. Of course, priceline can be tone deaf so you never know for sure. Obviously, if we start getting reports of that here, that will be the end of the $200 bids from betterbidding readers! Those who have followed the Hawaiian tourist business knows that there are great peaks and valleys in demand. Right now, it looks to me like a peak, as they are starting to price themselves out of the market. Most Californians, for example, will head to Mexico before paying $400/night to stay at the Sheraton in Hawaii. I do urge anyone thinking of bidding more than $200 for a Hawaiian resort to consider the alternatives. Frankly, most Hawaiian resorts aren't really worth more than that, especially when you factor in the small room you will likely get and the rip-off prices charged for food and other services at the resort. I do think folks can find reasonable alternatives above that price (including booking condos/hotels with the Entertainment Card discount). B&Bs and cottage/house rentals are available (and, as mentioned, watch out for things like cleaning fees). Sometimes they are good deals, sometimes not. Unless you MUST have the beachfront location (even though most Hawaiian resorts don't have great beaches), and you MUST have the "glamor" of a fancy hotel, I suspect most folks would be happier with "alternative" accomodations once you exceed the $200 price point.

With the daily opportunity to rebid, starting lower is almost always a good idea. :) That said, I think your winning bid is in line with the lower ones we've seen lately. So no need to regret it!

With room rates in Hawaii going to the moon -- based on strong demand -- it's gotten very tough to find priceline bargains in the islands. For example, less than 2 years ago, you could often get the Hilton Waikoloa for $135 and the nearby Marriott resort on the Big Island for under $100. That doesn't seem possible these days. And the odds of getting a resort for less than $150 on Maui -- particularly Kaanapali -- seem extremely remote. Other than simply bidding higher (and really, when you start getting over $200 on priceline, it gets pretty silly), I recommend Hawaii vacationers consider some of the other options out there. The Entertainment Card still offers a 50% discount at many nice Hawaiian hotels (albeit usually not the most deluxe), and that can be good value. You can also try to bid on some of these 3-stars on priceline or hotwire, once you figure out how much they go for with the 50% discount. Similarly, renting a room or cottage at a "mom-and-pop" b&b or vacation home/condo can be an attractive alternative. If you simply "must" stay at a resort, consider some of the frequent flyer deals (both American and United currently have them) where you can buy a 5 night stay at a Starwood or Marriott resort for about $750, in exchange for at least considering their local timeshare properties (reports are that the sales pressure has been generally low key).

Yeah, I signed up for both these promos in recent months. I sign my wife up separately, so we get double benefits. We've also snagged 25,000 American Airlines miles and 20,000 United miles this year with no fee as well. By now I almost dread to do these things, but I basically have a $200 threshold. If the free benefits are worth more than $200 to me, I apply. There are some people who believe acquiring several credit cards and then cancelling them within a year damages your credit score. That's not really important to us, but if it matters to you, you might want to check on this before doing these deals. It is otherwise amazing how much free travel you can get from the credit card companies these days. They are truly desperate to sign up new card members.

There may be other good priceline deals in the Disney area the next couple of months. Disney itself offered free "disney dining" (thru october I believe -- the deal's over, so you can't book it now), which has apparently resulted in strong on-site bookings during this period. So folks who might otherwise have stayed off-site are now on-site. Which should mean plenty of off-site rooms to unload on priceline. It's also, of course, off-season at Disney now for a couple months.

Must have been a pricing mistake (the deal seemed good, but wasn't so low as to be an obvious error). Ramada.com now says "dates for this property are not available on this system at this time."

Hey thereuare -- If you want to stick this point here, please put "VA" in the title. Isn't Verona otherwise a place in Italy? :) I stuck it in the "priceline VA" section because that's where I'd think to look if I was trying to buy a hotel room in central Virginia. Of course, I should probably look in "other hotel deals" too.

If, like me, you often find yourself heading to Central Virginia on a fall weekend for football, school visits or leaves, you know that finding an affordable place to stay (sometimes ANY place to stay) can be challenging. For obvious reasons, I've never had much luck with priceline/hotwire in such situations. I used to sometimes stay at the Harrisonburg Four Points using my Starwood points (it was a great deal at only 2000 points, no capacity controls), but that hotel has now left the Starwood system. In looking around, I stumbled upon this book-direct deal on ramada.com. Depending on how many beds you want and other in-room amenities, the prices on the website currently range from $40 to $49 for fall bookings. I'm sure the property is no more than a servicable place to crash, although they do serve a free extended continental breakfast, get 3 stars from AAA and have a 4 star score on Trip Advisor (with the usual widely differing opinions!). There's no way you're otherwise going to get close to this price in that area for the busy fall season, so you might want to give them a try. No cancellation penalty, either. BTW, before booking this, I called Marriott to enquire regarding their Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn properties in Central Virginia. All were completely sold out for several October weekends. So you might want to book early!

