Priceline Hotel: Honeymoon in Hawaii

[tikinyg]

Planning a Honeymoon for Hawaii. Will be staying 5 nights in Oahu (3 at Waikiki and 2 at Pipeline) and 4 nights in Kaui. I have hotels I defintely want to stay in on these nights so will probably go with the cheapest traditional route.

We are also planning on staying 4 nights in Maui (Sept. 17 - Sept 21). Would like to stay in a resort but have no preferences among the resorts.

When is a good time to start bidding? What would be a winning bid to expect? Am I correct in assuming that all rooms will be the lowest grade? (that is fine, just curious).

First time to boards and first time to priceline. Any help is grately appreciated.

Thanks!

[LoneStar]

Congratulations on getting hitched, tikinyg. If you're new to both priceline and this board, you've got a little reading to do if you want to take maximum advantage of priceline's low rates. Read the "how does this board work" stuff to familiarize yourself with "intelligent" priceline bidding, and skim through the posts from this Hawaii section to give yourself an idea of how much you'll need to bid, when to bid, and how to predict specific hotel availability.

Basically, the Maui resorts start at around $130 (although lately we haven't seen anything below $150), and inventory can be a bit dodgy. It's probably not worth bidding yet, although you could check the packages section to see if any resorts are currently showing inventory. You're generally only guaranteed the lowest room category, but upgrades happen all the time, especially to honeymooners who mention it at or before check-in. :)

I would also urge you to reconsider your Oahu strategy. Honolulu offers fantastic deals, especially in the 3 star category. Sadly, there are no North Shore properties that participate.

[thereuare]

We may also be able to help with the direct hotels as well (ie- some consolidators/wholesaler where you know the name of the hotel upfront, but is sometimes less expensive than a direct booking).

[tikinyg]

Thanks for the tips. Anything around $150 in Maui would be a huge plus, so that is great to know. Right now everything is $250+. The package deal strategy is also pricing the hotels around $230 so I think it is too early.

In Kaui, are looking at the Hyatt. Definitely want to stay there. Based on discussions here, and looking at the package strategy, I think the Hyatt will be underbid by the other hotels on priceline so would miss that one. Hyatt also has the lowest price guarantee on their website, so I don't think I can beat it in a traditional route. That is why I am booking direct with them.

Thanks again. I will keep checking with the package strategy until the prices on Maui come down.