Priceline Hotel: 5* hotel selection in Ft Lauderdale

[Eddie M]

Greetings from a new and hopefully loyal member!

Thanks for such great forum.

Planning on taking the family to Fort Lauderdale ~2nd week of September and would like to use your PRICELINE link for what will be my first Priceline transaction. I would like to bid for a 5 Start hotel Ft Lauderdale Beach area but it seems the bid selection only allows up to 4 stars.

My first ( :) ) question is: how can I only select 5* hotel (only one hotel in that area as of now)?

Thanks!

Eddie.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

5* is not available in this area - not all hotels participate on the bidding side of the service.

Are you only looking for the beach zone? Would 4* be okay? If so, what would be your desired budget per night?

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

[thereuare]

Planning on taking the family...

Also, note that PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, after that it's at the discretion of the hotel, and you could receive a room with only one bed. While you can call the hotel you win and request a room with two beds, the hotel may not be able, or willing, to honor your request. Is this a risk you're willing to accept? If not, HOTWIRE may still be an option as they allow you to search for up to quad occupancy and ensure sleeping accommodations for everyone you include in your search (although this usually means two beds, the second 'bed' could be a sofabed, rollaway, etc)

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

[Eddie M]

Thanks guys, I learned few things in those two replies!

I would prefer a hotel on the beach for this particular vacation with my wife and 2yr-old; and double occupancy would be fine (tho I will remember that hint).

RE budget, I could go up to $150/160 for a nice place (not sure if that is wishful thinking). There are good 4* but also very good 4* hotel and I still don't know how to single out the 'very good' ones even if I have to pay little extra. i.e. I am afraid to over bid and get a lower-end 4* hence my additional $$ went toward extra PL profit instead of better amenities for me if that makes sense.. :)

[AaronJB]

The trade-off of the discounted rates that PRICELINE offers is that one has to be flexible as to which hotel they get.

If you bid for a 4* hotel in a particular zone, then you have to be willing to stay at potentially any of the 4*'s in that zone. HOTWIRE would allow you to possibly make an educated guess (which isn't guaranteed) as to which hotels are showing based upon the information showing, but HOTWIRE is generally at least somewhat-moderately more expensive than PRICELINE.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Eddie M]

I agree. Looking at the grand scheme of things, getting a 4* room in a highly sought after location/zone with a deep discount is a very good deal after all. I will do a bit more research but it sounds like I am settling on bidding on a 4* in the beach zone (5) and using zone 3, 6, 8, 9 to increase my bids.

[AaronJB]

Please let us know if you need any further research assistance and what you decide.

(additionally, it would be greatly appreciated if you listed zone names instead of numbers. Thanks.)

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