Hotwire Hotel: A strategy that's probably been tried

[travel336629]

I'm pretty sure someone has thought of this, but if they haven't I was just wondering about a bidding strategy. Let's say you wanted a particular hotel for multiple nights, maybe a week, but you wanted to avoid being stuck in a place you don't like for 7 days. Could someone theoretically take a deal for 1 night first, and then, if it turned out to be the one they wanted, simply go back as fast as possible and book 6 more nights with the same amenities and description? Would that work? If the first night turned out to be a place they didn't like, they would be stuck for a night, but at least they wouldn't be stuck for seven.

 

Looking forward to your thoughts!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Yes, it has often been used as a strategy, as you may see the following posted as a reply to some threads:

Quote

Since this an extended stay you could see if this same property is offered for the first (or last) nite of your stay and then again for the balance. If so, you could purchase the solo nite in order to 'look behind the curtain'. If you're happy with the results purchase the remaining nites, if not, make alternate plans for the balance of your stay.

 

... but note that you need to first search to make sure that the same hotel is offered for the first (or last) nite of your stay and then also for the balance; it's not enough to see it offered for the complete date range and then also just for the solo nite, you have to also make sure that what appears to be the same hotel also appears for the 'balance'.

 

There is also always a chance that once you make the first purchase that the hotel is no longer offered for the remaining nites (or offered and then you get a message "no longer available" when you try to make the purchase)

 

Assuming you have an upcoming trip in mind, what are the dates of your stay and what is it that you're looking for in a hotel?  Are there certain hotels you're trying to target and/or avoid?  What is your maximum budget (per nite before fees/taxes)?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[travel336629]

Thanks for answering so fast! This is still in the 'hypothetical stage' for a  Florida trip... While I understand the logic in trying to ascertain if all 7 nights were available first, I don't see why they would somehow be unavailable a few seconds or a minute later. Let's use a pretend example:

hotel A appears available from September 7-14th for 7 nights. Based on the amenities it APPEARS it is the one I like. I check to see and verify all 7 nights are vacant. I roll the dice and book Sep 7th... bingo, it IS what I wanted. I then IMMEDIATELY (within 30 seconds) hit the 'back' button' and simply modify the dates (8-14) and book Sep 8th-14th for the family as fast as I can. Are you saying that in those 30 seconds the room could get 'snatched up'? 

 

 

[thereuare]

1 minute ago, travel336629 said:

Are you saying that in those 30 seconds the room could get 'snatched up'? 

Yes, it's possible that somebody else could have purchased the last available deeply discounted room (or the last available for just one nite of the remaining six... if HOTWIRE does not have inventory for every nite of your date range than they can't offer the room)

 

Also, sometimes a hotel is offered but when the user goes to purchase a message is given "no longer available" (or that the rate has changed)... this happens with almost all hotel online booking agencies (it has to do with the way OTA searches are done and inventory is updated, trying to strike a balance between the trade-off between speed and accuracy).

 

The vast majority of the time using the method/technique above everything goes smoothly, but we feel it's important to highlight what could go wrong, so that you can at least make an educated decision as to whether it's a risk you're willing to accept.

 

Let us know once your plans start to come together and you have firm dates in mind and we will try to assist further.

[travel336629]

Hmmmm... Hadn't thought of that, so basically, it's a risk anyway you slice it. If we book the whole week, we could wind up with Hotel 'B' instead of 'A' and get stuck; if we take just one night the other 6 (or just one of the 6) or the price etc could make it unavailable. Seems to me that it's a question of gambling/probability. Therefore the question really should be what are the likely odds of 'missing' the last 6 within a minute vs getting stuck for a week in a crappy place ; ) I'm sure it is impossible to estimate with certainty, but what would you ESTIMATE (educated guess is fine) the odds are that if we try for those last 6 days within 60 seconds the offer will be gone?

[thereuare]

Lots of variables involved... how far out is the stay, how much information is shown about the HOTWIRE property (are there lots of amenities and many are not common to the area (ie- a Pool or Free Parking in NYC) or are there very few amenities shown and what is shown is very common for the area (ie- a Restaurant for a 4* hotel), etc, etc)

 

Steering clear of any 'crappy' places is easy enough by avoiding the lower rated hotels and sticking with those with higher ratings.  If you read thru other threads on the board you will see that those who have asked helped for help are almost always happy with their results (as are those who decide to make their purchases on their own before seeking assistance)... but when a user is unhappy with the outcome, it's usually because they didn't ask for help, didn't utilize all of the information provided, or had a misconception from the onset.

 

Right now it's an exercise in hypotheticals for a trip that may or may not come to fruition... let us know if/when you have firm plans for your next trip and we will be happy to guide your towards the best option based upon your needs.

[travel336629]

Free parking in NYC?  I am from NYC and let me tell ya, you better be prepared to pay a LOT to park in Midtown NYC, in fact I think parking in midtown Manhattan is probably more money than a night in many hotels in some parts of the USA! No, this trip is for Florida and the stay is quite far out (over 9 months away).   As far as 'crappy' places I read on the net about a place that was highly rated, but then when I looked into it I saw another article on the net about that same place (which I won't mention) having bedbugs! - Now THAT is a DEAL breaker for me.... When you say 'higher ratings' in Hotwire, are you referring to the Tripadvisor ratings or the % satisfied ratings?

[AaronJB]

Both the Tripadvisor and HOTWIRE rating should be taken into consideration when looking at a listing - if there's a listing with 50% approval rating or less from HOTWIRE customers, that is a listing where half or less of people who paid a discount for the reservation were positive. Additionally, with HOTWIRE and PRICELINE EXPRESS, you can make an educated guess as to which hotels are showing which leads to a greater chance of something you like. What are the dates of travel and destination for the Florida stay?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[Sadiez]

Also consider that prices change so if it's available now for a cheap price it may be way more or not available by time it's your check in date

[thereuare]

4 hours ago, travel336629 said:

Free parking in NYC?

It was meant as an example where it would make the hotel guessed a very strong likelihood and a very low chance that it would be something else.

 

4 hours ago, travel336629 said:

I read on the net about a place that was highly rated, but then when I looked into it I saw another article on the net about that same place (which I won't mention) having bedbugs!

Well if you read it on the internet both must be true!  Maybe the glowing review was written by a cousin at the hotel owner's request... maybe the bed bug review was written by a competitor who is losing business to the better reviewed property OR maybe by a previous guest who was looking for a free stay their next visit (yeah, it happens).  As AaronJB's comment above, you want to get an overall view from the reviews, as it's easy enough to find some negative comments about the best of hotels.

 

However, there isn't much point at this juncture discussing all the various possibilities and scenarios surrounding your trip (which may or may not happen and may or may not be to Florida)... let us know if/when you're ready to move forward (and if not for this stay then even for some other location) and we will try to walk you through the process and the possibilities for that trip.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[travel336629]

Yeah, I agree about the internet thing, that's why I didn't want to mention specifics since there is no way to be sure it's true... In any event I really do appreciate your insight and advice. As far as going, it's 1 90% chance we are, but it is far out there in time and I'm still debating whether to try this 'blind' strategy or simply just 'pay up' to be certain about the room. I'm just trying to 'guesstimate' the odds of a successful gamble type strategy. Thanks in any case for your response!

[thereuare]

Let us know if/when your plans are firm, we will look at the specifics of your stay at that time, and then (after seeing all of the relevant information) you can make an informed decision as to whether or not you'd like to move forward with the 'opaque' providers.  As stated above, you don't have all (or any) of the information yet in order to make a decision.