Priceline Hotel: 4* Miami (Downtown) Bidding Help Please

[Aqua03]

This is my first time bidding on Priceline. I'd like a bidding strategy for a 4* Miami Downtown hotel for the nights of December 9th and 10th. Since I am bidding 7 months in advance I don't see any winning bidding for this time period. Looking at 2010 winning bids I'm hoping I will get a hotel for around $70.

Searching the various hotel booking sites currently the cheapest I can get a 4* Downtown hotel is $136. Hotwire is listing a 4.5* for $162. Should I wait and start bidding when I see lower prices on Hotwire or other sites?

Right now I only plan on bidding 4* in Miami Downtown. Might consider 3.5* closer to the date.

So if I start bidding low and don't get anything as I increase my bid to say $65 can I bid weeks or months later at a lower amount, or do I alway have to increase my bid?

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

It costs nothing to bid, so i would at least begin your bidding now. You don't (and shouldn't) bid every day, but starting now and bidding once a week or so would be a viable approach.

At the 4* level in Miami you have SIX 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.

Select 4* Downtown...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70

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.

[Aqua03]

Thanks for this strategy! :)

Please confirm my SIX re-bid zones:

Aventura

Dadeland

Miami Lakes

Miami West

North Miami

Southwest Miami

Before adding each re-bid zone I was planning on opening up a new web browser window (via your PRICELINE link) to check that no 4* hotels have been added to the re-bid zone. Is it possible that from the time you have checked until you submit your re-bid that a 4* hotel has been added to the re-bid zone? I don't know Miami, but I am thinking that there might be some 4* hotels in a re-bid zone that have not yet released rooms to Priceline. Has this ever happened to anyone?

I think the re-bidding strategy has the most possibility of a successful win, plus it is more efficient than having one bid every 24 hours. However, I am wondering how much of a risk is it that a 4* hotel could slip in those few seconds between checking and re-bidding? I really want to be in the downtown area close to the other people in my group that did not want to use Priceline. :)

[thereuare]

Yes, you have your re-bid zones correct.

The star levels shown to be offered in each zone are based upon contracts PRICELINE has with hotels in the zone, not dependent upon availability for your specific dates (PRICELINE doesn't actually check availability in a given zone until you attempt to make your purchase)

So while a new hotel or upgrade has to occur at some point in time, the chances of you checking your re-bid zones and then having a new hotel added to a zone in the next 2-3 minutes when you place your bid, is extremely small; usually checking just before you begin a bidding cycle is 'safe' enough, but you have to bid and check in a manner which you're comfortable with.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Aqua03]

Thanks thereuare for further insight into how Priceline works.

Your help is greatly appreciated! I will let you know how it all works out.

[Aqua03]

I have been bidding via your PRICELINE link for 3 weeks using the above SIX re-bid zones strategy. As I expected no wins yet. On December 11 a Miami Dolphins NFL game is scheduled. Would this have any impact on the prices?

Hotwire still has a 4.5* for $162 and now has a 4* for $152 in Downtown Miami.

Prices on Hotwire have been consistent the last 3 weeks. I am thinking of sticking with $70 as my maximum bid for a few weeks/months. If I still see the same or higher Hotwire prices am I wasting my time submitting the Priceline bids ranging from $50 to $70?

Thanks for your expertise!

[AaronJB]

When both dates are looked at separately, they are about the same prices, so the game on the 11th does not appear to be causing higher rates than the prior date. I think bidding every week or two up to $70-75 is fine, as it's still a ways to your dates. If $75 is the "ceiling" and it starts to get towards the Fall and nothing has accepted, then you can look at boosting the ceiling slightly. What would be your desired max bid per night?

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Aqua03]

Thanks AaronJB for your input on hotel pricing and the NFL game.

