Priceline Hotel: Resort Maui (Kaanapali-Lahaina) Hyatt Regency

[Finleyville]

Anyway...

To celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary my wife and I want to stay at the Ka'anapali region in Maui, HI. The dates will be 10/1 - 10/7. We want a beachfront resort. (or the 4* Sharaton on HW)

A month ago Hotwire was showing (probably) the Sharaton at $189 a night. That is ideally where we wanted to stay. Now it is up to $298 a night. So I thought that I would be happy with any resort around that lower price.

Is it unusual for Hotwire's price for a particular resort to fall $100 in a couple on months? Should I give up on Hotwire and start bidding using Priceline? What would be a good Priceline bidding strategy to use for this instance?

Any and all help in this matter is greatly appreciated!

[thereuare]

Rates are determind by supply vs. demand factors. Given that nobody knows if actual bookings will come in stronger or weaker than expections, it can't be said if rates will come down (or go up) between now and your stay.

If you want to give Priceline, I would begin as follows:

At the Resort level in Mauai you have two re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select Resort Ka'anapali...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $160, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select Resort Ka'anapali and re-bid zone2...

Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $170.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[Finleyville]

Thanks for the advice. I read the Priceline tutorials but still have a couple of questions.

The warnings posted in the FAQ sections states that hotel lists change all the time along with star ratings and zones. I looked at the Priceline Maui zones (through savingsbarn) and I see only one zone for the Ka'anapali - Lahaina area. Are those zones classified by geographical boundaries within these areas?

Also it is my understanding that Priceline only recognizes 3 "resorts" in this area. The Sharaton, the Westin, and the Hyatt Regency. Is this correct? So if I continue just to bid on resorts sooner or later I will be given one of these?

So studying the lists a little more closely, it looks like if I first just choose the Ka'anapali - Lahaina zone first to bid, then add perhaps the Kahului zone to rebid since they do not list any resorts, then finally add the Kihei zone (but NOT the Wailea - Makena zone for it too has resorts designations) then I again will eventually purchase the hotels. Do I have the gist of it?

[Finleyville]

Anyway...

So today on PL I bid the following:

Maui, HI

Dates: 10/1 - 10/7

Stars: resort only

zone: Ka'anapali - Lahaina

Bid: $155

This was of course rejected. PL asked for an immediate rebid. I didn't see where I could change to zone 2. So I just added area Kahului which does not have a resort hotel. I upped my bid to $160 and this was denied as well. Is this where I need to close out my browser and start again?

[thereuare]

The warnings posted in the FAQ sections states that hotel lists change all the time along with star ratings and zones. I looked at the Priceline Maui zones (through savingsbarn) and I see only one zone for the Ka'anapali - Lahaina area. Are those zones classified by geographical boundaries within these areas?

I'm not so sure i understand your question, so i'll try to clarify the part of about zones and star ratings changing all the time...

Think of a city where priceline has two zones: Midtown East and Midtown West, with 10th Street dividing the two zones. In the future (or since previously reported) the zone boundary can change, with the new 'dividing' line separating East/West now being 9th St. Therefore hotels that were previously reported in the West zone may no longer fall in the East zone since the 'dividing line' has changed.

Also it is my understanding that Priceline only recognizes 3 "resorts" in this area. The Sharaton, the Westin, and the Hyatt Regency. Is this correct? So if I continue just to bid on resorts sooner or later I will be given one of these?

This is where "new hotels are added all the time and star ratings are subject to change" comes into play...

There could be another Resort rated hotel in the area not yet reported, so you could be the first to add a new hotel to the list. As well, a hotel previously rated 4* could be upgraded to a Resort since last reported.

I first just choose the Ka'anapali - Lahaina zone first to bid, then add perhaps the Kahului zone to rebid since they do not list any resorts, then finally add the Kihei zone (but NOT the Wailea - Makena zone for it too has resorts designations)

You have the gist correct... but again, as new hotels can be added at any time, always doublecheck before bidding to make sure that those zones remain re-bid zones. Use the technique in the first post of Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, and not out hotel lists, to determine re-bid zones.

Is this where I need to close out my browser and start again?

Yes.

[Finleyville]

Thank you. I will continue to try to bid (through Savingsbarn) and will post when I win with all the details.

[Finleyville]

I am looking for a hotel in the Ka'anapali area. I was intrested in the Sharaton, but none of the options listed match the "known" amenities with 4 stars. I did find another 3.5 star property that does not match any other known property traits.

Dates: 10/01/06 - 10/07/06

Zone: Ka'anapali

Stars: 3.5 stars

Price: $280

Amenities: Suite, beachfront, restaurant, pool, fitness center, spa, kitchenette, laundry, childrens activity center

Is this the Sharaton downgraded?

BTW, I haven't won anything over at Priceline yet. So far my highest bid that was rejected was $250 per night.

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread... if your thread turns from Priceline to Hotwire and you ultimately use that service we'll then move the entire thread to that section of the board.

I don't think the above property is the Sheraton, but hotel searches on Hotwire are currently down for me so i'm not able to search for anything... please bump this thread this afternoon and we'll give it another shot to try and check.

[Finleyville]

Sorry. I didn't know about different services within the same thread. I will check again later today if that property is still there on Hotwire.

[thereuare]

This property has not yet been identified, but i think the Kaanapali Beach Vacation Resort would be a good guess as it is an all-suite property.

[Finleyville]

I just won a PL bid of $255 at the Hyatt Regency in Ka'anapali, Maui. Our dates are listed above. We did go through SavingsBarn.com to the site. We learned a bunch from this site. Thanks all.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your first priceline win!!

Was this your first bid in the zone or were you rejected at lower levels previously?

Thanks for using the SB links to begin your bidding.

Have a great trip.

[Finleyville]

I think this was my 11th bid including one other zone. I started around 170 and won at 255. I am hoping that I will enjoy the property and my stay.

[thereuare]

Do you recall the amount of your rejected bid just prior to the $255 acceptance?

Thanks!