Priceline Hotel: 3* Las Vegas (Strip South) Hooters

[lenchik55]

Okay so a lot of people try to avoid certain hotels, IE the Trump & Luxor, they also seem to have lower retail prices then comparable hotels.

So what if I bid above the retail price for these Hotels?

IE I am going to Vegas 10/26 - 10/29. The Trump is $93 online, all other 5* in the area are $172+ .. If I bid $100 or $105 or $110, do I have a good chance of avoid the Trump? If I do end up getting it, I can call and try to wiggle out of the reservation (No Casino, not physically on Strip, more expensive)?!

Same with the Luxor, it is $50, other comparable 4* are $65 (NYNY) and much higher. I could bid $55.

And for 3*, Hooters is $17 online, while Ballys is $69 and Bill's is $55. I could bid $25 for a 3* SOUTH, and If I get Hooters I can call and complain about price + its not on the strip. I saw another bidder did this and they gave him 10% lower than published rate + $50 future credit.

What do you guys think?

[thereuare]

Any decision, thoughts, follow-up to your Hotwire Los Angeles thread based upon the reply given? Please post an update to that thread, then bump this thread and we'll have a look at the above.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[lenchik55]

Oh yeah, I'm sorry I forgot to update. Just posted it now. I got the Hilton LAX for $48, very happy with it!

As far as the question below, I wonder if people have experience bidding higher and getting more than the cheapest hotel available for the star rating. Looking through the forum, Priceline rarely gives you a hotel for more than the published rate. I figure the worst that will happen is they'll match to published rate and I'll miss out on $10/night potential savings?!

Haven't been in Vegas in a while, and I'm bringing family from out of the country. (Adults in late 40s and 13, 16 year old teens). Do you guys have advice for the hotel type I should get? Is Hooters not really part of the 'Vegas Experience', and would the Smoke & Casino free Trump be a good choice? How much is parking there? Priceline gave me a counter-offer of $89 when I bid on 5* North Strip @ $70. Based on Hotwire data I'm pretty sure thats the Trump ($93 on Hotwire)

More failed bids:

North Strip 4* : $35, $40, $45 rejected.

North & South Strip 4*: $40 rejected.

Going through this link: PRICELINE

[thereuare]

This thread answers your question regarding bidding higher and receiving a cheaper priced hotel (it's not recommended): Don't Bid Higher For a Specifici Hotel.

Trump will give them the glitz of Trump... but not the glitz of Vegas, imo. As well, you'd want them to be directly on the strip, for a first time Vegas experience. I wouldn't recoemmend Hooters eithher.

How many rooms are you trying for?

What is your maximum budget?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[lenchik55]

Thank you for the info. Trying for 2 rooms, 3 nights. Max budget is about $90, but if we can save some money thats good too.

Maybe I should bid on 4* North (Treasure Island, Mirage, Caesars)... the $20 resort fee at TI is ridiculous though.

Another option is 3.5* South (Flamingo, Monte Carlo), I hear Flamingo has awesome pools, but is dated, and this time of year I don't know if pools are open.

Also Hotwire has a 4.5* Hotel for $84 (Central Strip), its probably Caesars [Casino / Fitness / Pool / Restaurants / Business CNTR / High-Speed / Golf / Tennis].

The Caesars (hopefully) is kind of more than I want to spend, but that would probably be a great experience?! I wish priceline had a 4.5* category.

[lenchik55]

How are Treasure Island and Mirage? I can probably get them through Priceline for under $60, maybe $50.. is that a good deal compared to $84 for Caesars Palace?

[thereuare]

Both the Mirage and Treasure Island are fine... the Treasure Island has a 3rd nite free promo for your dates which would bring your cost down to ~$63/nite.

[lenchik55]

I just read the 'Don't bid higher..' thread, and I want to say my strategy has a key point that is not mentioned in the other thread:

I am bidding 'Higher' but I am also bidding 'Higher' than the current published rate, and with Priceline's guarantee I am risking much less, for example:

4* South Published Rates: Luxor $50, NYNY $65, Westin $139, Planet Hollywod $106, etc

So if I bid $55 here, and get the Luxor, I will still get it for $50 when calling Priceline to pricematch. Same with TRUMP, I can bid $100 and call and pricematch to $93 if I end up getting that hotel. This lowers the 'risk' while the upside is still great.

[lenchik55]

Update:

Decided to save money and stay at a cheaper location. Was aiming for a 3* Bill's Gambling Hall or something similar.

3* South, 2 rooms, 10/26-10/29.

Bid $27 --> Rejected --> Offered free rebid at $34

Bid $30 --> Accepted at Hooters

I definitely did not want the hooters. This hotel is off the strip and it was available for $16 on hotelclub.com.. Called and complained, they were only willing to pricematch to the $16 rate, and priceline was still charging $30 in taxes/fees while hotelclub.com has $12 in taxes/fees. Wrote a letter to management complaining: They tried to rip me off instead of saving me money, put me in a crappy off-stip hotel with bad reviews, and were still charging me Triple fees even after an hour on the phone and pricematch.

Got a reply just now, they are offering to cancel the reservation and gave me $50 'Vacation Bonus Credit'. Overall this was way too much hassle and not worth it. I wish they would offer strip hotels by themselves without adding 'vicinity' to the area.

Used your PRICELINE link, but as I will be canceling not sure if there will be credit.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board... sorry to hear you weren't happy with the results, but glad that PRICELINE was ultimlatey willing to cancel the reservation.

I think that PRICELINE acted properly as their price guarantee applies to the room rate only. If you're not willing to accept a hotel in any part of the zone, then you shouldn't bid that zone.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Hope you find a suitable replacesment (that Treasure Isalnd deal i mentioned above is attractive, imo)... or perhaps you can use your bonus cash for the new purchase?

[lenchik55]

Yes technically priceline did nothing wrong. However I find it strange that they would bill me 2X the published rate and 3X the fees for an opaque service where I take a gamble on the hotel.. basically price gouging. I think most people expect a significant savings when using Priceline or Hotwire.. I'm just glad they let me out, that was nice of them.

The $50 credit is for a Vacation Package only, so can't use it now but probably will in the future.

They cancelled my room so I got another one:

Bid 3.5* North & South same dates:

$35 rejected, $37 rejected, $40 Accepted at Flamingo.

I'm pretty happy with the hotel, its not that much cheaper than published rate ($45) but a good hotel in a great location, plus its one of the few hotels left that does not charge a resort fee, and has great pools I hear. Could have committed another $10-$15/day and tried for a 4*, but that would be another $10-$15 in resort fees for a total of $65-$70/night.

[thereuare]

Yes technically priceline did nothing wrong. However I find it strange that they would bill me 2X the published rate and 3X the fees for an opaque service where I take a gamble on the hotel.. basically price gouging.

YOU chose the price, all PRICELINE did was look to see if there was a hotel willing to accept this price. As an extreme example, if you had bid $1000 PRICELINE would have accepted your bid, awarded you a hotel, and billed you accordingly (and the taxes/fees are based upon the bid amount, so these would have been a lot higher as well). It's not price gouging since PRICELINE did not set the price... you did by choosing the amount of your bid. Regardless, glad you got it settled and are happy with your new purchase.

Bid 3.5* North & South same dates:

$35 rejected, $37 rejected, $40 Accepted at Flamingo.

Can you please add this win to the board as a NEW TOPIC so that it will appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins and others will be aware of it when searching the board's topic titles.

Thanks! Enjoy your stay.