Priceline Hotel: Question about winning bids and the resulting hotel

[jandelin]

Hello all,

 

My first post as a member of this awesome, newly discovered site.  So, my question is is there a place on here to find out what hotel is accepting everyone's winning bids in a certain area?

 

If that doesn't make sense, I'll share an experience of what I am talking/asking about.  A couple of years ago, I traveled with my family to orange county, California.  We were meeting up with a large number of my extended family for a family event.  No one outside of my immediate family had known or talked to any extended family about where they were staying or what hotel deals they found or anything like that.  Come to find out, we checked into a Double Tree hotel and noticed about two or three other families in our extended family had gotten the same hotel through a winning bid on Priceline.  I had a winning bid of like $80 per night or something.  I can't remember exactly what it was.  But, my other extended family members also won their bids for a hotel in that area on priceline.  And, they were all different bids.  Anywhere from about $65 up to about $85.

 

So, I'm curious as to whether or not there is a way to more accurately predict(of course, not guarantee) if a specific hotel is more likely to be accepting all the bids in a certain area.  I'm traveling with my wife to Puerto Rico in early September(the 4th through the 9th), and I would like to stay at any of the three Marriott hotels, or even the DoubleTree hotel in San Juan.  Just curious if I can find out if any of these hotels are accepting winning bids more than other hotels in the areas I choose to bid on.

 

Thank you for any help and opinions.  This is a great site.

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

All reported PRICELINE and HOTWIRE hotels can be found in the board's HOTEL LISTS

 

We can't predict the hotel you going to get when using PRICELINE. Sure, we can say that hotel A is more frequent then hotel B and that hotel C is rare etc. But not the outcome of a bid. But we can help you with a bidding strategy so you get a hotel for the best price.

 

You can't bid on or avoid a specific hotel when using PRICELINE You have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating (or higher) you select.

 

If you're trying to target a specific property then HOTWIRE can often be a better option if you're successfully able to identify it based upon the star rating and amenities shown before your purchase... the trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so you need to decide what is most important to you for a given stay, the lowest possible price OR the ability to take an educated guess as to the property you may receive.

 

Let us know how you want to play this and we'll help you. If you're choosing the PRICELINE route and would like to get help with a bidding strategy so please post your budget/night before tax/fees, zone(s) you're willing to stay in and the star rating for the hotel.

 

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

 

Yellowdog.

[Romelle]

I was going to suggest you check the Calendar of Wins (up in the header), but I tried it myself.  Both Hotwire and Priceline.   There is exactly one report between the middle of August and the end of September.  

 

Another example of why getting members to report is so important.  Would have been nice to find a bunch of reports there.  Other date ranges might yield some clues but, as Yellowdog mentioned, there never is a sure thing as to which hotel.  

 

But "better bidding" (pun intended) is more likely to give you bragging rights on your fine deal.

 

Romelle

 

PS - I'm a member, not a board official.

[AaronJB]

As noted above, you have to be willing to accept any hotel in a zone at the star rating chosen. If a hotel comes up as a win for your exact dates (if it is off by a day, its not an indicator), then it is an indicator that you may get it, as well. However, that is not a guarantee. It really depends on inventory - you may still get something else.

 

In terms of a hotel coming up very often in an area, that is not an indicator - a hotel could appear constantly, then someone comes along expecting a particular hotel and winds up with something else.

 

Overall, you really have to be willing to accept any of the possibilities given the specifics selected.

 

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

[jandelin]

Ok, so what I have done so far is email the Marriott hotels in the area that I am interested in staying at.  I messaged the managers at each hotel and asked if they would give me anything for free in order to make my decision easier as to which hotel to stay at.  The manager at the Isla Verde has offered me free breakfast buffet for two each morning and a free room upgrade.  Pretty decent, right?

 

So, unless I hear from the other hotels I emailed with better offers, I think I want to shoot for the Marriott Courtyard Isla Verde Beach Resort.  I have used the Hot.wire and PRICELINE links you have on the site here.  But, I don't think the rates are very good right now.  

 

For instance, the rate through the Marriott website for this hotel is $139.  The rate on Hotwire is $127.  Of course, I'm not 100% sure that $127 rate is for the Isla Verde Beach Resort.

 

I have reserved the Isla Verde Courtyard on my own to through the Marriott website just to make sure I have it.  I can cancel that reservation at anytime with no fees.

 

I guess I should just keep checking back every so often to see if the rates get lower as we near our trip?

[thereuare]

So, unless I hear from the other hotels I emailed with better offers, I think I want to shoot for the Marriott Courtyard Isla Verde Beach Resort.

The offer is not likely going to be valid/offered if you book thru an 'opaque' service since you're not 'choosing' that hotel.

 

I guess I should just keep checking back every so often to see if the rates get lower as we near our trip?

You can sign up for alerts any time the rate drops from our new site RateDrop.

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

[jandelin]

I think Marriott will honor my free upgrades if I happen to get the room through a different site. I had a similar experience where I emailed a hotel manager seperately about a room I booked through Travelocity. It was a holiday inn. I just had to make sure I had the emails with the manager's statements about free breakfast and such.

I'll sign up for the alerts on the RateDrop site and see how that goes.

Thanks

[AaronJB]

Very unlikely through one of the discount sites. Additionally, even if through one of the regular rate sites (Expe.dia, for example), I think results are going to vary from hotel-to-hotel.

 

Please keep us updated on what you decide 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.

[jandelin]

Oh c'mon, you don't have any faith in your negotiation/sales skills? You can get any managers or front desk staff to do whatever you want as long as you've got the emails to back it up. Sometimes I even ask while I'm at the hotel and just give them excuses of why I need free stuff like, "It's my anniversary or my wife's birthday(I use that one a lot)."

I think it'll be fine if I book it through another site. I'll keep you guys updated on what happens.