Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Fort Lauderdale (Downtown) Amerisuites

[treycass]

I am looking for assistance in booking a 3* in the Fort Lauderdale downtown zone for a one night pre-cruise stay on March 16. I have tried multiple times through priceline up to $125 with no luck. I see a number of post with people getting the Reniassance for amazing prices. Any suggestions????? I have used the free re-bid zone stategy but with no luck. Is this a date that is just not going to work??

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates at the Renaissance are $349/nite for the above date, so you're not likley to have success at the amount you have bid so far unless that rate comes down.

This area has gotten tougher of late as some hotels made contract with the cruise lines, filling up many previously unoccupied rooms which went to the opaque suppliers. As well, some hotels suffered damage due to the recent hurricanes which has added to decreased inventory.

Do you have a back-up researvation anyplace? Have you looked at HotelsByThePier for alternative ideas? Have you considered the Airport zone to see if there are cheaper alternatives?

[treycass]

The best alternative I have at this time is to book Amerisuties in the downtown zone through valuetrips for $99. We stayed there last march on a pre-cruise stay and it was fine. I was wondering how several had won bids at the Reniassance for less than $100 on dates close to the time we will be traveling. So how much should I be willing to bid in order to win a bid at Embassy Suites or Marriott Marina????

[treycass]

Bid again yesterday with no luck this was my method. Any suggestions.

4* Downtown zone @ $75

added 4* beach zone @ $85

added miramar zone @ $95

added pamano zone @ $105

added hollywood zone @ $115

added airport zone @ $125

added coral springs @ $135

Like I said no luck.

[thereuare]

Personally i wouldn't bid any higher than you have, as i think the AmeriSuites is a good hotel at that price, and for just one nite, save the money... the other two hotels that you mentioned may not be offering any discounted inventory to the opaque suppliers.

However, if you're willing to take a calculated risk...

Is the $99 rates still available thru ValueTrips? (ie- not just on their website, as i know with them you need to email for confirmation) If so, there is a 2.5* on Hotwire, believed to be the AmeriSuites, for $175/nite. You could book that, and if it is the Amerisuites, apply for the Double the Difference Guarantee and get the room for almost nothing! :)

Your thoughts?

[treycass]

I am not familar with the double the difference program that you mentioned. Please enlighten me. Like I said earlier, we stayed at the Amerisuites last March and it was fine for a one night stay.

[thereuare]

Hotwire states that they have the best rates... and back it up with a "Double the Difference" Guarantee (paraphrased):

Find a lower bookable rate for the same hotel, the same room class, and the same nites as your Hotwire purchase within 48 hours of booking thru Hotwire and they will refund you "double the difference".

The obvious risks are:

1) the hotel above is wrongly identified as the AmeriSuites and you receive a different hotel

2) Hotwire denies your claim for some unforseen reason (although they have been very good at honoring their guarantee and haven't "weaseled" out of any legitimate claim that i know of... many of our users have filed successful claims)

To use the above as an example:

Hotwire's rate is $175 and ValueTrips has a currenlty bookable rate of $100 (to make the numbers easy)

Difference = 175-100 = $75

Double the Difference = $75 x 2 = $150

Net Hotwire Rate after successful claim=

$175 + fees + taxes - $150 = $25 + fees + taxes

You can (and should) read the complete details on their website. Go to Hotiwre and under Help/Customer Service you'll see be able to find the full terms under the Hotel category.

[treycass]

I just wanted to thank you for all your help and advice. I considered the risk and went ahead and booked through Hotwire. The 2.5* in the downtown zone was the Amerisuites (make sure and look for the "customer favorite" statement). The price dropped form $174 to $165 but I did receive the double the difference credit for $132, making my hotel cost on$33 plus taxes and fees, so the total was about $56. What a great deal!!!!!!!!! Again thanks for all the help. The website is awesome!!!!!!