I booked similar days. Flyertalk posters have had success thru June. I don't know what the first available days are. If you can commit to ANY days in Palm Springs, bid NOW. This is obviously a mistake -- like my X-mas win at the Boca Marriott. It will be pulled as soon as they figure it out. FWIW, the La Quinta is one of my favorite hotels in the world. It's a great historic, low key desert property -- you'll feel like a '50s movie star staying there. Haven't been in a few years -- it's been too expensive!!

7/717

There is no longer 4-star bidding in Waikoloa -- it goes from "resort" to "3 star." The only 4-star option was the Marriott, which has been undergoing a multi-year renovation, that I understand is nearing completion. I wonder if they've been upgraded to "resort" now. Until we get reports, be careful, as you might get surprised when bidding in the resort category for something like the over-the-top Hilton Waikoloa. In years past, the Marriott has been about $45 less than the Hilton. The other change seems to be the Kona now has a "resort" category. I believe this is the recently opened (2 years ago) Sheraton, which is several miles south of Kona (the map now seems to include this area). A decent hotel, but probably not in the class of the Waikoloa resorts. We'll have to see what sort of prices these properties now command.

Hotel now goes by the name Holiday Inn San Diego Zoo Area. A bad development is that they now charge for parking. I think it was $7, and you're pretty much stuck for it because there is no on-street parking on Hotel Circle. Bid with this in mind. Hotel is all non-smoking, which I appreciated. In lieu of getting 2 doubles, I snagged a king with a double pullout, and the desk clerk comped us a free rollaway (the clerks apparently feel bad about the new parking fee, which is no doubt VERY unpopular with guests who rightfully feel like they're being ripped off). Room size is decent (I got the side wing, which seemed quieter), and furnishings/amenities properly place this hotel in the 2.5 star category. No reason to eat at the hotel, unless you have kids, who are free pursuant to Holiday Inn policy. Breakfast buffet at $10 was a fair value (once the kids were free!) and is nothing special, but more than edible. The bottomline is that I would generally avoid bidding in the Mission Valley zone because the odds are you're going to get a mediocre hotel on Hotel Circle like this one. That said, if none of the other San Diego zones produce a decent deal, a priceline deal on Hotel Circle isn't bad. It is pretty centrally located to most anything you'd do in San Diego, and there's great freeway access.

Received this for $45 for a one-night stay. Previous reviews are accurate. The hotel is fine, but probably wouldn't be anyone's first choice (unless you could get it for $45 of course, which seems to have VERY limited availability). Surprisingly plentiful free parking around the corner, on the side facing the California Western law school. Note that while Priceline still calls it the "Harbor View," the hotel now refers to itself as the "Holiday Inn Downtown," apparently because they lost much of their harbor view to new construction nearby. While I must say I was a little disappointed to see a Holiday Inn classified at 2.5 stars, this one deserves it. It might even be a weak 3 star. An excellent deal at this lowball price. It's an older hotel (someone told me it was once a Marriott), that shows a bit of it's age, but is still being well maintained. Due to it's noisy location, I'd try hard to get an upper floor room. They accomodated me on this, and once on the 14th floor, there were no noise issues. Biggest drawback is the lack of a real restaurant at the hotel. It seemed to originally have a rooftop restaurant, which has been closed. It now has only a small coffee shop in the lobby. No real reason to eat there, unless you have kids, which makes it a bargain because the kids are free pursuant to Holiday Inn policy. If you do eat dinner, I'd stick to the sandwiches, as that seems to be the limit of their culinary expertise.

Tried just about everything else in the San Diego area for this night (3 stars up to $70) and couldn't get anything. I really did not want to stay on Hotel Circle (although it's really not that bad). So I added the Mission Valley zone and kept bidding. Rejected at $55 and then got this. I'll post a review. Note: title cut off price. It was $60.

Very surprised to see this come up at this price. I was fishing around the San Diego area for a deal, pretty much at the last minute (2 days before), and viola. After winning this, I thought it wouldn't be a bad place to spend another night at this price. But I couldn't get 7/17. I'll post a review. Note that priceline calls it the Holiday Inn Harbor View. Property has now changed its name to "Downtown," apparently after the construction of a tower destroyed much of the view!

Rejected at $55. I've posted a review.

Received this hotel for $60 this time (hotel inflation!). Proximity to the airport is its main selling point. Otherwise, it's still pretty comfy, but I didn't get one of those sleep number beds they're advertising. Clientele is about 80% foreigners this time of year, so it's got a very int'l feel. Made it out to the (marginally) heated pool, which is huge! There's free plug in internet access, but it seems very slow. I'll have to post the bid when I return home to regular service.

