chas3

I have been trying on and off for a few weeks throwing bids up to $150 out there with no luck. Today I put in my first bid at $140, 4*, Ft Lauderdale Beach area, and it was accepted at the B Ocean Hotel. Reviews and location seem OK. I'm cancelling the Hyatt. Thanks for your help (yes, I did use your PRICELINE links)

Thanks for the very solid advice! I went ahead and booked the Hyatt Place 17th St. with a refundable rate. It actually looks like a decent property and I wouldn't be too heartbroken if we just end up staying there. I'll poke my head back here to use the PRICELINE link in a few weeks to see if prices have come down. You also make a valid point about how we may feel the day we get off of the ship. From past cruises I can guarantee at least "bloated", however, this will be the first cruise where we have a drink package (pay one price and drink up), so maybe I should be looking for a property with a detox facility Anyway, thanks for your help and advice.

On the Sunday morning that we get off of the ship we are not renting a car. Our plans are to explore Ft. Lauderdale a bit on foot and/or water taxi. Knowing it will be far too early to check into a hotel room we are hoping we can put our bags in secure lockup at the hotel we are using. Some of our plans are weather-dependant, and if it's real nice we may want to go to the beach or sit by the pool. Our flight departs Monday morning at 9:50 from FLL. Thanks for your continued help!

Thank you very much for setting me straight on that!! Apparently I forgot from before not to simply rely on the list posted here. I just did it the way it is properly explained and it makes a lot more sense-but for some reason I still get nervous adding zones that I don't want to be in. Anyway, using the proper method I tried 2 more bids. I'm now up to $175, targeting the beach zone with a 4*, and still declined. I'm not sure if I should lower my bidding and settle for something in the downtown area, go south to Hollywood or what? If I knew the area I could make a better decision. Any words of wisdom?

I was aware of other re-bid zones, but I get cold feet when I start bidding outside of my desired zone. I guess I'm afraid that even though the PRICELINE hotel list posted here doesn't show a 4* in an area that I'm adding to re-bid, one may have been recently added and I'll be the first one to find out. Just paranoid I guess. Today I bid up to $160: Beach Zone 4* and then added airport north-still declined. I'm not sure yet what my ceiling will be before I try another method or book direct with a "known" property. I'm going to take a break today and maybe throw a little more money at it tomorrow.

Today I bid 3 times in $10 increments $120-$140: 3* Downtown, added Beach Zone, added Airport North. Bid accepted at $140 for Riverside Hotel (Downtown). Trip Advisor has mixed reviews on it, but we're only there for one night. With taxes and the $5 insurance I opted for, it came out to about $170-Still cheaper than the $210 I was prepared to pay at the Hilton. Thanks for your help. I really feel that I can navigate Priceline much better with your helpful input and advice. I'll keep chipping away at our post-cruise hotel in the other thread and let you know how that goes.

OK, Updated last years thread. Went to MAPS and HOTELS.com and saw prices in the $240's for the beach zone (the cheapest 4*). Today I bid $130, 1st using only the beach zone/4*. Then added FLL airport north (supposedly only 2*), stayed at 4* and bid at $140-Declined.

Update requested by board admin: We ended up flying into Miami instead of Ft. Lauderdale and ended up booking a hotel directly through the property so that we could be next door to a place where friends/co-cruisers were staying.

Update: Have tried bidding up to $110 for 3-Star, using Downtown Ft. Lauderdale & Ft. Lauderdale Beach -No Luck.

Update: Decided to bid up to $120 for 4-star Ft Lauderdale Beach Area-Declined.

(Parts of this have been carried over and copied from my other thread) This will be our first visit to Ft. Lauderdale and we are doing a cruise. I would like to use Priceline to bid on a hotel for 1 night after the cruise. For the night we return from the cruise (Sun 3/17/2013) I would like to bid for a property in a location on/near the water (I'm guessing Priceline's Ft. Lauderdale Beach area #5). Since we will be spending the entire day there once we get off of the ship, I would like to have a nice hotel with a nice pool. If possible be near beachwalks, shopping, decent restaurants, etc.. I'd like to stay "around" $150 +or- a little, and I would like to be with 4-Star (unless you know of reasons that I should use 3-star?) Any help would be greatly appreciated, and yes I will use this sites PRICELINE link.

