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Priceline Hotel: Do prices go down as you approach date?


countchocula
By countchocula,
in

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Hello Folks,

I'm trying to book 2 rooms in Seattle Downtown (pike's place or space needle), 3.5 or 4 stars for July 23rd. I've gotten my bids up to around $100 per night per room, and still no joy. These prices are above many of the successful bids I've seen on this board already.

My question: is it just that the time I'm booking for is high season and hence expensive, or will prices go down as we start to approach the July 23rd booking date? The answer has implications for my next action: do I just raise my bid up until it gets accepted, or should I wait a while to see if rates go down at some point?

thanks!

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Seattle in the Summer can definitely become busy or very busy at times, but day-to-day prices can vary greatly if something's going on (convention, etc.) In terms of purchase timing, that is discussed in greater detail in the site's FAQ. Prices also can go the other way if a particular set of dates is very busy.

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.

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If you go to our Priceline Maps and filter by selecting:

-only Pike Place and Space Needle zones

-July

You'll see it's not uncommon for hotels during the month of July to cost more than $100.

Further filter by selecting 'next 365 days' from the timeline and you'll see that for the upcoming July any hotels already reported have been priced at more than $100.

As per above, you can't necessarily apply recent winning bids for the winter/spring months and apply them to summer months in an area where seasonal pricing comes into play.

Besides your maximum budget for this trip, using BiddingHelper.com, what is the best rate you're able to find at an acceptable hotel thru conventional booking channels?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... and your searches too! (please click each of these previous links before replying)

Thanks.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Wow, your Priceline Maps are awesome! I didn't know you had that on your site - thanks so much! While it true that many properties go for more than $100, it does seem like many have gone for $80 in the past during July. So, do you think I should wait to see if they go down, or is that unlikely? I'm just not sure what hotel pricing trends are on priceline - i.e. if they tend to lower prices as the booking date comes closer.

On BiddingHelper.com, $154 for a 3.5-star (Hotel Deca) on PRICELINE. $144 for the same property on HOTWIRE.

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Nobody can say, not even the hotels, if rates will drop, or move even higher, between now and your stay.... it's all based upon how actual reservations/cancellations come in relative to expecations.

At any given time before a given date a hotel has expectations of what occupancy levels they should have (and this occupancy level expectation increases as the date draws closer). If they are currently below their target occupancy level they may lower prices in order to bring up occupancy levels (and if/when their current occupany target is met they may bring prices back up to pre-discounted rates and/or pull any inventory given to the opaque suppliers)... if they are at or above current expected occupancy levels they may not offer any inventory to PRICELINE / HOTWIRE (or what they do offer may not be discounted very much).

This process continues as time goes on with hotels constantly evaluating occupancy levels to target expectations and adjusting prices accordingly. Depending upon the area this process may be a constant ongoing evaluation with sophisticated computers adjusting prices multiple times throughout the day (like in Vegas where prices tend to be the most volatile) where as in other areas rates may only be monitored/adjusted a few times a week.

If you decide to wait i'd make a reservation that is fully refundable in order to protect yourself from rates rising from here... then if you're successful on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE in the weeks ahead simply cancel the back-up reservation.

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

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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  • 6 months later...

Thanks for closing this thread with your decision.

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

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

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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