I liked this hotel. It has a very nice location, convenient for getting in and out of the city by car -- right inside the southwest ring road, next to the Granada Studios (follow the signs). Less than 1/2 hour to the airport, so almost as convenient as an airport hotel. Yet you're right in the city, with plenty of sightseeing (the nearby Science and Industry museum is a must see, and free!) and dining choices. Street parking in the city is ungodly expensive during the day (about $4/hour) but free between 6 pm and 8 am, and all day Sunday. Parking at the hotel is otherwise 12 pounds/day. Plan accordingly. The hotel has a very nice bar/restaurant area that, sadly, I was unable to use given the extraordinarily high prices (at least for an American given the current exchange rate). My room was very atmospheric (wooden rafters, metal beams), reflecting the building's origins as a 19th century cotton warehouse. I was also able to get a 2-bedded room (Request in advance -- they seemed in short supply). My only complaint was that, despite guidebook references to the contrary, I thought my room was on the small-side. Looking at the hotel map, it seemed like most of the rooms were small, but maybe your mileage will vary. At $70/night, it was a steal. If your passing through the area, give Manchester a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the city (it's nice these days!), and you won't be disappointed by this hotel.

I really liked this hotel. At under $100 on priceline, it was a tremendous value in a VERY expensive hotel city. I successfully phoned the hotel a few days in advance to request a two-bedded nonsmoking room. No problems at check-in, and the room I was assigned was extremely spacious by European standards. The hotel has some character as it is an old manor house facing a famous old racecourse that has been expanded and modernized. Good recreation facilities at the free "leisure center" including an indoor pool. There's a putting green on the lawn. Ample free parking. The only drawbacks are the high prices at the hotel which, at least for me, prevented me from using their bar or restaurant. The hotel might also be somewhat inconvenient without a car. With a car, access to the motorway was extremely easy, and you could drive a mile further to the city walls for a convenient "in town" parking lot for sightseeing. Without a car, I'd imagine you'd have to take a bus to the hotel, or a really long (30 minute?) walk. Still, given the expense you might otherwise incur at a hotel in York, even the carless might like this place on priceline rates!

Stayed here last week for $36 on priceline (mid-June, I don't know if they charge more for the peak summer season). Great value, if you can handle the location. First, you have to know this isn't really in Jackson Hole. It's about an hour away, first down a steep mountain and then over a winding pass, so if location is important to you, don't stay here. I stayed 2 nights with my family before heading to Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone. We did day trip over to Jackson where we "bundled" a lot of activities (alpine slide at Snow King, BarJ chuckwagon, etc.), so for the savings (jackson hole accomodations were ridiculously expensive) it worked for us. Like most ski resorts in summer, they try semi-successfully to find something for their guests to do. It was still too cold to use the swimming pool, but there was an indoor whirlpool. The chairlift wasn't operating the days I was there, but operates more regularly in peak summer season. There was a ropes course and zip line, but the local national guard had booked it solid for my entire stay! Since things were otherwise slow, the activities desk gave me a discount on the rock wall -- $25 total got my kids as much as much climbing as they wanted, aided by a "professional" belayer (I think they each made 3 climbs). The national forest (whom they seem to lease the land from) has a ranger who gives interesting campfire talks in the evening. When it's rainy, he conducts the talks inside the lodge's spiffy fireplaced lobby. The Teewinot Lodge where they house the 2.5 star priceline guests is very nice -- even atmospheric! A solid 3 star (maybe even better) facility. I liked how the hotel tended to be generous on little things. Free wireless internet and guest computer, free local calls. Free hot beverages and fruit in the lobby. Free soap powder to do laundry My youngest even picked up a sticker book to play with. Enthusiastic "college" staff, albeit inexperienced. Hotel is currently undergoing some renovations (when else could they do it?), so you'll likely find some construction going on. Very mildly inconvenient, but I doubt it would interfere with anyone's enjoyment. They also run a camp for local kids and guests. About $160/week. Didn't use it, but the counselors looked enthusiastic and the activities seemed sufficiently entertaining. Had dinner one night in the steakhouse restaurant -- the only one open. Food was pretty good, and the prices were fair. Not a destination restaurant, but more than OK given the isolated location. Didn't try to do any hiking in the area because I had young children, but I did see lots of folks heading off for walks. The location is pretty, but not spectacular like on the other side of the Tetons. Bottomline is that if you can find something nice in Jackson for under $100, you might be better off staying there. But this is highly improbable -- for example the Snow King resort (think of it as an in-town equivalent of the Grand Targhee, with more going on) is like $200. Even the local Super8 is like $125. So unless somebody else chooses to participate in Priceline, your best bet may be the Grand Targhee.

No problem getting 2 beds at the Intercontinental last Thanksgiving. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Some of these rates look quite attractive -- even compared to priceline. They also include breakfast, which can be a nice perk. http://www.solmelia.com/solNew/promociones...93&idcrit2=3194

Don't know about how they treat priceline guests, but the tripadvisor reviews are, in general, fine. I don't think you can go wrong with a Crowne Plaza in Europe for $45, even if it's not a fantastic hotel.