Thanks for the reply. I will start another thread for our post cruise stay, and I did click both links. I took a look at Pre Cruise Hotels.com and did find it helpful. I also saw the America's Best, but once I read the Trip Advisor reviews I was no longer interested. Right now I have a back-up, cancelable reservation at the Hilton Lauderdale Airport for $190+ tax (almost $210). If possible I would like to try to get a 3-star bidding on Priceline. I appreciate your help.

This will be our first visit to Ft. Lauderdale and we are doing a cruise. I would like to use Priceline to bid on a hotel for 1 night before our cruise and 1 night after the cruise. For the night before the cruise (Sat 3/9/2013) we just need something clean, inexpensive, and conveinient to FLL airport and Ft. Lauderdale cruise terminal. Our flight arrives around 9PM, so we just need a decent place to sleep that won't cost too much in taxi fare from airport to hotel, and the next morning hotel to cruise terminal. What I am finding right now booking direct at even the "lesser-brand" hotels is prices of $200+ Yikes! I'd be happy to pay around $100 (or less) For the night we return from the cruise (Sun 3/17/2013) I would like to bid for a better property in a location on/near the water (I'm guessing Priceline's Ft. Lauderdale Beach area #5). Since we will be spending the entire day there once we get off of the ship, I would like to have a nice hotel with a nice pool, etc.. Hotel prices in the area seem to be cheaper for Sunday nights as opposed to Saturdays. I'd like to stay "around" $150 +or- a little. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and yes I will use this sites PRICELINE link.

Yesterday I gave it another shot and this time it was accepted. My bid was $146+$4 bonus cash=$150, Waikiki Beach area, Resort. We ended up with the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, which, as luck would have it, was my last choice among the possible properties that we would get. This was mainly because of it's location-not right on Kalakaua and kind of on the fringe of Waikiki Beach. I guess that we'll just get a little more excercise walking. I remember last year not being thrilled with the Sheraton Waikiki when I won the bid, but after staying there really liked it. Hopefully this will be the same experience as the reviews on Trip Advisor are favorable. Anyway, I rolled the dice to save a few bucks and we'll see if it paid off. Thanks Betterbidding for all of your help. I'll be using your help again for our Miami trip.

As of just a few minutes ago, using the PRICELINE link here, I bid $137+$4 bonus cash=$141 per night for Waikiki Beach Zone 7, Resort and got a big fat NO! This is the highest bid I have made yet and I am really getting the feeling that real drastic bargains are not to be had using Priceline for this reservation. I have got a new message from Priceline after placing my last 2-3 bids: Try Again Right Now We searched hundreds of options to find your hotel room, however we can't accept your offer of $137 per room, per night. Your credit card has not been charged for Request Number xxx-xx-xxx. If you are willing to raise your price by $34 to $171 per room, per night, you can try the same request again right now. Normally you are required to change additional items (add zones, star level, or dates) in order to try your request again. However we are able to extend this one-time opportunity to you because of the zone, quality level and dates you requested. I'll keep dabbling here and there.

Our plane lands at FLL at 10:20AM. If I could get by with paying under $150 (or less) then I would be pleased. Matter of fact, I would be fine with getting the Holiday Inn at the Port by bidding substantially less than what I am paying now. Not knowing the area, I am trying to avoid dirty/dangerous parts of town and I think I would like to drive the wife over to the South Beach area (if we're not staying there) to see it. I'm fine waiting a while to aggressively bid if you think that may be better. Thanks

OK, I read my messages. Nothing new in there? And I clicked on the PRICELINE link and actually tried a bid for Downtown Miami, 4*, $90, which was rejected ( I didn't really think I would get it that cheap).

