Priceline Hotel: 4.5* Maui (Ka'anapali ) Westin

[photobean]

I've been bidding from $170-$220 for a resort in Maui (3/5/05 - 3/12/05) without any luck.

I also tried changing the dates to start from 3/7/05 - 3/12 and dropped the rate to $180 but got rejected again.

Should I drop to a 4 star hotel or break up the trip into two segments? If so what is a reasonable rate to start with?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Are you bidding both Maui zones with resorts or only one of them?

[LoneStar]

Hi, photo. I don't think we can get you a fantastic deal for that week, but we can get you a good deal.

First, you're going to need to break this up. For now, stick to the "resorts" category.

I think the Hyatt Regency is available from 3/8 to 3/12. There is a 4.5 star hotel in Kaanapali going for about $200 on hotwire for those nights. For some reason, it doesn't show in their packages function though! Remember, you can get $30 off each hotwire night through the Entertainment Card offer. So that drops it to $170/night -- not bad at all.

Because it's not on the packages feature, I can't be 100% sure, but regardless it will be a nice resort. So do this. Go on priceline and bid $150 for Lahaina for those nights (possible you'll get the Sheraton at that price!). If rejected, use free rebids to slowly take it up to $165 (use Wailea first, if you're willing to stay there, too). If you don't get hit at $165, follow the instructions for using the hotwire/Entertainment Card $30 off deal and buy each night of these 4 nights individually on hotwire (we can then get you a link for a Hawaii Entertainment Book for about $25 -- it will save you that on Hawaii dinners and activities).

After you get those 4 nights taken care of, let us know, and we can come up with a strategy for the earlier days.

[bbbb]

I don't think its the Hyatt because its sold out for those dates.

[LoneStar]

I just looked on their website, bbbb, and they do have rooms (albeit at $455/night!).

That said, is it also possible this could be the Westin? Are there any hotwire sleuths that remember the icons?

In any event, it's only $170 on hotwire with the Entertainment rebate, so it's a pretty reasonable deal.

[bbbb]

I don't know where you are seeing rooms for sell on Hyatts site? When I check his/her dates it shows sold out.

[LoneStar]

Oh, I see you're looking at ALL the days. Yes, that's true. I was looking at the 4 nights (3/8 to 3/12) where I suggested photobean bid for it. Those 4 nights ARE available so it's POSSIBLE it's the Hyatt (in fact, the odds strongly suggest it's either the Hyatt or the Westin).

[photobean]

Bummer....

I tried priceline for 3/8-3/12 from 150-165 and was rejected.

I havent read up on how hotwire and the Entertainment Card works

would that be the better way to go at this point?

thanks to all for your advice

[bbbb]

I checked both sets of dates,both are sold out.

[LoneStar]

Not a bummer! You were just fishing for an even better deal. So now you know it's not there.

So go claim the hotwire/Entertainment Card offer. Here's the thread. Just make sure you bid on the special Entertainment/hotwire page (and I'm sure thereuare would be pleased if you followed the directions to also give him credit for the booking). Remember, you're going to have to book each night individually to get the extra $30 discount (there's actually an added benefit to this -- you're going to find out what the hotel is on the first try. If for some reason you don't like it, you don't have to bid for the extra nights.)

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?act...172&t=7086&st=0

You then need to immediately buy an Entertaiment book in the next couple of days (assuming you don't have one), and I'd recommend getting a Hawaii book for your trip. They're usually $35, but I've seen plenty of 10 dollar off deals around (we'll find you one if you need it). You then need to send in separately for each $30 rebate in the next 30 days (kinda like getting a computer rebate!).

When you get to the hotel, they'll have to link each reservation together, which will probably be a 5 minute annoyance (but you'll be saving an extra $90, so what the heck).

[LoneStar]

Just a heads up. When I just priced it on hotwire for 3/8 to 3/12, they quoted $202. If you break the nights up individually, they quoted $212 (your quotes may vary by a few dollars, hotwire likes to mix it up). So you may not be able to save the full $30 for each night. So is it worth the extra complexity of breaking it up further? Only you can decide!

[bbbb]

Buying each day one by one on Hotwire is only going to save about $80 total. Theres a lot more fees buying that way.

[photobean]

i just purchased the Entertainment Book for Hawaii using the referred link.

But i cant seem to get the $202 rate on hotwire for 3/8-3/12

I picked all the areas in Maui and got the following 4.5* in Kaanapali for $208/night.

Is this the same hotel u see as well? Should i be accessing the hotwire account through a referral link?

Customer Favorite!

Selected amenities include: Resort, Beachfront, Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Spa Services, Children's Activity Program, Golf Nearby

Also, if I try booking individual days, am i also running into the risk of getting a different hotel?

[photobean]

okay i was playing around with different days on hotwire and was able to pull up $192/night for 3/6-3/12!

The amenities looked identical. How strange..

[LoneStar]

If you're now getting $192 for all those nights, I'd just take it with the single Entertainment discount (what the heck, it will drive you crazy otherwise, and you probably can't recoup more than $15/night anyway after having to pay the extra fees and the additional dollars for some nights).

It's going to be the Hyatt or the Westin. I don't think you can go wrong.

[LoneStar]

FWIW, I just typed in those days and got $195 :)

So you might want to take it before the computer changes its mind.

Alternatively, since you're not going to get the full entertainment discount, bid $ 170 to $180 for those nights on priceline and see what happens!

[photobean]

I got it!

$192 @ the Westin 3/6-3/12

I also noticed that there was a box for promotional codes, so i did a quick search and found that "giftcard03" gives $10 off per night (for first time hotwire customers - max 5 nights) Saved another $50!

