Priceline Hotel: Big Island Resort bidding help

[jj_2999]

I've been reading posts on the board for a while, but this is my first post. Thanks to everyone for all the great info.

I've been able to get a great airfare already from CMH to HNL on ATA. Now need to make some hotel arrangements. Have pretty much decided on the Big Island. I've been to the BI before, but my girlfriend's never been to Hawaii. So I'm trying to make it a special trip. Have noticed that Priceline has three resorts currently available in the packages section (Hapuna Beach Prince for $202, the Hilton for $239, and the Fairmont Orchid for $698). I, obviously, didn't expect to get the Fairmont, but either the Hilton or Hapuna would be great.

I started with REALLY low bids just to see what would happen since I haven't seen any recent posts here of what is getting accepted.

Dates: 6/21/05-6/26/05

Resort

Kamuela area

first bid: $115 (thinking 60% of median posted for resort by Priceline was $198)

rejected

added Hilo for free re-bid at $120

rejected

changed dates to 6/22/05-6/27/05 for free re-bid

bid $125

rejected

Wondering what your recommendation is now?

I can add Kona area for free re-bid (Priceline indicates that no resorts are available in Kona)

but I'm a little anxious of adding Kona since I know that PL classifies the Sheraton Keauhou as a resort.

Not to mention that Starwood Group offers a 5th night free anyway--don't want to wind up at the Sheraton paying too much.

Figured I'd work out the details/dates for the BI, then work on hotel for HNL.

Also, has anyone tried PL for airfare from HNL to KOA? I understand the time issues associated PL and airfare, but a significant enough savings might make it tolerable. It's really a shame that Hawaiian and Aloha don't offer the inter-island air pass anymore...oh well.

Sorry for being long winded. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

If you don't see any Resorts offered in Kona, how do you figure that the Sheraton in that zone is classified as a Resort (is that information current, maybe that htoel no longer has a contract with Priceline for their opaque product?).

If you're not comfortable using Kona as a re-bid zone, then don't, and this is how i would proceed:

Select Resort...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $138.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[jj_2999]

Thanks for the reply. I don't "know" that the Sheraton is avaialable on the opaque product, but when I used the link on PL to see comparable prices prior to bidding the Shraton came up. So maybe they offer the Sheraton as a traditional booking but not the opaque product. Sorry for my confusion, still trying to understand how PL works.

After reading some reviews on Tripadvisor of both the Hilton and the Hapuna, I think I'd like to try to get the Hapuna (though the HIlton seems fine, just not on a beach and doesn't offer the guest discount at the golf courses I want to play). Any idea what bid might get the Hapuna. Seems from other posts that the Hilton comes up frequently at $138 (even though the "listed" price on PL is higher for the Hilton than the Hapuna), is it possible that the Hapuna would come up at the $135 you suggested? Indeed has anyone ever gotten the Hapuna through PL?

Again, sorry for being long-winded. I really appreciate your assistance.

Thanks

[thereuare]

You can't bid for a specific hotel... you should be willing to accept any hotel at the star level you are bidding.

You essentially need to make a decision between your choice of hotel and price.

[nelskw]

I went through an almost identical situation as yourself and if you want to read the discussion, look at the "K'aanapali unsuccessful bid" from the message board. Below is how my bidding went, and I ended up taking the Sheraton for $160 a night through the United Airlines 50% discount, instead of purchasing through priceline. BTW, I did bid up to $155 for the hilton area and did not get it. I DID use the Kona free rebid zone and the Sheraton obviously did not take it, so I don't think that they are listed as a resort. This was last week that I did this, so unless they change in a week, I wouldn't worry about it. Hope this helps.

-kn

[jj_2999]

Thanks for the responses. At this point, I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to weigh all factors, i.e. price, disneyland-style resort vs. more sedate beach resort, resort guest discounts vs. full green fees, proximity to what we want to do/see, etc. before I make another move.

Thereuare, I think you misunderstood my question (or probably more likely I misstated). I understand that you can't bid on a specific hotel....Ican gather that much about PL and it's been mentioned enough here. My question, more directly, is has anyone gotten the Hapuna from PL and if so at what price?

nelskw, thanks for the input, I read the thread of your situation, and it is relavent to my own. I, too, am considering just going with the HSeraton since Starwood offers the intro rate $168 plus 5th night free. It is closer to the Volcano and the snorkeling spots around Capt. Cook. Can always drive up to Mauna Kea to play golf and pay the non-guest rate.

hmmmm, just not sure right now. Any other feedback is appreciated.

Thanks

[thereuare]

My comment about choosing your hotel was based upon:

I think I'd like to try to get the Hapuna...

All hotels won are reported in the PRICELINE HOTEL LIST for this area.

[LoneStar]

Realistically, it's pointless to bid below $120 for a Big Island resort, and the odds that you'll be hit below $135 are small. Hawaii is also "oversold" this summer so priceline inventory is sparse. You are going a little before the peak, however, so you have a chance of snagging something if you are flexible and understand that there won't be a lot of "choice" involved.

If you read these posts, you'll see the cheapest Big Island resort is the Hilton Waikoloa, and that is the one you will ALWAYS get unless it is not offering cheap inventory on the days you want it. In other words, if you bid $135, that's realistically the only hotel you will get. When the Hilton is sold out, you can sometimes get the Prince for something north of $150.

Right now, for ALL of those days, it appears from a Hotwire search and a Priceline packages search that the Hilton is NOT available for all your nights, and bids below $150 are extremely unlikely to win. That said, if you adjust your days and are willing to move if necessary, you MIGHT be able to get some days at the Waikoloa for $135. Check each day in pairs on Hotwire and packages and see if you can spot the likely problem days where their rates are higher. If you then omit that date, you might get a good deal on the others.

As far as airfare goes, priceline is very unlikely to help, but you can bid it if you want to try a longshot. Interisland fares have been at nosebleed levels this year (erasing the good deal you got to HNL!), but they have come down a bit of late. Best deals are on Hawaiian and Aloha's own websites. The absolute best deal is if you have a United ff account, and withdraw 5000 miles per roundtrip interisland ticket.