Priceline Hotel: Cheap hotel in Miami

[Rolus]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member of this website and I'd like to ask you for some advice. On 5/24 I'm travelling to Miami and I'm staying there till 30/5 - I'll need a hotel for 6 nights. I just want to get rest on the beach, so possible proximity to the beach would be an advantage. I'm travelling alone and I want to stay in one room alone (one or two beds - doesn't matter). I think I can spend about 50 USD/night or less or more if it's not much more and the hotel is much better. I don't really much care how many stars the hotel has, I don't need any meals included (but they would be an advanteage) - just a decent place to sleep, so that I won't be murdered, robbed, etc. :) What would you suggest? Should I wait till the date is due or shoudl I book it in advance? Can I get something for this price?

Best regards,

Rolus

[Rolus]

Dear all,

I'm coming to Miami on 24/5 and leaving on 30/5 in the evening. I was wondering if I can get some cheap cruise to Bahamas or Carribean for up to 6 days that I'm in the US. I'm travelling alone and I'd like to get one room for one person. What do you think the price could be for that kind of travel? Do you have any experience with cruising deals?

Best regards,

Rolus

[Roadguy]

The only time I did a last minute Cruise, I called Cruise.com and they gave me an unbelievable deal on a Balcony room. Their advertised deal was good, but they knocked another 1k off when I called. Anyways, some ships have single rooms, many dont. Go to the Cruise.com website, you might find something(inside cabin) for around $500 after fees

[Romelle]

I've had some success with this one.

Try both the single option and buying two places (some of them are so inexpensive this can make sense).

Romelle

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I can see that you're asking about a cruise and a rental car for the same dates also. Please let us know before we begin to resarch if you want to go on a cruise or look for a hotel and car.

In general for Miami. $50 Can be doable, the airport zone would be your best bet. Downtown can happen arround $50+ but the problem is that parking can be very expensive.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

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

Yellowdog.

[Rolus]

Dear all,

thank you very much for your responses. This is very helpful for me as I'm from Europe and I've never been to the US before. My decision whether I stay in a hotel and rent a car or go on a cruise depends on the prices of both options.

If I stay in Miami I can have two options:

- to stay in a hotel that is not that close to the beach and I'll have to rent a car to get to the beach. Do I really need to rent a car? I read that Miami has very good public transport that operates round the clock. If renting a car was very cheap I think I would decide to rent one and decide on a remote hotel, or

- I can add some cash to the hotel price instead of renting car.

About cruising, I was thinking about a 3-day travel to Bahamas or 4-day to Carribean islands. But it really depends on the price. If I find something interesting I won't need a hotel or a car for those days. My suggestion is to find a hotel first and decide if I need to rent a car (depends on location of this hotel vs. public communication). In the meantime we may try to find a cheap cruise but this isn't priority.

Thank you all very much for your help!

Rolus

[yellowdog]

If the beach is the only purpose with the visit would I save the money and not rent a car.

Focus on a hotel in the DT zone and you can use the free monorail Metromover for South Beach. And Miami also got several busses from DT area to the beach area so that isn't a problem.

What would your budget be for a hotel if not renting a car?

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

Yellowdog.

[Rolus]

Well, the budget is more or less the same 50+, maybe 60+ if the offer would be really good, especially focusing on the location (proximity to the beach) and then on hotel's number of stars, meals, etc.

Rolus

[thereuare]

Please let us know before we begin to resarch if you want to go on a cruise or look for a hotel and car.

My decision whether I stay in a hotel and rent a car or go on a cruise depends on the prices of both options.

Use HOTWIRE and PRICELINE EXPRESS to get a feel for prices of a hotel and/or car for your dates... then research prices for a cruise for your dates. This will give you a very good feel for prices of each and you can make a decision as to which you would prefer for this trip and we can try to assist for whichever route you would like to take.

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

[Rolus]

I'd checked the offers before I registered on your website. The thing is that I want to know if I can bid some better prices, maybe some last minute offers or some discount for booking in advance. I checked also your wins reports. Can you tell me if bidding may be better than taking the hotel's offer? Of course, I'm aware that you can't predict future and I'm not asking for this but I want to know what this looks like from your experience.

Rolus

[thereuare]

There is no way to know if prices will come lower, or head higher, between now and your stay... it's all a function of supply/demand and how actual new reservations and cancellations come in relative to expected new reservations and cancellations.

For more on this subject see the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

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

[Rolus]

Well, of course no one knows what the prices will be and I understand how the prices are driven. I'm asking about some trends (if there are any) like usually at the beginig of summer prices go high or you may always find a cheap hotel in X area but it's far away from the beach, etc. Do you think that it may be a good idea to book something in advance that has free cancellation and in the meantime try to bid something better?

Rolus

[yellowdog]

Rolus

Miami is never really "cheap", but it isn't any high season for your dates.

See my previous answers for best zones etc.

Yes, book a hotel that you can live with and take a chance for the last minute. But I don't think it will be a big difference on the price since you're aming for lower rated hotels. Usually are the savings less when bidding for cheaper hotels.

Good luck and keep us updated!

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

Yellowdog.

[Rolus]

Well, Miami is never cheap, that's truth :) Thank you very much for your help, I'll definietely take it into consideration. Once I have a good deal I'll share it. Keep finger crossed for me :)

Rolus

[dahammer]

Yes, Miami has a good public transportation system, you have to decide whether to spend your valuable vacation time on a bus or on the beach. If you bid on PRICELINE, you must accept any hotel in the zone of your choice, and you may end up with a hotel that is not close to public transportation. If you bid in Miami Beach, you won't need a car and you can walk to the beach. But, you won't get a hotel for $50.

Did you buy your airfare yet? This must be a big expense compared to the cost of a hotel.

If you really want to save money, there are great cruise deals available thanks to the recent problems with Celebrity Cruise Lines.

[Rolus]

Hi dahammer,

thank you for your response. I'm trying to find a balance between price & location & quality of hotel. Genrally speaking, I just need a bed to sleep with convienient location in not dangerous area. This is why I don't want to find really good hotel. I want to spend my money on different things like parties, sighseeing, etc. Miami Beach is far away in terms of the hotel price. This is true that real bargains come from better hotels, which have high margin - I will also try to find something better, cause there might be a situation when I'll pay a little more for 3* than normal price for 2* or 2,5*. But this shouldn't be the case for Miami as the hotels are usually booked in advance, I'll try anyway :)

Speaking about my aifare, I'm coming from Houston and the ticket wasn't really that expensive(as for airfare). I don't remember right know exactly how much it was.

I've found websites like PRICELINE.com and HOTWIRE.com, because my friend has been to NY and found some extraordinary last minute bargain for 4* hotel. This is why I thought that I could find something like this in Miami. As I said before, I'll book something in advance with free cancellation and then I'll try to bid something better.

Rolus