Priceline Hotel: Resort Maui (Kaanapali-Lahaina) Sheraton

[Counselor4444]

Hi all,

I've used this forum before for hotwire (with success) but I have never tried (or even considered!) Priceline up to this point. I need some beginners insight and advice. I know that it is riskier then Hotwire because you don't have a way to narrow down what hotel you may get using certain indicators (amenities for example) So, I need some thoughts on how I should go about this and what I may get:

I'm looking to stay at Kaanapali Beach on Maui for 4 nights from 8/26-8/30. I'd be fine staying at any one of the following: Sheraton Kaanapali, Hyatt Kaanapali, or Westin Kaanapali. (So, the "resort" category) I'm not keen on the Whaler Resort. I saw a thread from February of this year indicating that while of course possible, it was unlikely that someone would get the Whaler because no one has posted that they have the Whaler in a long time. Is this still the case? If it is unlikely that I would get the Whaler, I'm very interested in trying to bid to try to get one of the other 3 resorts I mentioned. A 4 star hotel on hotwire nets me similar hotels for $199/nt and I'd like to do much better. How do I figure out how much to bid? How many bids can I make? Are taxes and resort fees included? What else do I need to know? And of the 3 mentioned above, have any been won more frequently then others? Any one to get an educated guess about what I may get?

Thanks very much!

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous Hotwire Punta Cana and Hotwire Framingham threads with whatever you ended up doing for each of those threads... then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at the above.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Counselor4444]

sorry about that! I now replied to those posts.

[thereuare]

The Whaler would certainly possible... but given how long it has been since reported i would say it is not likely. Keep in mind that there could always be other Resort level properties which are not yet reported to the board which you could receive.

Taxes are not included in your bid price but are added to the total you pay PRICELINE. Before you submit your bid there will be a page where you confirm all the details of the bid you're about to submit, and on this page you'll see the total, including taxes and fees, should your bid be accepted.

Please click this PRICELINE link before replying to this thread, then let us know your maximum bid for this stay and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[Counselor4444]

I clicked on the link. As far as maximum price... it looks like from my search of this forum that recent bids for these "resort" properties that I mentioned above are accepted by priceline for $133-150 frequently. I'd like to spend no more then $140/nt + taxes and fees. Thoughts?

[thereuare]

Hawaii in the summer is often more expensive than other times, so it may require a bid closer to the high end of the range, but we can give it a shot over the next two days and try as follows:

At the Resort level you have TWO re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select Resort Kaanapali...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select Resort Kaanapali and re-bid zone2...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $120

Any questions feel free to ask.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Counselor4444]

Let me confirm I am doing this right before I start to do it! I want a "resort" level hotel. On Maui, Priceline's Zones 1 and 4 offer "resort" level hotels. Zones 2 and 3 for Kahlui and Kihei do not offer "resort" level hotels. And I want a resort in the Ka'anapali section. So, when I bid I'm going to try just the Ka'anapali section for my first two bids. Then, add either Zone 2 for Kahlui for Zone 3 for Kihei and still check off the "resort" level only knowing that since resort level hotels are not in those areas, I will can only get a resort level hotel at Ka'anapali. Right? Am I getting this?

I have another question: above I posted I would spend up to $140/nt. But your bidding strategy only took me up to $120. Was this an error? Or am I missing something? And am I correct that even if I am rejected I could theoretically go back and try it again in a day or two and get it if a hotel suddenly offers rooms to Priceline at a lower rate?

[thereuare]

I want a "resort" level hotel. On Maui, Priceline's Zones 1 and 4 offer "resort" level hotels. Zones 2 and 3 for Kahlui and Kihei do not offer "resort" level hotels. And I want a resort in the Ka'anapali section.

Correct up to this point.

So, when I bid I'm going to try just the Ka'anapali section for my first two bids.

PRICELINE won't let you bid twice for just the Kaanapali zone, after your first rejected bid you need to change something, which is where adding the re-bid zones comes into play.

Then, add either Zone 2 for Kahlui for Zone 3 for Kihei and still check off the "resort" level only knowing that since resort level hotels are not in those areas, I will can only get a resort level hotel at Ka'anapali. Right? Am I getting this?

Correct, adding the re-bid zone allows you to bid again, adding a zone that you can't possibly win since there are no hotels in that zone which meet the minimum star rating requirement that you have set. So although you have selected more than just the Kaanapali zone, the Kaanapali zone is the only one which you can win a hotel in.

I have another question: above I posted I would spend up to $140/nt. But your bidding strategy only took me up to $120. Was this an error? Or am I missing something? And am I correct that even if I am rejected I could theoretically go back and try it again in a day or two and get it if a hotel suddenly offers rooms to Priceline at a lower rate?

We're trying for the lowest price, and since you have time, you can try the above up to $120... then if that is rejected, we'll revise the strategy to try again in 24 hours (which is the 'lock-out' period after a failed bid and no re-bid zones left to add)

Please remember to start your bids with the PRICELINE links on the board.

