Room for my sons - Checkin credit-card

[ChillEDog]

My wife and I are going to NYC for Christmas. I'm going to surprise her by having the boys fly up for a couple of days. I plan to get them a room via PRICELINE or HOTWIRE. Looking ahead, I'm concerned about when they check in at the hotel. The oldest is 21, the younger is 18. I plan to give the oldest one of my credit cards but of course it is in my name not his. Will the hotel have a problem with this ? As I write this, I seem to recall that the bidder has to be present at checkin. That is doable since we will already be there, but better (surprise-wise) if they can check themselves in. Any insight appreciated. Thank you.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

It's not the bidder that has to be there at check-in... it's the person whose name the room is reserved for.

FOR PRICELINE:

When you bid there are two different forms where you enter name information:

Billing Details

Room Details

In your situation you put your name (ie- your credit card) for the billing details... put the room details in your oldest son's name.

He will still need a credit card when he checks in (to cover any incidentals that he may bill to the room) but it does not need to be the same credit card that was used when you purchased the room.

For HOTWIRE:

They only ask for one name regardless of the number of rooms you are purchasing. However, it appears that your sons are not arriving on the same dates as you and will be arriving a few day(s) later? If so, this would be two separate purchases and just as above, you would use your name and credit card information for the BILLLING... while using your son's name for the ROOM RESERVATION details.

--> if by chance your son doesn't have a credit card to put down for incidentals, you can likely call the hotel ahead of time to make arrangements to have him use your credit card info in order to be able to check-in. While you may be thinking to do this so that your son doesn't have to worry about any expenses, it often involves a bunch of forms and faxes back and forth and i would only go down this road if it's necessary. Better that if your son has a credit card, have him use it to check-in, then if you needed everything billed to you, after the 'surprise' of your wife learning that your sons are there, you can go to the hotel with your son(s) and change the credit card that is on file and being used for the incidentals.

For help bidding this trip let us know the details (ie- dates of travel, desired zone, star rating, budget, etc)

PS- kudos to you for thinking and planning this surprise :). I'll have to store this one in my memory bank for when my little girls are older.

[ChillEDog]

Thank you for the very helpful reply. That makes sense and I appreciate your explaining the additional details. I am much more comfortable now.

I've actually booked our room (my wife and I) conventionally; two reservations 1) One UN and 2) Affinia Shelburne, obviously we will be cancelling one. Got A.S. for $200/night using their weekly rate so pretty excited about that. I do enjoy bidding but this time decided to book via hotel website. Still get to bid for the boys' room. I'm thinking $125-140 should get a 3-star or better in Manhattan that time of year (my understanding is the week around Christmas is slower).

Yes it will be a big, delightful surprise. It was my wife's idea for just us two to spend Christmas in NYC but I know darn well at some point she will be missing everyone, so I suspect there'll be a bunch of hysterics and tears when the boys show up. I might just hide out in the bar <g>. But seriously, the biggest task is keeping it secret, not sure how we're going to accomplish that given the trip is six months hence.

[thereuare]

For help bidding for this stay please start a NEW TOPIC in the NEW YORK >> Priceline section of the board, including the date(s) of your stay, and we will assist you there.

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

Thanks.