If I am understanding correctly what I have read in the FAQ, if a hotel has a low occupancy they are more likely to drop prices on both the opaque (Priceline, Hotwire) and non opaque (Hotels.com, Expedia etc.) websites. During the past 3 weeks there has been little change in the hotel prices for my dates on the non opaque websites and on Hotwire. So is a good strategy to bid more frequently than once a week when a price drop is noticed? Is the idea to still bid every week or two incase a price drop has occurred on Priceline and not been reflected on the other sites?

Using the Calendar of Wins I have seen:

4* Miami (Downtown) Hyatt Regency: $68 for Saturday 11 December 2010 and $55 for Saturday 12 December 2009

3* Miami (Downtown) Courtyard: $75 for Saturday 03 December 2011

My maximum bid would be $75 per night. I don't want to overbid this far out. I want to bid realistically and get a good deal. I do have a backup reservation that I can cancel without penalty.

As an aside, when I am on the "Support/Travel Links" page some of the links under "Hotel Agencies" appear to be broken. EasyClickTravel, LastMinuteTravel, Quickbooks, TravelWeb and TravelWorm did not work for me.

I appreciate all the help that I am getting in attempting to secure my first Priceline win! Thanks!

[thereuare]

If I am understanding correctly what I have read in the FAQ, if a hotel has a low occupancy they are more likely to drop prices on both the opaque (Priceline, Hotwire) and non opaque (Hotels.com, Expedia etc.) websites.

Generally speaking, correct.

So is a good strategy to bid more frequently than once a week when a price drop is noticed? Is the idea to still bid every week or two incase a price drop has occurred on Priceline and not been reflected on the other sites?

Bidding once a week this far out is a good balance between 'staying on top of it' and not getting frustrated with the rejections. If you notice a price drop as you're doing your research of course you should bid that day even if it hasn't been a week since your last bid, but if you don't see a price drop, you should still bid once per week just in case opaque rates dropped without an equivalent drop in 'retail' rates. (hope that makes sense)

My maximum bid would be $75 per night. I don't want to overbid this far out. I want to bid realistically and get a good deal. I do have a backup reservation that I can cancel without penalty.

At the moment i don't think $75 will be enough, but it's a sufficient maximum bid to have this far out. Where and how much is your back-up reservation.

As an aside, when I am on the "Support/Travel Links" page some of the links under "Hotel Agencies" appear to be broken. EasyClickTravel, LastMinuteTravel, Quickbooks, TravelWeb and TravelWorm did not work for me.

Thanks for letting us know... we hope to be re-structuring this part of the board and will clean-up any broken links at that time. In the meantime most links, as well as the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, should all work fine.

Let us know if you have any further questions or if we can be of further help along the way.

Keep us updated and thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board :)

[Aqua03]

Bidding once a week this far out is a good balance between 'staying on top of it' and not getting frustrated with the rejections. If you notice a price drop as you're doing your research of course you should bid that day even if it hasn't been a week since your last bid, but if you don't see a price drop, you should still bid once per week just in case opaque rates dropped without an equivalent drop in 'retail' rates. (hope that makes sense)

This makes perfect sense! Thanks! :)

At the moment i don't think $75 will be enough, but it's a sufficient maximum bid to have this far out.

Are the Downtown Miami more expensive this year than past years or are the previous December wins (provided in my post above) just very lucky?

What do you think a realistic winning bid would be for a 4* or a 3.5* in Downtown Miami?

Where and how much is your back-up reservation.

My back-up reservation is at a ridiculously expensive hotel where other members in my group are staying. (They did not want to use Priceline). Reservation is at the Marriott Biscayne Bay for $183 a night (I am still suffering from sticker shock :) ). I am hoping to get substantial savings with Priceline.

[Aqua03]

I have another question, but I am not sure if it belongs in this thread or another forum:

I am trying to weigh the Pros and Cons of having a Priceline Profile.

I think the advantage of a Priceline Profile is that you can submit your bid faster. You don't have to always enter your name, address, phone number, email and credit card info. I am guessing that this is also the way that you can use Priceline Rewards and look at your past requests. Your personal information would be on the Priceline server and would not have to be transmitted over the internet (using SSL) for each bidding session.

