Priceline Hotel: Bid Help, Jan 1-5

[AdamG]

Looking for either a 4* or 5* on the strip. There's a big convention coming in resulting in the last night being ridiculously expensive. We would prefer not to move, but are willing too if a good deal can be found. Do hotels lower prices if they find rooms are available as the convention comes nearer?

We booked Paris direct for $573 including taxes. It would be nice to find something cheaper.

Any help would be great!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is the nitely charge for each nite (before taxes) so that we can properly evaluate if a better deal can be found by splitting your stay.

[AdamG]

The rate we got for Paris a few days ago (it is more now) is 169/105/116/179

I just checked a few hotels, and today's rates are:

Treasure Island: 159/89/89/430

Paris: 189/99/109/299

Bally's: 139/69/69/299

New York New York: 150 average

Mirage: 149/109/109/549

Hotwire has a 4* South (likely MGM) for 138 /night and a 4* North (likely Paris) for 151 /night.

[thereuare]

For the first 3 nites of your stay you could book the Monte Carlo for $102/nite. (then virtually walk across the street to stay the last nite at Paris for $179)

The whole stay can be booked at the Excalibur for $125/nite, but that would be a step down in quality to both the Paris and the Monte Carlo.

If you favor the Monte Carlo idea above let us know and we'll then look for an alternative for the last nite (if you want to try to improve upon the Paris)

[AdamG]

I don't know anything about the Monte Carlo - it wasn't even on the list of properties I have been considering. Is it any good? Better than, say, Bally's?

My guess is that Paris won't let me cancel the first three nights and stick with the cheap fourth night price, especially since they are selling it for $300 now.

Do you think that fourth night might go down if the hotels find they're not filling up all the rooms for the electronic convention? How about using Hotwire or bidding through Priceline?

Not interested in Excalibur.

[dahammer]

the Monte Carlo is a big 4* property, I stayed here last February, but I've not been to Bally's so I can't compare. I would definately stay here again and at $102, this sounds like a great rate. You can't go wrong at the MC, it has a great location on the strip as you can walk to several other properties nearby, the rooms are nice, not large-not small, and furnishings looked newer. Too bad your trip isn't during warmer weather, the pool area is great, but the water will be a tad cold in January :) When I'm unfamiliar with a new property, I usually go to tripadvisor.com to see what others have to say.

Do you think that fourth night might go down if the hotels find they're not filling up all the rooms for the electronic convention?

I would not take this bet, but if you book a room that's cancellable (even if it requires a 72 hour cancellation), you can always monitor rates for this final night and change your plans if cheaper rooms become available. I believe this is one of the largest trade shows that exhibits in Las Vegas, so demand for rooms will be high.

[thereuare]

I'd call the Paris and ask them "I may need to cancel the first 3 nites of my stay, if i have to, can i still keep the lat nite at $179?"

Because making a reservation "locks you in" at that price, i don't think they'll evaluate it based upon their current rate, the only way you should have a problem is if that last nite has a restriction (ie- no Saturday check-in, minimum nite stay, etc)

Make that phone call to the Paris and let us know so that we'll know exactly where we stand and what the options are.

If it's not cancellable while keeping the last nite, the following are available for the nite of 1/4:

Luxor for $161/nite

Westin for $141/nite

Both of the above are probably a step below Paris, but for the total savings it may be worth it since you'll just be at this hotel for one nite (it's not bad... it's just not as nice as Paris)... but i think that there is a good chance you'll be able to cancel just the first 3 nites of your Paris stay.

You can read these reviews of the Monte Carlo, Paris, Westin, and Luxor (be prepared, the reviews for the same property can vary greatly, so much so that you wonder if they stayed at the same hotel)

Let us know regarding the Paris cancellation policy.

[AdamG]

I will try and get you an answer about Paris within the next couple of days, although I'm not 100% positive the rest of my party will be happy about moving hotels.

What about Priceline?

[thereuare]

Given that priceline doesn't typically average the room rate over the length of the stay, i think that Priceline will be an extremely tough win given the rate changes over your dates.

See this thread for a more detailed explanation: SHOULD I SPLIT MY PRICELINE BID

[Phaelon56]

I stayed in the Monte Carlo this past may for five nights. It's a stretch to call it a 4* relative to 4* Pl properties I've stayed in elsewhere. But it's not a bad hotel - the rooms are along the lines of what you could expect to find in a Marriott Courtyard. But no coffee maker in the room, they had none to lend at the front desk and the hotle coffee bar was lame.

[AdamG]

This hotel showed up on Hotwire. Your list does not have any 3.5* hotels on the North Strip.

Casino

Pool

Spa

Tennis

Restaurant

Fitness

Internet

Business Centre

[bbbb]

What are the dates of this stay?

[AdamG]

Jan. 1-5.

[thereuare]

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

Where do you stand with the above? What happened when you called the Paris looking to cancel all but the last day?

Please update us as to what has transpired since your last post and then we'll have a look at the above.

[AdamG]

My apologies. I saw them as two different issues.

I did not make any changes to our Paris reservation. It did not seem worthwhile to change hotels for one night given the price different and the fact that Paris has a poker room and it may be possible to get a poker room rate during the stay.

The Hotwire deal seemed good, so I though I would inquire.

[thereuare]

The above matches Bally's and that would be our best guess.

You can see this in the HOTWIRE HOTEL LIST for this area (read the entire thread, not just the first post in the thread)