Does the above make it clearer and answers your questions?

[Counselor4444]

Got it! Thanks for all your help. I plan on trying as soon as I get my flights and will post my results.

I also have a priceline airfare question... but I guess that should go under the airfare topic so I'll post there.

[Counselor4444]

Using the Better Bidding PRICELINE link, I bid amounts up to my top bid of $141 without success for a resort level hotel in Ka'anapali beach area without success.

I will wait and keep trying every few days to see if something sticks. If not, I'll look and see what other options I have.

[thereuare]

At the moment i'm guessing you're probably looking at somewhere between $145-$165 (likely closer to the high end of this range).

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Good luck, keep us updated and let us know if we can be of any help along the way.

[Counselor4444]

For those experts on this forum that study priceline and hotwire pricing, I'd like to know their opinion as to the relationship between bidding price and how much time until you plan to travel.

Example: Say, I look to bid on a hotel for a stay in August. I make attempts to bid now but I don't bid high enough to get the win. If I wait and continue to try will the price decrease as my travel dates get closer? Obviously, I know that I run a risk of the hotel class running out of rooms but beyond that, is it possible that say a room on priceline or hotwire that is going for $185 now will go down to $150 closer to my travel dates? or does the price stay the same for the hotel on hotwire and priceline regardless if I bid now or I bid 5 days before my travel dates?

any other factors I should consider?

[AaronJB]

Good afternoon. :)

Is this question in regards to the trip discussed in your other Priceline Hawaii thread?

There is no way to know if hotels will lower prices closer to your dates. There are many factors to take into account - season, traffic, conventions and more. Some people have done well waiting until the last minute, but many people over the years have also decided to wait, and were not pleased when they started the search again closer to their dates and found that no hotels were remotely in their price range any longer (because of a convention, peak season, etc.) Waiting is a gamble - it's not only a matter of the hotels in the area possibly running out of room, but it's a matter of hotels possibly also ramping prices before then. On HOTWIRE, there have been many instances where a hotel is $150 and the person comes back only a few days later to find that it's now $175 or $200.

Each instance has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis; I personally take into account likely "floor" prices where hotels are probably not only going to go under due to maintaining profit margins. Taking everything into account (regular rates, season, etc), I try to figure what is the potential upside/downside on the price. To use an example, lets say I'm planning a trip to Chicago in the late Spring and I start searching for hotels in December. I see a 4* for $70. I know that there's probably not much downside on that price, but there's also a lot of potential for upside, given how busy Chicago is in the Spring. I'd definitely take the $70 instead of trying to see if the price may fall a few bucks cheaper, as I risk the price possibly going significantly higher as the date/s get closer.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

You can also see the related in our PRICELINE FAQ.

[Counselor4444]

Yes, this is in regard to my trip to Hawaii. I've searched on this forum and seen that resort level hotels on Ka'anapali beach in Maui have sold anywhere from around $130-$185 using PRICELINE. I know that price is effected by many things- number of rooms available, time of year, etc etc. I've bid up to $150 on PRICELINE without success I'm trying to decide if I should wait a few weeks and see if it takes my bid or if I should bite the bullet and up my bid.

[thereuare]

Not sure what your 'new' maximum bid would be, but whatever amount you're thinking... how does that compare to the best rate you're currently able to find at a Resort class property for your dates? Is there any fully cancellable back-up near this price that you could use to lock in a price now and try to improve upon as you get closer to your stay? If you can find a refundable rate for ~$20 or so more per nite than you would intend on bidding, then that could be worthwile... but if the best refundable rate is ~$50/nite more than you intend to bid then not a viable option, imo.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Counselor4444]

HOTWIRE has the same class hotel going for $203. The best retail price I can find is for the Sheraton Ka'anapali at $259/nt.

Last night, I went up to $158/nt on PRICELINE. I got a response stating that if I increased my bid by $25 I may get a win.

I decided to then place a bid for $163 without success. Any thoughts? Any idea what PRICELINE may want?

[scp277]

After many bids I got the Sheraton Ka'anapali for $175 a night for dates a couple weeks before yours in August (8/11-8/16). See my priceline winning bid. I'd try $175.

[Counselor4444]

Priceline gave me a $30 coupon ($7.50 per night) to combine with my "name your own price" offer. So, I began bidding again using Better Bidding's PRICELINE link... first at 148 + coupon, then 155 + coupon, then 163 + coupon. No luck. Finally bid $168 + priceline's $7.50 coupon which was accepted for the Sheraton Maui. So, for this website's accounting the room was a total of $175.50 per night. We are again very happy. The lowest price I could find elsewhere for this room was $223 using a AAA membership. Last thing on my list is rental car- working on that now! Thanks again all!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you were ultimately successful and hopefully pleased with the hotel and deal received.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[Counselor4444]

There is an error in the title of this thread. It should say $175 not 178 Thx.

[AaronJB]

Fixed - thanks.