Priceline Hotel: ?strategy for Miami Jan 2-7/07

[BinCanada]

Hi, I started to look into a hotel for Miami for Jan 2-7/07. Unfortunately, I looked at Expedia,Hotwire,etc to get a sense of prices and could not believe the prices for those dates! Then I found out the Orange Bowl is there Jan2/07. :)

Does anyone have any ideas for a PL reasonable priced hotel??? We(2 adults&2kids) will not have a car but do not mind taking public transit/walking but definitely prefer a CLEAN hotel.

We do not mind breaking our stay up to 2 different hotels. As my sister/you said/say-better get a cancellable reservation.(La Quinta at the airport for $125!)

(Thereuare-the link from savingsbarn to PL is now working for me.) 2 years ago when the Hyatt was still a 3* we got it for about $55/night(inclusive).

I tried PL the other night just to review a sense of how to do it,etc. Of course-my offers were way too low to get accepted.

Should I keep trying starting now-can you suggest a bidding price strategy?

Do you think more rooms will open up closer to the date of arrival?

Thanks-you in advance for any advice.

[thereuare]

What bid amounts did you try which were rejected?

What is your maximum bid?

[BinCanada]

Sorry I never posted them for you. They were ridiculously low just to again get a sense of how to bid,free re-bid zones,etc. I tried for a 4* in Dwntn/MiB/SBeach/CoralGables/?Airport at $47, using my free rebids zones and upping by $2 and then I tried a 3 * using the same amounts but I think I just stuck to the Dwntn/MiB/CoralGables areas.

My highest bid would have been about $75, but with that :) football game on I may have to increase it to perhaps $90 or even $100.

I shall go through your link-hopefully I will use your La Quinta link- and book a refundable for the La Quinta in Cutler Ridge( a suburb? of Miami)-it has good reviews and is close to the transit train thing I read.

A lot of hotels are showing no rooms available or if they have them the price is at least 2x or almost 3X the usual rate. I guess it is still the Christmas holiday also. We may end up renting a car and heading out of Miami for a night or two IF we have to. All we want to do is go to a nice beach and hang-out, and sleep in a decent priced clean hotel/motel!

Thanks for any bidding strategies.

[thereuare]

So exactly which zones are you willing to bid and what is your maximum bid?

You're "ok" with booking one room via Priceline for quad occupancy when all they guarantee is double occupancy? (or were you seeking two rooms)

I assume SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID is an option?

Let us know the above and we'll then be able to suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[BinCanada]

We are alright with 3*: Dwntn(first choice), Miami Beach, CoralGables; and perhaps SouthBeach (is a bit iffy qualitywise for 3* I get that feeling). The main thing is that we have no car , but would not mind taking public transit. I am checking Miami-Dade transportation maps right now. If I can figure out transportation to the beach & Bayside from the Airport hotels I would include the Airport zone also.

4* would be the Dwnt, MB, CG, SouthBeach zones.

Splitting the bid would be fine and we would not mind changing hotels.

I am assuming-incorrectly perhaps- that getting 2 beds would not be so hard for those zones except SouthBeach. We definitely would only want 1 room(as we are 2 adults, 2 kids).

Max.bid $100. (Yes-I am desperate!!lol)

(I could not see a LaQuinta link in your site. Also when I go to savingsbarn.com site do I click on the oval, blue PRICELINE link there?)

Thank-you and I hope I have answered your questions clearly this time!

[thereuare]

Are you able to see the La Quinta link at the end of this sentence: La Quinta

Please firm up your zones (airport?) and then we'll be in a better position to research this stay. Also, i'm not sure how your 3* zones differ from your 4* zones (other than South Beach, which i'm also not sure if you're willing to bid or not at the 3* level).

[BinCanada]

No, I can not see La Quinta at the end of your sentence.

Yes, I guess I could go for the airport area for a 3* or 4*. (It would be closer to downtown Miami than the La Quinta Cutler Ridge.)

No, I decided SouthBeach at a 3* would not be suitable for our needs.

I have been checking on the travel websites and I can not believe how $$$ all the normally cheaper-type hotels are-I can not even find a cheap one anywhere. I thought we may end up having to head out of Miami by renting a car for a couple of days but there must be tons of people vacationing at Florida's beach cities after Xmas!

I bid today(wrote them down so I could remember them) for: Jan 4-7 3* Dwntn $55; added KeyB$60; added NMiami $65; added SWMiami$70=no luck.

Then I changed the dates to Jan 3-7 and upped the same zones to $75

Then I changed the dates to Jan 2-7 and to $77;

Then Jan 5-7 and $79;

Then I added Miami Beach for Jan3-7 and to $80;

Then I added Coral Gables for Jan 2-6 and to $82;

Then I changed the dates to Jan.3-7 and to $84=no luck.

I know that probably was not the best strategy. As you can tell, I am getting a wee bit worried. Has anyone ever won a decent=good price during this type of demand(OrangeBowl, Xmas)? Thank-you again.(Hey, at least you have not 'yelled' at me yet like the other board would!!lol)