Thereuare, leasa, Thank you for replying. My main problem right now is that I'm looking at a map of a place I've never stayed before, not knowing if a location is in a desireable part of town or not. In looking at the Priceline zone map it appears that zones 6, 12, 14 (Miami Downtown, South Beach Central, South Beach Ocean Dr.) are the closest to the Port of Miami? If these are decent, safe, clean locations I would like to stay in one of those. I don't really want to stay in Lauderdale or near the Miami airport. I'd like to be in an area that has plenty to offer if we walk around. Leasa can you tell me what you have paid through Priceline for the Intercontinental, how long ago and what time of year? Chas3

On Friday March 2, 2012 we are flying into Ft Lauderdale, renting a car, and driving to Miami where we will stay one night before our cruise. The car rental is one-way from Ft. Lauderdale and will be returned, the next morning, locally in Miami near the cruise port (not the airport). Just to have an intial backup plan, I have booked a cancelable resrvation at the Holiday Inn Miami Cruise Port hotel, but at $210+tax for one night it is not cheap. I think I might want to give Priceline a shot and was looking for recomendations near the cruise port and a bidding strategy. I'm OK with paying $100-$150 (if necessary) for a decent place, but feel that the Holiday Inn is too high. I don't need a palace, but don't want a dump in a bad part of town either. Thanks!

I couldn't help myself. I went ahead today and bumped it up to $131+$4 bonus= $135. Still rejected! This bidding is addicting! You may be wondering why I would be OK with pay $186 w/tax not bidding, but hesitate to escalate much further bidding? It's because in reality I would be very happy with the Sheraton Waikiki, Moana Surfrider and even the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. I would not be so thrilled to get the Marriott Beach or Outrigger Reef, but it would not be the end of the world. I just like the location of the first 3.

I gave one last stab yesterday at $127+$4 bonus=$131 and was turned-down again. If I can keep myself away from Priceline for a while I may try to resume bidding, reverting back to lower bids, in a week or two. In the meanwhile I reviewed the list here for potential Waikiki Beach "resort" properties and checked their prices and locations individually. Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach gave me a decent rate of $164 (+tax), so I booked a cancelable reservation as my back-up for now. The location is hard to beat and Trip Advisor reviews were pretty favorable. Still, with tax I'm looking at about $186 a night, plus the $30 parking fee which I can't avoid even with Priceline. Nobody said Hawaii was cheap! I'm sure I will resume bidding, probably sooner than later, but in the meantime at least I have a reservation to fall back on. I'll keep you posted and keep using your PRICELINE link.

Well, I've been bidding for a couple weeks now and have had no luck, so I think I will lay low for a while before I start re-bidding. I have been using the PRICELINE link from this site and have $20 bonus cash from the Entertainment Book to use, which works out to $4 per night. I started my bidding at $95 and slowly increased to $126 (which, with the bonus cash, was a $130 bid). I've been selecting "Resort" & "Waikiki Beach". I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous at this point. Any thoughts and/or suggestions? Thanks.

AaronJB, What is the rational of not bidding everyday, and instead waiting 2-3 days between bids? Thanks, Chas

Thereuare, Romelle, Thank you for your help. I have begun my bidding, however, since we are close to 3 months away I am just going to bid once a day for now and will use the link from here. I am also going to purchase the trip insurance for $5/day. In reading the reviews for the 5 possible properties that we may get by selecting "Waikiki Beach" & "Resort" none of them sound too bad, but we really enjoyed the Sheraton's location and the property and hope that we get it again. I did get the $20 Entertainment bonus linked to my account by going to priceline.com/entertainment2011 and putting in my Ent. card #. Now on my future bidding trips to Priceline I will use your link. It may take a week or two, but I'll report back when I have an accepted bid.

Are you saying that you got the Waikiki Sheraton by selecting 4-star instead of resort? Thanks.