[TBQ]

The reason the rooms were so tight is the Ft. Lauderdale Auto Show (March 15-19). Although it's a show intended for locals, there are hundreds of staff members who come in to work the show.

The Marriott Marina (usually a big participant in PL and HW) is only using about 300 of its 500 rooms, due to Wilma damage. So when even a medium-sized show/conventon comes into town, the demand for close-to-the-convention-hall rooms (especially at the Ren) squeezes out bargain hunters like us :)

Great job on securing your deal! Also, keep in mind that the Publix supermarket has relocated to the Harborside shopping center, the side entrance to which is across the street from the AmeriSuites. It's a good place to load up on things for the cruise, and it's open until 11:00 pm.

[treycass]

Yea the Amerisuites with its free shuttle, breakfast, and loacation to the Publix is really great for a pre-cruise stay. I wasn't aware that the Marriott was only operating at 60% capacity. That along with the show you mention help explain the lack of bargains in those hotels. Anyway I feel good about my bargain which is kind of the theme for the cruise this year. Last March my wife and I went on our 20th anniversary cruise but this time we are taking the two kids, they can't wait!!!

[S.S. Oceanlover]

Thereuare

Great advice. Wasn't aware of the double the difference thing. I don't know if I would have had the courage to bid not knowing for sure if it was the Amerisuites for that price.

TreyCass,

Great job getting the Amerisuites for that price. :)

I have read on another board (gasp) that the Marriott Marina will be closing February 24th.

Bill

[LglBlonde]

Treycass:

When you provided your submission to Hotwire - did you actually go through w/ booking with Value Trips or did you just send them the page with the Rate where you can actually make a "reservation request."?

I tried the same for 3/22 and Hotwire has DENIED my Double the Difference Request b/c they say the rate required you book w/ a credit card?

[thereuare]

You would have to email Hotwire the confirmation showing that the room is indeed bookable (and then cancel the VT booking).

However, you should be aware of the problems a user is having in this thread getting Hotwire to honor the Hotwire Double the Difference Guarantee (the 'problem' starts about 15 posts down the thread).

[LglBlonde]

Yes, I believe I may have learned this the hard way - an expensive $133 lesson.

I've now tried to book the VT and am awaiting confirmation. My 48 hours will expire tonight at some point. I'm wondering if VT even works weekends!! When I'd previously used DD - I had submitted the hotel's own website price w/o booking (some were nonrefundable!) and that had worked fine.

[thereuare]

But the difference is that most other hotel websites show bookable rates, while the VT website does not show "live" inventory... they could be sold-out of their allocation for that price.

Please post the details of your Hotwire purchase in a NEW TOPIC and you can follow-up your story/results there.

Thanks.

[LglBlonde]

Great - now after reading through the post below it appears it won't matter if I'm able to get VT to confirm before tonight. I'm glad I used my MC and not my debit card to book as I may be disputing this with my CC as well if I can get the VT confirmation in time.

I am soooo upset - both at myself and Hotwire! I had not seen the post below (obviously) - only this one!

[treycass]

I am really sorry to see what happened "lgl blonde". I have been out of town, and away from computer access and did not see your post. I did submitt my request with valuetrip.com before I booked with hotwire, but I did not receive a confirmation from valuetrips before I submitted my double the difference request. I am assuming by the time hotwire got around to checking on the rate my valuetrips request had been granted. I was just lucky. Both valuetrips and hotwire reponded in a very timely manner, I want to say it was the next day with valuetrips that I received a confirmation on the reservation, and maybe day two when I received an email from Hotwire that I would receive a $132 credit. Now I have yet to receive the credit yet but it has not been 10 business days since the credit was granted. That will actually be Friday of this week. Sorry for the way yours has turned out. That was exactly my biggest fear when I committed to booking the way I did.

[thereuare]

For continuity, LglBlonde has had her claim honored, as you can see from her thread:

HOTWIRE DOUBLE THE DIFFERENCE