Priceline Hotel: Travel with kids

[nothmiami]

Trying to figure out which service is better when travelling with 2 kids (need a 2 bed room). Hotwire seems to take into account the kids but prices are higher than successful rates on Priceline. Has anyone gotten a single bed room thru Priceline but were able to switch it to a double bed room?

I need a room in Boston 8/31-9/2 for 2 adults/2 kids

[AaronJB]

PRICELINE is generally cheaper, but only guarantees one bed/double occupancy. There is no guarantee or standard for getting two beds - you can request two beds and the hotel may say yes, but there is no guarantee. It may depend on the day and who you talk to, and one user may get two beds while another a week later may not. HOTWIRE ensures bedding for the entire party if you search for more than 2 people.

Are you willing to risk getting 1 bed? 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]

Another user just asked a very similar question in this Priceline Boston thread and there are definitely hotels in the city in which you may get a room with only one bed. The hotel may accommodate your request for a room with two beds, but it's also possible that they may not be able, or willing to do so, or there could be an additional fee involved.

Bottomline is that it's a realistic risk that you'll need to be willing to accept.

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

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[nothmiami]

what is interesting is when i put in the dates (8/31-9/2) in hotwire for 2 adults 2 children there is a rate at what appears to be the Westin Copley place for $240/night but if I try one night for the 1st its 144 and there are none at that hotel on the 31st.

[AaronJB]

Rates and inventory often - especially in major cities - can vary significantly from day-to-day, and looking up date/s separately can definitely result in different listings/prices/availability versus looking for all days of a trip together.

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

[thereuare]

...but if I try one night for the 1st its 144 and there are none at that hotel on the 31st.

I think you may have it reversed, at least that is my experience when searching for your dates:

8/31 - $144/nite

9/1 - not offered

This behavior is not that uncommon at all... if you search for 9/1 you'll see that there is very little availability, and what is offered is very high priced... indicating that many hotels have high demand and high occupancy. Given this condition for Saturday nite some hotels may have a 2 nite minimum, which could explain why you see the hotel offered for the 2 nite stay of 8/31-9/1 but not for both nites when searching individually. The hotel may not have many rooms left for Saturday nite and don't want to sell a solo Saturday nite figuring if they fill up, then they will have to turn away any multi-nite business from guests looking to stay the entire weekend... therefore they impose a 2 nite minimum (or don't allow Saturday check-in... which used to be common many years ago, but as the hotel business slowed down in the early 2000's, we saw less and less of this)

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

Thanks.