Hotwire Hotel: 4* Fort Lauderdale (Beach) B Ocean Fort

[monko82]

Hi there,

I'm looking to book a 4* at the Fort Lauderdale Beach area only (zone on Priceline) for a week (Apr 17th - 24th). Max budget is $160. Does anyone have a detailed bidding strategy to help with this?

Thanks

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding :)

You have 5 zones to use, and i would start at $100.

If you don't know how to determ your zones so please read this link: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

Let us know if you have any further questions.

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

Yellowdog.

[monko82]

Thanks Yellowdog.

I identified the 5 rebid zones. But when I went to enter a bid I could only start at $135 (since two days ago I had tried the 4* Fort Lauderdale beach area only at $135). Priceline gave me a message saying "We were not able to process this request since our records indicate you have already made a request for this same trip". I tried going higher with the rebid zones until I reached $165 and that was rejected.

Since I bid $165, is that where my starting point will be if I were to do this again in 24 hours??

Thanks

[AaronJB]

There is a 4* in the Beach area on HOTWIRE for $171 - at this point, you could try $165 and $170 on PRICELINE, but otherwise I'd just consider the HOTWIRE listing for $171.

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

[Romelle]

After you've met the 24 hour waiting period rule, you can bid any $$ amount you want. It can be higher, lower or the same as your prior bid.

What you can't do is repeat a bid for the same zone (or zone combination), star level or higher, and same dates. The rule doesn't have anything to do with the dollar amount.

I'm guessing when you ran into the "We were not able to process this request since our records indicate you have already made a request for this same trip" you might have tried something within the prior 24 hours. When you are locked out for the 24 hour waiting period, accidentally try some repeat bids, and get the lock-out message .... the clock resets for a new 24 hour period!

This time, be sure to wait the full 24-hours and a little extra for insurance.

This said, I'm inclined to agree with AaronJB's suggestion to just take the Hotwire offer - assuming you've checked the zone maps as they can have different boundaries. You've already tried PL bids very close to that level without success. And sometimes when all the taxes and fees are added in, a lower PL bid totals out to the same as a higher HW rate. That total # is the one to compare.

Romelle

[optimus11]

After you've met the 24 hour waiting period rule, you can bid any $$ amount you want. It can be higher, lower or the same as your prior bid.

What you can't do is repeat a bid for the same zone (or zone combination), star level or higher, and same dates. The rule doesn't have anything to do with the dollar amount.

I'm guessing when you ran into the "We were not able to process this request since our records indicate you have already made a request for this same trip" you might have tried something within the prior 24 hours. When you are locked out for the 24 hour waiting period, accidentally try some repeat bids, and get the lock-out message .... the clock resets for a new 24 hour period!

This time, be sure to wait the full 24-hours and a little extra for insurance.

Romelle

oh really i didnt know the 24hr start all over

lol its like birthcontrol pill..i gotta get my bidding routine down

[AaronJB]

oh really i didnt know the 24hr start all over

lol its like birthcontrol pill..i gotta get my bidding routine down

Yep - after a specific bid fails, one has to wait 24HR.

Please let us know if you have additional questions.

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

[monko82]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I ended up booking one through Hotwire (after over 60 unsuccessful rebids over priceline for the past few days). Hotwire's price went down to $161/night so I snagged it. Pleased with the result as I ended up with: B Ocean Fort Lauderdale. (Anyone stayed there before? Any advice?)

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Solid win for this property, and hope you are looking forward to your stay.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could confirm the amenities associated with this listing. You can still view the full list of amenities assoicated with your purchase by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link on the top right of their home page, then viewing the trip information for this win.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.

[Romelle]

There is a nice review on this site in Hotel Reviews (very last area). When looking for it, there is a section for seeking hotels alphabetically. Click on the "F" for Florida there.

There most likely are also review on www.tripadvisor.com.

I'm happy things worked out so nicely for you. Maybe you'll also post a review when you return?

Romelle

[monko82]

Arrghhh! I should have waited till today to book since the price on Hotwire went down to $151... Ahh well :)

Aaronjb in answer to your request:

4-star Hotel in Fort Lauderdale:

Amenities:

Near Beach

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-Speed Internet Access

Spa Services

Only bummer is the $25/ day parking.. But I only realized that after I splurged a little and pricelined a successful $28 bid for a convertible for the week ;) lol the parking costs nearly as much as car itself.. Go figure

I'll be sure to post reviews when I'm back.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up and new amenity set for this property to add to the Hotwire Hotel List.

Have a great trip!

[monko82]

The hotel turned out to be a great location for what we wanted. The beach was right across the street and there was a shopping plaza a 15 min walk away. Pool was great as we could always find lounge chairs available (even during the busy "air show" weekend). Only downfall to the hotel was the $26 parking per night.

As for priceline's car rental.. We won't be doing a convertible again. It wasn't worth the extra money and the extremely pushy service received by the Alamo person to upgrade an also buy extra insurance etc was frustrating (could be just the one person). She told us all sorts of horror stories about how bad the driving in Fort Lauderdale was - which we found to be untrue. Tip though, IF you were to decide to get collision insurance, the offer provided by Priceline (that expires the morning of car pickup) was the best deal... $11 per day vs $32 quoted by Alamo.

Happy travels!

[thereuare]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay and found the hotel to work well for your plans.