Priceline Hotel: 3* Honolulu (Waikiki South) Radisson Prince Kuhio

[fishbone]

Dates are 4/12-4/16 for 4 nights.

First tried $68 for a 3* in Waikiki South (was hoping for Radisson Kuhio) and was rejected, got a counter offer to add $17 but didn't take it.

Added Airport and tried $70, rejected.

Added Ihilani and tried $72, still rejected.

I saw other people are getting Radisson Kuhio from $65-70, am I bidding too early? should I wait?

Thanks for any suggestions you may provide!

[LoneStar]

I don't think it's "too early," but from what I can tell the rates on the last two nights are a few dollars higher than we've seen. I have no idea why, and I don't know if they will go down if you wait. FWIW, if you bid $68 on the South zone for 4/12-4/14, I think you'll get the Prince Kuhio. You have to decide whether you want to risk splitting up your stay. Alternatively, you could wait 3 days and bid about $75 and get it for all 4 nights.

BTW, I was somewhat "concerned" that folks bidding on the South zone might start getting the Ohana East (which seems like a nice hotel anyway) instead of the P.K., but looking at the map closely, it appears that the Ohana East isn't quite "east enough" to fall within the South zone. You can't get it in the North Zone either, though, because it is currently getting underbid by the Royal Garden.

[fishbone]

Have bid up to $72 for a 3* in Waikiki South 2 days ago and was rejected. Saw the recent post of Waikiki South for $69 and decided to give another try. I knew there are 2 free bidding zones so I took my chances - if $58 is rejected, then I can add a zone and bid $70.

Here's the detail:

Radisson Hotel Waikiki Prince Kuhio

Check-In Date: Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Check-Out Date: Saturday, April 16, 2005

Your Offer Price: $58.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 4

Subtotal: $232.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $37.94

Total Charges: $269.94

I want to thank LoneStar for all the help, this board is great!

[thereuare]

Yes, i will also add a 'thank you' to Lonestar for his enthusiasm in convering of the Hawaii area lately. :)

Congratulations on your win and enjoy your trip!

[LoneStar]

That's great luck fishbone -- I'm glad you started bidding so low. We haven't seen successful bids in the $50s for that property of late, and it's extremely bizarre that it would happen immediately after your unsuccessful bid of $72. I'm assuming the computer did make you wait 72 hours? FWIW, the "packages" rate for your days is still a bit higher than on some other days, so I'm pretty much dumfounded why priceline would suddenly accept a "lowball" rate.

FWIW, so far analyzing the "packages" feature is very accurate in figuring out which hotels are available and whether there's a good shot at getting them at "prevailing" discounts. It is so far not so useful in figuring out EXACTLY how much to bid. The only solution is bid low, and be willing to wait out the 72 hours and try again.