Priceline Hotel: January 06 in Fort Lauderdale

[vbarks]

I am pretty comfortable bidding for hotels with Priceline (and have also successfully used Hotwire). My question is this: is it entirely too early to be attempting to bid in Fort Lauderdale for a January holiday weekend? (Martin Luther King holiday). We need 4-7 rooms one night pre-cruise, a Friday night. Please advise if you think it is simply too early. We have three rooms (balance of our group hasn't committed to their travel dates yet) reserved at the Embassy Suites but of course the price is quite high and we think we can do better with Priceline or Hotwire. What do you think?

Great board, by the way.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

As long as your plans are firm and you know proper bidding amounts to make sure you don't overbid, i dont' see any harm in beginning to try now.

Let us know if you need help with a strategy.

[vbarks]

Thanks. Well, in checking the hotels showing up in the DT and Beach areas of Fort Lauderdale with Priceline, there appears to be plenty of availability. The only hotel showing no availability is the 3* Marriott Marina downtown. This is Martin Luther King weekend (did I already tell you that?) so I'm concerned about eventual availability.

I know the Embassy Suites is sitting at $220 for our dates but I read that it wasn't participating in PL because the cruise companies were using it as their pre and post-cruise option.

The 4* Renaissance downtown is coming in at $249.

All the 3 star hotels in the Beach category are ranging between $199 (Radisson Bahia) and $299 (Doubletree Galleria).

The 4 star Hyatt Pier 66 is available at $235.

The only Resort - the Marriott Harbor - comes in at $429.

So ... we don't care if we are downtown or at the beach - doubt we'd get rooms with the Resort at $400/night, but would like to try for 3 and 4 star at the beach, and the same downtown (although it doesn't seem there would be availability if one is sold out and the other is used by the cruise companies).

I think it would be fun for my group to stay at least a 3* level so didn't check the Amerisuites at this time.

Would love your advice. I don't mind bidding this far ahead and understand that inventory may or may not change much this far out. I wouldn't necessarily bid every 72 hours in that case.

We currently have two cancellable rooms held at the Embassy Suites for $259/night with all taxes, fees, etc. At that rate, we'd probably have two, or even three couples, share a room (there are three beds in their rooms, but sharing a bathroom with 6 might be a drag). Of course, we'd all prefer our own rooms. My budget isn't an issue, but the others who are traveling with us may feel different - I would think if they could get something around $100/night, they'd be very happy.

What do you think?

[thereuare]

What are the actual date(s) of the stay?

[vbarks]

sorry! Left that detail out - January 13, 2006.

[thereuare]

If you could lock in $100 now would you rather do that than hope that something would be available at $60 in the future? (this will affect the bidding strategy)

Also, as you say in your first post you will need 4-7 rooms... if you need more than 4 you do understand that you'll have to make them in two separate purchases, and no guarantee that you will receive the same hotel in the second purchase?

[vbarks]

Well, since it's not entirely my money, I'd prefer to keep the bidding closer to $60 rather than $100 if given the choice, but if you think that period of time is going to be tough to begin with, I'm open to all suggestions.

And yes, I know (and have told my friends) that there is a CHANCE that two separate bids could have us in two different hotels and they are fine with that.

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

OK, this one has a lot of moving parts, but let's dig right into it, please review the entire strategy first and then ask any questions that you may have....

When bidding in Ft. Lauderdale, you have one re-bid at the 3* level, and three more re-bids at the 4* level (not including the re-bid from the 3* level). Hopefull you're not confused yet! :)

All of the following use the same re-bid zone at the 3* level:

Select 3* Ft. Lauderdale Beach...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously.

Select 3* Ft. Lauderdale Downtown...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously.

Select 3* Ft. Lauderdale Beach and Downtown...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously.

Now you use the three 'other' re-bid zones from the 4* level:

Select 4* Downtown and a re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add Beach....

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $86, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $92.

Any questions feel free to ask. If you're unsure of your re-bid zones please confirm them with the board before bidding (if you're not familiar with re-bidding see this post: PRICELINE RE-BIDDING).

Good Luck and keep us updated as to your progress.

[vbarks]

Thank you so much for the detailed strategy. As soon as I get a chance to read it carefully and be sure of my rebids, I will give it a try and then let you know how it turned out.

[vbarks]

Okay, followed the strategy exactly as written ... but no luck. :) I know it's very early out yet so am not at all concerned, will keep trying. I may book a few more cancellable rooms though, but perhaps at the Comfort Inn as friends have a smaller budget than the Embassy where my other 2 rooms are booked.

Thanks for your help - since there is so much availability (at least showing per the websites), should I re-check the numbers each time I rebid and run them by you, or use the same numbers for awhile?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

I would write down the current rates and if you see an increase/decrease from current rates then make a note of it, otherwise continue to with suggested prices above.

It's still very early and rates do not appear to be inflated (yet) so i'm thinking this is mostly an access to inventory problem (due to the length of time before your check-in) rather than a bid too low problem.

Keep us updated.

[vbarks]

Good Monday morning to you.

Here's a question that tripped me up - I'm doing the bidding for friends for these 7 rooms - in whose name should I put all these rooms? Mine? Which would mean I would have to be with everyone at check-in time, am I right? (Which I don't think is a problem).

Or should I put a room in each couple's name?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

I recommend each person's name (assuming you know all the guests):

All In Your Name:

-you have to be there for each person to check-in (fine if arriving together, not fine if some have other flights/own transportation)

-if you get sick/ill and can't make the trip for any reason, the rest are out of luck

In Each Guest Room Name:

-if know the number of rooms but unsure of exactly who will be attending, can't book their room just yet, in which case it's better to put the rooms in your own name (as you can buy now and then just be there for help "Person X" check-in)