Priceline Hotel: 4* Ft Lauderdale (Beach) Hyatt Regency Pier 66

[bantha23]

3 star minimum. Budget is flexible.

[thereuare]

Airport zone only... or is Downtown also acceptable? The two are very close to each other, but i dont' know your specific needs for this leg of your trip.

[bantha23]

We're actually flying in to Ft. Lauderdale and will arrive late the 16th. I'll be picking up our rental car the next morning so wanted to be within shuttle service to the airport. The next night we're flexible but wouldn't mind being in the same hotel for ease of not having to repack and move back in.

Brian

[thereuare]

We'll need some idea of your budget... wouldn't want to suggest more than you wanted to spend.

[bantha23]

I keep throwing around $100/night on all my posts as being where I'd like to be around but I'm flexible as I expect Ft. Lauderdale to perhaps cost a bit more.

[thereuare]

Is it possible to pick-up the rental car the nite of arrival? If so, how much extra would it cost you? (i have an idea :) )

[bantha23]

I ended up booking this rental car over 6 months as we're going to be using it for 30 days and dropping it off in Boston, MA. I scored a fullsize for $1200 after taxes. I did talk to them about moving my p/u time and they told me that if they made any change to the reservation it would revert to current prices for that trip adn would ding me approx. $300. So moving the car isn't an option. :)

[thereuare]

Before suggesting a strategy i'd like to have an idea of your next best option, in order to make sure you don't overbid.

If available (don't move forward on this just yet as it may not be able to be done), would you be interested in the Amerisuites for cheap, as the user in this thread was able to do by using the HOTWIRE DOUBLE THE DIFFERENCE guarantee. It may or may not be do-able for your dates, but if it is, you can get a good hotel very cheap, and this would likely be cheaper than almost any other deal you could find, even if you had to pay for RT taxi fare rent a (seprate) car for one day.

Let us know your thoughts (as there is a little risk invovled)

[bantha23]

I'd be interested in perhaps pursuing that. I'm typically not one to pursue that type of stuff (holding the compnay to their gaurentee) but if it means saving $100 over two days I'd be all for it. However, there is a certain attractiveness to just bidding and being done with it. Is it a long drawn out process to get the refund? If it is I simply don't have the time or desire to chase it.

Brian

[thereuare]

The process would be:

1) see the rate ValueTrips offers for your date (you have to email them, just because the rate is on their site doesn't mean it's available for stay)

2) check that rate against Hotwire's offer and confirm still a match for the AmeriSuites

3) try to beat net rate on Priceline (optional)

4) purchase on Hotwire and submit claim (wait 48 hours for confirmation)

Let us know how you want to proceed.

[bantha23]

I looked through all the Hotwire hotels but couldn't find anything that looked like Amerisuites. I did go ahead and e-mail Valuetrips to confirm the rates of $109 and $99 for my two nights.

Brian

[thereuare]

It only appears when searching for two people... although in the past more than double occupancy hasn't been an issue (can often get two beds as well as a pull out couch in the room).

Let us know when you hear back regarding the reservation.

PS- there are two AmeriSuites, the one we're refering to is on 17th St., just making sure you emailed regarding the correct one

[bantha23]

Valuetrips hasn't gotten back to me and I've emailed them twice. I do see however what I think is Amerisuites for $179 on Hotwire.

[thereuare]

From their website:

You will receive a confirmation and details of your reservation by e-mail within 2 business days if accepted.

[dealdiva]

:) STOP! DO NOT TRY THIS! I read this thread earlier since I, too, am looking for a pre-cruise hotel where I could park my car during the cruise. I already had a reservation through ValueTrips for a day in March at the Amerisuites at a rate of $109 that I just made a couple days ago, so I knew this rate was valid. I read over Hotwire's Low Price Guarantee Terms and Conditions several times to just be sure I wasn't making a mistake and decided this was a no lose situation. Finally, I made my reservation through Hotwire and got the 17th St Amerisuites as expected. I then filed my claim for the Double the Difference Guarantee. I just received this e-mail from them:

After reviewing the information you submitted, we have determined that you are not eligible for a refund under the Low Price Guarantee available for your dates of stay. The Terms and conditions of the guarantee state:

The Low Price Guarantee from Hotwire is available to any customer who purchases one or more room nights from Hotwire and finds a lower total pre-tax rate for the same hotel and the same dates from any other source within 48 hours following the customer's purchase on Hotwire.

Isn't that what I did? I e-mailed them back to inquire as to why I did not qualify since I followed the directions to the letter, but I was so angry that I decided to call as well. The rep said that since you have to guarantee the reservation through ValueTrips with a credit card and that they may or may not accept your reservation, that they won't match their price. WTH! Don't you have to guarantee any reservation with a credit card? Do you think I have any recourse here? I'm considering disputing the charge with my credit card company. Any suggestions?

Christa

[thereuare]

Christa,

Have you confirmed that today ValueTrips still has availability for the date(s) of your stay?

There have been others that have used ValueTrips for the Double the Difference Guarantee without a problem... as long as VT has the lower rate was currently available (it is possible your previous reservation was for the last room at that price). There is even a link in this thread where a user made a successful claim.