Does this cancel out the Entertainment Coupon deal of $30?

Now all i need is a one night booking for 3/5. Not too worried about that since I'll be arriving in Maui 9:30pm that day... so will probably just go for a 2*-3*close to the airport.

I'm so happy! I didnt think I'd get such a great deal.

Thanks soooo much for all your help!!!!!!

[thesqueegeekid]

I also noticed that there was a box for promotional codes, so i did a quick search and found that "giftcard03" gives $10 off per night (for first time hotwire customers - max 5 nights)

Whoa.... with all the pros on this board, how did we all miss this...

Photobean, thanks, you have uncovered some potential spectacular savings for all of us!!!

[thesqueegeekid]

Just found this... unfortunately, you have to enter the promo code at the very last step with your credit card info, so, I can not test it to see if it works!!!

If you are planning a summer trip and need a hotel room, here's a deal. Get $25 off at Hotwire with code HOTUW5CGC1 (5/15). Hotwire

EDIT by thereuare: that code is from 2001

[LoneStar]

Well, congrats, photobean!! And boy, wasn't that a case study on Hawaiian bidding. I'm humbled by forgetting those other hotwire codes. :) And somebody's gotta try squeegee's new $25 HOTWIRE link, which should probably be referenced on the bonus money page.

As to whether you can combine the $10 first time customer discount with the $30 Entertainment savings, I have no idea. You'll be the guinea pig. Let us know.

Somebody more ambitious than I should also try to see if we can dicipher an "icon difference" between the Westin and the Hyatt, so if next time someone is picky between the two, we might be able to tell which is which. Could it be something about laundry?

There's still some "dark science" stuff here that doesn't completely make sense. Like why did Hotwire refuse to offer this property as part of a package (perhaps, as has been discussed before, the hotel wants only complete opaque bidding). And why did it initially look like the night of 3/7 was the problem, but when photobean added BOTH 3/6 and 3/7, the price dropped!

As far as your first night goes, as you alluded to, I think it's a good thing you didn't wind up bidding for 3/5. It's a lot to pay for a hotel that you'd be arriving at after 11 pm, and the drive from the main airport at Kahului is pretty long. Better to do it in the morning when you'll be fresh and can enjoy the scenery. Both hotwire and priceline offer Kahului bidding, but I don't think there's much history available. Hotwire is offering a 2 star at $110 (remember, you could save $30 with entertainment), but I don't know what the property is. I once heard of someone getting the Maui Seaside hotel, but I think that's gotten mixed reviews. I haven't stayed there myself, but I've heard the Maui Beach Hotel is regarded as the best place to crash in Kahului. If you go to their webpage, they've got a $105 internet rate. If it were me, I'd start at $50 on priceline (they only call it one star!) and, over days, go up to $70 (maybe after snagging a refundable hotel stay first). At $70, if I wasn't successful and didn't hear of a better deal, I'd book the Maui Beach for $105.

[thereuare]

Can you confirm the 'giftcard03' gave you $10 off per nite, as those coupon codes were set to expire 10/24/04.

Thanks!

PS- and congratulations on your ultimate success.... you certainly worked hard on this complete stay and deserve every nickel of savings you get!

[photobean]

I'm a little hesitant to call Hotwire to double check (just in case they change their mind about giving me the discount) but the confirmation email i received showed the $50 savings. (see below). Also, I didn't see anything in the fine print about not being able to use the $30 coupon in conjunction with other offers. I'll try and will post the results.

Hotel

1 room(s) @ $192.00 per night x 6 night(s) $1,152.00

Hotel Taxes and fees: $250.95

Hotel Subtotal $1,402.95

Additional Savings $50.00

Total Price $1,352.95

Some hotels may apply additional charges for incidental

fees such as parking. Prices are in $USD

I really found it strange that I got the $192 rate by adding 3/6. And I was confused as to how lonestar and I were getting different rates at the same time (192 vs 195 and 202 vs 208).

[bbbb]

You both got different rates at the same time because one of you had cookies from Hotwire on your computer. If you both would have deleted your cookies the rates would have been the same. When I used Hotwire to buy a room for Lake Tahoe I cleaned my cookies out and the rate went down.

Hotwire lowered the Hyatt from 5* so we could not target it. So I would not look anytime soon for the amenitys to be anything but matching for both hotels. If you read the customer favorite coments you should be able to tell them apart, thats if the Hyatts coments stayed the same.

[LoneStar]

You both got different rates at the same time because one of you had cookies from Hotwire on your computer. If you both would have deleted your cookies the rates would have been the same. When I used Hotwire to buy a room for Lake Tahoe I cleaned my cookies out and the rate went down.

Is there a quick way to just delete Hotwire cookies?

When I go to my browser and click tools, internet options and then general, it has a box for "temporary internet files." If I then click on that box's "delete cookies," is that all I need to do, or are there other cookies somewhere? And if I do hit "delete cookies," will I lose other cookies that are helpful (like the ones that remember my passwords and such).

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win... i think this completes your travel plans, no?

Above you listed only the amenity icons for the Westin, but the search page of Hotwire only shows 8 amenity icons and i think there are more. I believe the full list to be:

Resort

Beachfront

Restaurant(s)

Pool(s)

Fitness Center

Spa Services

Children's Activity Program

Golf Nearby

Tennis Nearby

Business Center

Can you double check this against the amenities shown for the Westin? You can do so by going to HOTWIRE and then MY ACCOUNT (on the top right corner)... from there you can look up this win and see all the amenties.

Once again, congratulations on your win... and kudos to all the BetterBidding members that helped photobean on this one!