Hotwire Hotel: Help with IDing 4* Downtown Austin and Town Lake area hotel

[TomRuth]

Need help identifying this hotel on Priceline- thanks much! Looking for one nite, July 13, 2013.

I looked the the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins, and the most recent wins have included the W Austin and the ATT Hotel andConference Center. Any idea which one it may be?

Amenties listed- fitness center, business center, 8+ guest review

[yellowdog]

Is that the full set of amenities associated with this property as I can't get the same PRICELINE EXPRESS hotel to appear on my search. Can you please run a new search and confirm that you still can see this hotel on your search.

Please also post the price for the hotel you're looking at.

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

Yellowdog.

[TomRuth]

Thanks much for your help. I didn't try to use the PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals, but Name Your Own Price. Next to the 4 star deluxe level, it just shows fitness center, business center. and 8+ guest rating. Is there another place that shows more amenities? I bid $110 and it was rejected.

I did do a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal search as well, and it shows a 4 star downtown Austin hotel for $166 with the following amenities: indoor or outdoor pool, pets allowed, restaurant, business center, fitness center, bed choice available, 8+ guest rating. Is this what you are referring to? Do you think this is the same hotel as with the Name Your Own Price? It does seem to match.

Any idea what either may be?

Thanks!

[AaronJB]

The amenities for NYOP do not point to a particular hotel, but guarantee those amenities (and fitness/business are highly common) at the hotel that may result. You may get any 4* in this zone w/fitness and business.

What would be your desired budget per night?

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

[TomRuth]

I'm looking for something under $150/nite. Does the PRICELINE EXPRESS deal for a 4 start Downtown Austin hotel for $166 point to a particular hotel based on previous wins?

[thereuare]

The PRICELINE EXPRESS would be for a specific property which we can take a guess if you list the amenities that are associated with this property... would you be willing to pay $166/nite for this stay since it's a little higher than your stated target of $150?

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

[TomRuth]

Thanks. I might be willing to pay $166 depending on which hotel it is likely to be. The amenities listed are:

indoor or outdoor pool, pets allowed, restaurant, business center, fitness center, bed choice available, 8+ guest rating.

Any idea what this may be?

[thereuare]

These amenities are common for a 4* hotel, but the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown has previously been seen with this amenity set so that would be my best guess for this one.

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

Let us know how you'd like to proceed, or how it goes, and if we can be of further help.

[TomRuth]

Would appreciate any help with IDing the following Hotwire 4* Downtown Austin and Town Lake area hotel for $120. I am looking at one night for July 13, 2013.

It has the following amenities-

This Hotel features the following amenities:

Pet friendly

Indoor pool(s)

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

Laundry Facilities (self-service)

High-Speed Internet Access

Tennis Nearby

The other question I have is that I haven't seen much discussion about using the Trip Advisor ratings listed. Hotwire says that this has received a 3.5 out of 5 rating. Couldn't you use this to exclude a particularly hotel that this may be if the Tripadvisor rating doesn't match? Is this an accurate way to exclude which possible hotel this may be?

[yellowdog]

Please keep all posts in the same thread since posts are for the same stay.

I think there may be more amenities associated with this property. If you go back to HOTWIRE and click this offer to get to the details page, then on the details page click the 'See all' link under the amenities, do you see more than what you've posted above?

Don't you see any accessible amenities?

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

Yellowdog.

[TomRuth]

Sorry I didn't include the full list- here it is-

Pet friendly

Indoor pool(s)

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

Laundry Facilities (self-service)

High-Speed Internet Access

Tennis Nearby

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Handicapped parking

Roll-in shower

[AaronJB]

My guess is that this may be the Sheraton upgraded to 4*.

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

[thereuare]

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

... and please click each of the links above before replying.

Thanks

[TomRuth]

Thanks for your reply- that helps.

Is it accurate to use PRICELINE guest review ratings to exclude a certain hotel? I'm trying to increase my chance of getting the W Austin, which is the most recent win, and shows a 9+ rating. The ATT Hotel and Conference Center shows a 8+ rating. When bidding for a 4 star downtown Austin bid, it shows an 8+ customer rating. Can I confidently say that this is not the W Austin?

[TomRuth]

Thanks for your help. On HOTWIRE, when you click the "Standard Rate Hotels", the Sheraton does not show up on the list. In general, do you know if all "Secret Rate Hotels" show up automatically under the "Standard Rate Hotels"? In other words, can you exclude a certain hotel if it doesn't show up under the "Standard Rate Hotels"? Thanks.

[thereuare]

When bidding for a 4 star downtown Austin bid, it shows an 8+ customer rating. Can I confidently say that this is not the W Austin?

The 'guaranteed amentiies' and the user review rating that sometimes show next to a given star level when bidding on PRICELINE are not related to a specific hotels... they are characteristics that are present at ALL hotels in the zone at that star rating. So if all hotels have a pool then the pool can be shown here as a guaranteed amenity at that star level... if 9 hotels in the zone have a pool but the tenth one does not, then the pool amenity can not be listed here. Same goes for the user review rating, it is the minimum user review rating of ALL hotels in the zone at that star rating (or higher). At this point in the bidding process, PRICELINE has not yet even checked inventory for your dates.

So in short, the amenities and user review information shown next to the star levels apply to all hotels in the zone at that star level... therefore you can't use this information to determine what hotel you may receive, as not even PRICELINE has looked at inventory yet.

In other words, can you exclude a certain hotel if it doesn't show up under the "Standard Rate Hotels"?

No, not all hotels that participate in the 'opaque' side of their service participate in the 'retail' side of their service... and vice versa too.

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

[TomRuth]

Thank you for this very helpful information. When you say that PRICELINE hasn't looked at inventory yet, when would you recommend trying to bid for a hotel for July 13?

[thereuare]

I'm not sure if you're following as my comment had nothing to do with when to bid...

My comment above is that at the point in the bidding process where PRICELINE shows the minimum user review rating and the amenities next to a given star rating, it has not yet checked for inventory for your specific travel dates. The data shown fits all hotels in the zone at that star rating, which is why they are able to guarantee them without even looking at what hotels are available for your dates.

Does that make it clearer?

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

[TomRuth]

Okay, now I understand. Thanks for the clarification.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated and 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.