The disadvantage might be from a security perspective. If someone hacked into your Priceline account could they get your credit card information? I imagine a hacker could book a reservation, but it might not do them any good if the reservation holder is asked to produce valid photo id and credit card at check-in time (still your credit card would be billed).

Whether you have or do not have a Priceline Profile your personal information is somewhere on Priceline's server once you have submitted your first bid. I wonder what the data retention period is for personal information when you are bidding without using a Priceline Profile?

Are there any other advantages or disadvantages? What are your thoughts on security issues?

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

If someone hacked into your Priceline account could they get your credit card information?

Not really, since with the end-user interface only the last few digits of your credit card information is shown... i don't see any more/less risk compared to any other online transaction.

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

[Aqua03]

I have been bidding a few times a month using your PRICELINE link and still no win. I have increased my bid to $85 for a 4* in Downtown Miami.

Currently Hotwire is showing a 4* for $147 and a 3.5* for $141 and a 3* for $145.

LastMinute Travel has opaque hotels 5* for $144, 4.5* for $193 and a 3.5* for $125.

Using the Calendar of Wins I have seen:

4* Miami (Downtown) Hyatt Regency: $110 for Friday to Sunday 09-12 December 2011

4* Miami (Downtown) Hyatt Regency: $68 for Saturday 11 December 2010 and $55 for Saturday 12 December 2009

3* Miami (Downtown) Courtyard: $75 for Saturday 03 December 2011

Are the Downtown Miami hotels more expensive this year than past years or are the previous years December wins just very lucky? What do you think a realistic bid would be for a 4* or a 3.5* in Downtown Miami?

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

Using the Calendar of Wins I have seen:

4* Miami (Downtown) Hyatt Regency: $110 for Friday to Sunday 09-12 December 2011

This win is almost identical to your own... i think this is about what it will likely take for your dates as well (but of course i'd star lower and work up to $110 within one bidding session)

A 3.5* might by $10-$20 cheaper.

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

[Aqua03]

This win is almost identical to your own... i think this is about what it will likely take for your dates as well (but of course i'd star lower and work up to $110 within one bidding session)

Given that this is the only posted win that I have seen that is similar to my dates you may well be right.

A 3.5* might by $10-$20 cheaper.

Thanks for the tip on 3.5* hotels!

I have been bidding using your PRICELINE link (thought most of the time I am not logged into my account when using the link).

I have increased my bids to $91 for a 4* and $81 for a 3.5* in Downtown Miami. All rejected.

My co-bidder and I are still hoping for a lower win than $110 for a 4*. I thought that early December would be a slow time for hotels since it is getting close to Christmas. Is that your experience? We are hoping to snag a better deal maybe one to four weeks before our stay. It is a risk that prices may go up instead of down. We will see what happens.

I like the upgraded BetterBidding website! Will be even better once you get the kinks worked out.

[thereuare]

You may want to check to see how many cruises are arriving/departing this weekend as that can also have an effect on hotel demand.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way. (and thanks for the compliments on the new site, i'm pleased to hear how well it's been received thus far)

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

PS- we've cleaned up a lot of the issues since you posted at 3pm today, but if/when you find others please report them in this BetterBidding Upgrade thread. Thanks.

[Aqua03]

You may want to check to see how many cruises are arriving/departing this weekend as that can also have an effect on hotel demand.

Hmm ... For the days of my stay (December 9 to 11) the number of cruise ships in port are: Friday (3), Saturday (4) and Sunday (3).

On Betterbidding and other forums I have seen the following wins for 4* Downtown Miami hotels:

October 28 to 29, 2011: InterContinental $89 -- Friday (3), Saturday (1) cruise ships in port

October 30 to 31, 2011: InterContinental $90 -- Sunday (1), Monday (5) cruise ships in port

November 5 to 6, 2011: InterContinental $90 -- Saturday (4), Sunday (4) cruise ships in port

November 18 to 21, 2011: InterContinental $90 -- Friday (3), Saturday (5), Sunday (4), Monday (3) cruise ships in port

November 25 to 26, 2011: InterContinental $90 -- Friday (3), Saturday (3) cruise ships in port

The number of cruise ships in port for my dates do not seem that different from the other Priceline wins.

