Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Downtown Disney - Lake Buena Vista $58 failed bid

[CivilEnginerd]

I've bid so many times for a 3.5* hotel in the Downtown Disney - LBV zone but no luck (14 days of bidding to be precise). I'm hoping to get the Double Tree so I can avoid some of the resort costs associated with the other hotels. My latest bid was $58, which is well above the last 3.5* winner's bid. I'm trying to get a hotel for 1/27-1/29.

Any tips? Do I need to wait until closer to January?

[thereuare]

Note that the Doubletree is not really seen very often as a win in this zone, so i wouldn't necessarily expect this to be the hotel you eventually win.

With the above noted, i haven't checked other 3.5* hotels in this zone, but rates for your dates at the Doubletree start at $169/nite, which makes your current maximum bid of $58 only about a third of prevailing rates, which does not give a very high probability of success.

Nobody can say if rates will come down, or move even higher, between now and your stay, but at the moment it will likely take somewhat more than $58 to win a 3.5* hotel in this zone.

At what point do you want to raise your bid, lower your star rating, or consider other nearby zones (or increase your bid and star rating, figuring if spending more might as well aim for a higher rated property as Resorts can sometimes be won in this area in the $65-$85 range). Of course you could simply choose to wait it out and hope for lower prices in the weeks ahead.

Let us know how you'd like proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[CivilEnginerd]

Still failed at $69 per night for resorts/ 3.5*. Lame!

Thanks for the help! Of course, I linked to PRICELINE through your site.

[Romelle]

Any tips? Do I need to wait until closer to January?

You've got lots of time yet. Maybe bid only every few days or even only once a week for now? Less rejection to deal with!

It is entirely possible the hotels haven't given rooms to Priceline inventory yet.

Have you found the list of hotels people have reported as wins? First post in this Priceline - Florida area. If you haven't, you might dig it out and glance over it to see what the wins are are the various star levels.

And finally, always a good idea to make a cancelable back-up reservation. It makes bidding lots less stressful, and lets you keep trying up until the last minute.

Romelle

[CivilEnginerd]

Still failed at $76. Going to keep trying!

[thereuare]

Still less than half of prevailing rates.

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

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