Priceline Hotel: bidding help please 3* DWV 12/26-12/29

[Kajunswty]

I've already started bidding but I ended up going alittle higher than I thought necessary for a 3*

Looking for 1 room 3 nights preferably under $300

Here's what I've tried

First bid) New bid: WDW $49 rejected

Rebid #1) Rebid screen: WDW, add WG $55 rejected

Rebid #2) New bid: WDW & WP $59 rejected

Rebid #3) Rebid screen: WDW & WP, add WG $65 rejected

Rebid #4) New bid: WDW & OE $69 rejected

Rebid #5) Rebid screen: WDW & OE, add WG $74 rejected

I know it is peak season but I've checked several hotel websites and there are available rooms.

This is what was available this morning

Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa $239

Buena Vista Suites $139

Radisson Resort Worldgate $129

Sheraton Safari $129

Hotel Royal Plaza No Rooms

Radisson Resort Parkway No Rooms

Doubletree Guest Suites in WDW Resort $229

Holiday Inn Family Suites $266

Anyone have an idea of how high I'll have to go to get a sucessful bid?

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous PRICELINE LOUISIANA thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay.... please include the dates of your stay in reply to the above thread (even if your trip was cancelled, please add a conclusion to the thread)

We'll then have a look at your stay above.

Thanks.

[LoneStar]

OK, first thing to do is STOP. You've already bid too high for a 3-star Orlando hotel. At those prices, you could probably pick your own hotel and avoid a nasty disappointment (even in peak season).

Now, let's try to see what's out there. From looking at Hotwire, I can see two interesting things. First, if you want to save money and are willing to drive a little bit further, consider bidding for the 3-star Universal zone. I can see hotwire wants $78 for a 3.5 star, which I'm 99% certain is the Crowne Plaza. Not bad digs at all. You might be able to get it for high $50s, low $60s on priceline. Not sure exactly how many 3-star rebids there are, but if you get 3 I'd start at $60 and go up in $3 or $4 increments. And maybe time to wait 3 days if you're still too low?

Alternatively, if you want to spend a little more money and get great digs right in the Disney area, I can tell the 4-star Omni is available. Lazy river pool area and such. Hotwire wants $125. I bet you can get it for less than $110 on Priceline. TONS of rebids available for resorts so start at $85 and go for it! Your family will think you're the greatest!

[LoneStar]

Whoops. Started writing my post before I saw yours. Follow-up is obviously something that needs to be encouraged. But I'm sure this poster will now recognize this and post her results for both bids. Happy holidays!

[LoneStar]

BTW, to my surprise I see the Omni has a book direct rate of only $127 for a 3-night stay. So with the service fee, Hotwire would be MORE than Omni direct. Not too special! :)

Keep that in mind when bidding.

[Kajunswty]

Thanks for the reminder on the previous post..thereuare

I've taken care of it :)

Yeah, I got carried away with bidding and went way too high that's why I stopped

I am going to do some research this morning of whats available directly

so I've be able to make better decisions about how much to bid

I appreciate the heads up with the Omni

but the website says

13 miles to Disney parks &

15 miles to DTD that seems far ?

I'll have to do some research on the Universal area since I don't know

how far that is from WDW.

I'll be back!

[LoneStar]

I appreciate the heads up with the Omni

but the website says

13 miles to Disney parks &

15 miles to DTD that seems far ?

I'll have to do some research on the Universal area since I don't know

how far that is from WDW.

Yeah, I looked into it because I wouldn't mind staying at the Omni on my own WDW trip in off-peak, early February (unfortunately, so far the published and unpublished rates are TWICE what they're offering you for X-mas!). If you read the TripAdvisor reviews, it seems like the hotel is mildly far from Disney, but it is apparently a quick ride these days. Location-wise, it is probably equivalent to Universal.

Good luck!

[Kajunswty]

went up to $63 this morning then started looking into booking direct.

I would rather not end up in a resort (I know that is strange)

but this trip is just the kids and me so I don't want anything "formal"

& I really want something close to the parks

We just returned from a stay at the Swan / Dolphin and I saw enough

business suits to last me for awhile..lol

I guess I am spoiled with staying onsite

I'll keep updating my refusals :)

Thanks, Lonestar!

[thereuare]

Have you looked at EasyClickTravel or QUICKBOOK?

[Kajunswty]

to follow up....

contined to bid up to $81 with no luck so I ended up booking with Disney. Ended up a good thing because traffic was awful..I think the key is not waiting until the last minute. I probably would have been able to snag the Hilton but by the time I was bidding it had sold out.

thanks for the help :)