Priceline Hotel: Maui - Ka'anaplali

[tdot]

I was wondering if you know if the "Whaler" resort could get selected if I bid for a resort in the Ka'anaplali? We already got the Hyatt Regency for 2 days of travel in September for $165, but we don't want to bid in that range if we are going end up with the "Whaler" resort.

The Whaler wasn't in the compare prices section last week, and I do not see any comments on the this resort in any forum conversations.

Please advise.

[thereuare]

If your $165 was a Priceline or HOTWIRE win (which i suspect by the price it is) please post your results as a NEW TOPIC so that others can benefit from your experience.

[tdot]

Yes the $165 acceptance at the Hyatt Regency was through priceline for the dates September 6th and 7th. I still have 4 more nights to book in Maui and would like to get the Hyatt for the rest.

I do not want to pay the Hotwire price, but I might have to now that the "Whaler On Kaanapali Beach" comes up as a resort in that region.

Please let me know if you have any advice on how to avoid "The Whaler".

Thanks in advance...

[thereuare]

Please post as a NEW TOPIC and include any bidding history if this was not your first bid in the zone. Thanks.

[bbbb]

Where did you get your info that this hotel (Whaler On Kaanapali Beach) comes up when bidding resort in this area?

[tdot]

For each region and class available, priceline provides its lowest price. For Ka'anapali - Lahaina, the lowest price for a resort was $187, which is the same price as the Whaler On Kaanapali Beach resort. Therefore, the "Whaler" must be in that region.

All that being said, I feel that some hotels don't play in the "Name your Price Section". This may open an opportunity to bid on other resorts in the area without the fear of getting set up with the "Whaler".

Any thoughts...

[thereuare]

I don't necessarily agree with your logic of matching the prices.

What are the actual dates of your stay?

Once again, i will request that you post the full details of your previous win as a NEW TOPIC.

[tdot]

Please let me know why you do not agree my logic. I would like to book from September 2nd, checking out on the 6th.

For those dates, if you proceed to the "Shop and Compare" List - it provides the hotels available at specified prices in the different maui regions. For the region that I am looking for, the lowest priced resort option is the "The Whaler" at $187. If I place a bid for let's say $180 - what are the chances that Priceline would give me the Hyatt or Westin, when the Whaler would most likely have a lower bottom limit. My only hope would be that the "Whaler" does not accept lower bids than $187 - but that doesn't seem very likely.

Do you have another way to confirm what resorts you are bidding on? I always thought that the shop and compare section would be the most up to date listing.

Cheers.

[thereuare]

I'm not saying that you're guaranteed to not get the Whaler, but...

You're using the Shop and Compare feature to as a basis of Priceline's Opaque inventory, and i don't believe that is a valid conclusion.

If you look on the Shop and Compare search you'll see the 5* Ritz Carlton offered, yet there is no 5* bidding available in that zone... thus at least one crack in your assumption above.

If you search for the dates you already won (9/6-9/8), you'll see that both the Whaler and the Hyatt are both offered (the Whaler substantially cheaper than the Hyatt). We don't know if inventory has changed since you previously bid, but assuming it hasn't, your previous theory would suggest that you really didn't have any chance to win the Hyatt as you did (as you would have won the less expensive Whaler).

I think that we can give you more insight and an appropriate course of action if you are able to get some additional information from your fiance regarding your other bid:

-was that the first bid in the zone

-did you previously try for the complete stay (or any other subset of dates) before trying for just those two nites (if not what was the gameplan behind only bidding those two nites)

With the above info i think we (and you) will be in a better position to move forward.

[tdot]

I can share some more information.

(1) My fiance selected the two days to help get her bid accepted at a price that did not work for the entire set of dates. I have a feeling that the weekend is more difficult to get.

(2) The Whaler was not on the shop and compare listing when she got the Hyatt.

(3) on your 5 star comment - Priceline would be silly to include a 5-star selection for bidding, because everyone would know exactly what they are bidding on, and that seems to be against the whole idea.

Therefore, I think my logic still holds... please prove me wrong, so I can bid confidently for the remaining days.

Cheers.

[thereuare]

Priceline would be silly to include a 5-star selection for bidding, because everyone would know exactly what they are bidding on

Yet you propose that they would show their entire inventory thru their non-opaque model? Seems contradictory to me.

The quote below from this PRICELINE post also seems to indicate that they are working from two entirely different databases:

So,I waited 72 hours and tried for the 29th. I tried 4* Reno South for $45, then added Reno up to $50, then went to 3* for both areas at $55, then added Sparks up to $60 and got nothing. So I decided just to check the "shop and compare" prices and saw Atlantis Casino, a 4* in Reno South, for $49! I purchased the night, but now I'm really confused about Priceline. How could I have included that area and rating and been rejected at $60 under the "name your own price" and just buy the room from the website for $49???

Additionally if you search the priceline packages feature you will not see all the hotels that are offered thru the "shop and compare" service... more evidence weighing favor of different data being used.

I will add that you are buying an opaque product, that is the trade-off for the savings we are able to get. There are no guarantees in the hotel you will or won't get; you are ultimately responsible for your purchase.

[tdot]

Thanks for the advice.

I will let you know if we take the risk and bid.

Cheers.

[bbbb]

If it were me I would not worry about getting a winning resort bid at the Whaler until we see it won at least once.

[thereuare]

I agree, but somebody has to the the first to report a new property/star rating... could be tdot if s/he decides to move forward.

Here is another way to play this....

Check to see if both the Whaler and the Hyatt show up in the 'shop and compare' section for just the first two nites of your stay (and that the prices are consistent with what you have already been seeing).

Place bids for just the first 2 nites... if you get the Whaler you'll be there two nites (instead of four), saved some money which you can spend elsewhere on vacation to make sure these two nites are still a 'good time', and you'll likely be able to draw a conclusion as to whether or not it's "safe" to bid for the balance of your stay.

Since you want a resort and don't want to pay direct or HOTWIRE prices, this may be a good option.

[tdot]

That's the approach we are taking.

I think you were right though... we bid up to $185 with no bites. It appears that the Whaler is not in both databases.

I'll let you know if we get lucky with a bid. Cheers.