Still no wins from yesterday's bidding session of $91 for a 4* and $81 for a 3.5 star.

PS- we've cleaned up a lot of the issues since you posted at 3pm today

I was very impressed with how quickly issues were resolved!

I really like the upgraded Calendar of Wins that now automatically fills in the End Date when given a Start Date. Thanks!

[thereuare]

The number of cruise ships are just one factor.. there can be conferences, conventions, wedding/affairs at the hotels which take up room blocks, etc, etc. The $110 rate still looks like the closest win to your dates, but still a few weeks though for hopefully lower rates.

I was very impressed with how quickly issues were resolved!

I really like the upgraded Calendar of Wins that now automatically fills in the End Date when given a Start Date. Thanks!

Glad you're enjoying the new features. Working hard to resolve a few remaining bugs and getting everything just the way we want it, then we'll have a strong foundation to build upon with additional features we have in mind.

Keep us updated on your Miami progress and thanks for using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

[Aqua03]

My bids of $91 for a 4* and $81 for a 3.5* in Downtown Miami are still being rejected. Given that one could win the Tempo Hotel with an additional $30 resort fee I do not want to go higher than $91 especially since I have a cancelable 4* hotel reservation for $111.

I have noticed on the Hyatt website that the Hyatt Regency Miami is listed as "Hotel not Available" for the dates of my stay. So it looks like retail rooms have sold out. Does this also mean that Priceline rooms for this hotel have also sold out or are they in a separate inventory?

I really like the pre-cruisehotels.com tool! It would be nice if there was a finer breakdown in the miles from the pier, or if you could enter your own figure for the number of miles. When will you be adding this neat tool to the Tools pulldown menu?

As always I have been using your PRICELINE link. Thanks for your help and expertise!

[thereuare]

Does this also mean that Priceline rooms for this hotel have also sold out or are they in a separate inventory?

From time to time we see winning bids at hotels which are otherwise sold-out, but this is much more the exception then the rule, and if the hotel website shows a sold-out condition the odds of receiving this property are greatly diminished (although not out of the realm of possibilities).

I really like the pre-cruisehotels.com tool! It would be nice if there was a finer breakdown in the miles from the pier, or if you could enter your own figure for the number of miles. When will you be adding this neat tool to the Tools pulldown menu?

Glad your enjoying the Pre-Cruise Hotels website... as there are already 1,3,5,10,15,20,25 mile radius options available, how much further would you like to see it broken down?

[Aqua03]

From time to time we see winning bids at hotels which are otherwise sold-out, but this is much more the exception then the rule, and if the hotel website shows a sold-out condition the odds of receiving this property are greatly diminished (although not out of the realm of possibilities).

Thanks for the information!

Glad your enjoying the Pre-Cruise Hotels website... as there are already 1,3,5,10,15,20,25 mile radius options available, how much further would you like to see it broken down?

I would have liked to see 2 miles and maybe 7 miles.

I will keep bidding, but it is getting down to the wire. Hope the prices drop soon.

[Aqua03]

My bids I made on December 5th -- $91 for a 4* and $83 for a 3.5* in Downtown Miami were rejected.

I can no longer cancel my backup hotel reservation so I will be staying at a 4* hotel for $111.

I see that Hotwire rates have now dropped to $105 for a 4* in Downtown Miami, but it is too late for me.

On December 5th Hotwire only had a 3.5* for $141 and a 4.5* for $292.

Thereuare and AaronJB thank you very much for all of your help! It has been greatly appreciated!!!

This has been quite the learning experience. I will continue to use your links for my future hotel purchases.

[thereuare]

Thanks for closing this thread with your ultimate decision.

Have a great trip and enjoy your stay.