[dealdiva]

I just confirmed with ValueTrips by phone that the hotel is not sold out yet for that date, but that I would have to submit a reservation request online before they could find out if it would be accepted by the hotel. Hotwire hasn't disputed the availability, though, just the fact that you aren't guaranteed availabilty until you submit your credit card information and your reservation is accepted. I'm very bummed about wasting $200 after taxes for 1 night in a 2.5* hotel :) I've never paid that much for 1 night in any hotel, let alone one with a 2.5* rating and several very negative reviews on TripAdvisor. If Hotwire doesn't reconsider, I'll be filing a complaint with the BBB for false advertisement and not following through with their guarantee. I'll also dispute the charge with my cc company since I wouldn't have even booked the room had they not had the low price guarantee that they will not honor. What a mess! I'll update when I hear back from HotWire.

Christa

[thereuare]

It's my understanding that VT is cancellable.

If so, book another room with your credit card. When you get confirmation of the price via email, fax that to Hotwire.

It all comes down to VT having availability for the same dates as your own, not whether the hotel is sold-out or not, as VT can have no rooms available at their posted prices while the hotel is not sold-out. Having the email confirmation (made within 48 hours of your Hotwire purchase) will also give you more proof with Hotwire that you did indeed find a lower rate within 48 hours, as well as evidence with your credit card company (as it now stands ValueTrips may not have any inventory at their posted rate, which would make Hotwire's stance valid; but if you can prove that rooms are currently bookable at that rate, then they don't have much of a defense).

Keep us updated.

[bantha23]

With all this I think I'll stick with the bidding process.

[thereuare]

You only have one re-bid zone available when bidding 3* in Ft. Lauderdale and with time your side i would begin as follows:

Select 3* Airport...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80.

In researching this stay i do believe that this is going to be a tough win in either the Downtown or Airport area.

As a reference point (for later in this thread if we're indeed having trouble with the two zones above, the Beach zone looks like it may be offering good value for these dates). The Sheraton Yankee Trader and Sheraton Yankee Clipper are both available for $130-$140. You'd need to rent a car for the day or take a taxi (either will run you about $40), but given part of this stay is "vacation" (rather than just the need to be near the airport) it might be a convenient option vs. changing hotels or paying a lot for 'just' an airport hotel.

[dealdiva]

I followed your suggestion and made another reservation through VT which was honored at an even lower price of $99. I forwarded the confirmation e-mail from VT to Hotwire, which included the date, rate and even my reservation confirmation # so they could confirm it themselves. This is what they had to say:

I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration you have experienced.

We appreciate your feedback and regret that we are unable to honor your Low Price Guarantee claim. While we realize this is disappointing for you, we are unable to change our decision regarding the validity of the claim. Again, we would like to offer an explanation as to the basis for this decision.

For your review, I have provided below the portion of the Low Price Guarantee terms and conditions that explains why your submittal was not accepted.

" The lower rate must be available for booking. Some sites display rates that are not actually available when you try to book.

We did do a search on the website you provided and it states the rate is not shown unless credit card information entered and reservation completes. For this reason we are unable to verify the rate being available for same dates and same number of people.

Our aim is to provide you the best deal possible for each hotel purchase

- and the vast majority of the time, we succeed. We launched the guarantee with two goals in mind: first, to compensate those customers who don't find the best deal possible through Hotwire; and second, to identify those hotels that are not offering their lowest prices through Hotwire, so that we might re-approach them about providing better pricing.

Please be assured that we are grateful for your help in our efforts to obtain the best deals from all of our hotel partners. Customer feedback is an important component in ensuring a quality product on Hotwire. I hope you can understand now, in further detail, how the guarantee works.

I hope you will consider visiting our site again.

Well, I did all the work for them and confirmed the availablity of the lower rate in writing and they are still unwilling to uphold their Low Price Guarantee. I suppose I now at least have all the evidence I need when disputing this with my credit card company.

Christa

[thereuare]

I would contact them one last time, quote their excerpt:

" The lower rate must be available for booking. Some sites display rates that are not actually available when you try to book.

We did do a search on the website you provided and it states the rate is not shown unless credit card information entered and reservation completes. For this reason we are unable to verify the rate being available for same dates and same number of people.

Inform them that your attached email confirmation is proof that you found a better rate within 48 hours of booking, for the same dates and the same number of people. Ask them how your confirmation does not prove that?

I would call them on the phone to do this and ask them the above question (in bold) flat out. If you don't have success with the Customer Service rep ask for a supervisor, if you still don't get a resolution let them know that you will dispute with your credit card. (i would still try to do this with a phone call to customer service, but the reps there may not be able to do anything other than pass your query on again as i think the DTD guarantees are handled by a separate department)

Please let us know how it all pans out (even after your credit card company gets involved). I have been an advocate of Hotwire honoring their DTD guarantee, and if everything posted above is inclusive (i'm assuming it is), i am very disappointed in Hotwire as this would be the first time i have seen them try to not honor a valid claim. I did side with them previously from the aspect that the VT rate may not have been bookable, but now that you have a confirmed reservation for the same dates and number of people, they are unequivocally wrong. If you have the tenacity to pursue this i don't see how you could possibly 'lose' this battle.

[Melba_A]

It sounds like to me that Hotwire did not look at your 'forwarded confirmation e-mail' but only looked at Valuetrips web site. It states on the web site that the deal is for Jan 1, 2005 - Apr 15, 2005.

Melba

[bantha23]

No luck first time around...

2/4

Declined @ $65

Declined @ $90

[thereuare]

I would seriously consider booking one of the two Sheraton's listed above as a back-up... it can't hurt and down the road it could definately help.