Priceline Hotel: 2* in Fort Lauderdale Airport Zone??

[Willow Branch]

I just need a cheap hotel near the Fort Lauderdale airport as we are coming in late & do not want to pick up our rental car until the next morning.

I do not see any 1* hotels on the hotel list, but I assume that there are those 1* properties on Priceline, just have not been posted on the sight yet (am I correct??)

If there are 1*, can I assume since they are in the Airport area that they will all have shuttle service ?

I have not seen this addressed on this sight.

THANKS!!

[zbenye]

No! Don't know specifically about FLL, but nearby in Miami, the Homestead Studio Suites Miami Airport that I won last year as a two-star, did not have shuttle service so I had to hire a car.

[LoneStar]

Yeah, it's one of the annoying features about Priceline in airport zones. Hotwire WILL tell you if the hotel has a shuttle, but you'll generally pay more on hotwire.

With priceline you play the odds. On a 3 or 4 star, the odds are probably better than 85%. On a 2 1/2 star, you're probably at about 65%. On a 2 star, slightly worse than 50-50 odds.

On a one-star, just be glad you get to the airport in one piece!

[actraveler]

I work at the airport for, we'll say, a major airline.

The two 3* hotels at the airport, the Sheraton and Wyndham both have shuttles.

The Airport Ramada has one on State Road 84.

Otherwise it's hit or miss.

In the event the hotel you choose does not have a shuttle, a shared ride service is available at baggage claim. It is called Tri-County Shuttle and will cost about $6.00 one way to local airport hotels.

Good Luck.

Hal

[thereuare]

I'll also add, although not specific to this stay but useful for others reading, that not all shuttles run 24/7.

I recently won an airport hotel where i had a 6am flight and the shuttle started at 5am... not enough comfort for us when traveling with a small child. We had factored this into our bidding and only bid high enough where an accepted bid was still worthwhile when adding on a $10 cab ride to the airport.

[Willow Branch]

We need a room for just a few hours as we are coming in late & will be leaving early the next morning. So, I want a 2 or 2 /2*. As I looked through the past months of what people are getting, I see NO 2 or 2 l/2 * properties won on Priceline.

My question is this: do people not have an interest in getting these properties, OR, does Priceline not have any of these rooms in this area???? I am curious because I am bidding & wonder if maybe it is just a waste of time & that I should book conventionaly?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[dahammer]

no one has reported a win at this level, if you look at the list of wins in the FLL zone the 2* Spring Hill Suites had been listed, but the hotel has changed its name and up to now it has not yet been reported under its new banner.

[thereuare]

The 3* hotels in this area are usually fairly inexpensive and that is one likely reason we have not seen any 2* or 2.5* wins.

How high have you bid already? How much will a conventional reservation cost you (at a 2* or 2.5* property)? What is the date of your stay?

[Willow Branch]

The problem is that I have been spoiled & am use to getting airport properties for $35.00 - $45.00 (during this same time of year--our spring break every year).

Anyway, I have bid up to $68.00 so far on the 2* Airport & $70.00 on 2 1/2* for the downtown (The Amerisuites :) )

Hotels are pricey--The Days Inn Airport is $199.00--that's ONLY A DAYS INN!!!!!!!! The Ramada Inn is $121.00.

The date that I need is for Thurs. March 30.

I was even so desparate that I have been trying to book a Howard Johson, Days Inn, Amerihost etc. using the "Best rate, if not, it's free"; you book using their website & then if you find it on some other website, you get the room free. But, this has not worked for me either.

Alas, what we don't do to try & save some $. Too bad I HATE camping!!!!

[thereuare]

How about the La Quinta for $119 thru Quickbook? (it's $139 thru the La Quinta website).

[LoneStar]

I hate to say it, but I think the odds are very much against you getting a cheap airport hotel for the night. You're not the only one on spring break, and So. Fla. has been busy -- and expensive -- this winter.

Without a car, your geographic options are quite limited, which makes your search all the more difficult. Frankly, finding anything ANYWHERE cheap in Broward County that night would be difficult. Unless you get luckly, you're probably going to have to stay in a pretty crummy place to get much below $100.

If you have access to an Entertainment Book, I'd look up participating motels and start calling. I'd also call the properties listed on roomsaver. com.

Let us know how it goes. In the future, if you're travelling during a busy time, you might want to factor in the hotel logistics before booking your airline ticket. These days, hotel rooms can be more expensive than airline tickets.

[Willow Branch]

Well, after bidding up to $115.00 for Airport Zone for a 2 1/2, I decided that Priceline just did not have any hotels. So, the cheapest thing that I could find was on Valuetrips.com--I found a AmeriSuites in Fort Lauderdale for $99.00 that had a shuttle.

I did not post this before because since I did not use Priceline to get this Hotel, I just thought that it was not important to post--Sorry!! I really do LOVE YOU GUYS here at Better Bidding!!!!!!!!!!