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Priceline Hotel: Need help! First time using Priceline!


Kelly in Big D
By Kelly in Big D,
in

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:) Okay - so we're finally going on a family vacation with our little boys. Hooray! We'll be going to Sea World for 2 days, maybe the zoo, etc., and we'll also be going to the Riverwalk. Two adults, one 1 year old, one 3 year old.

Ideally, I'd like to stay at the Hyatt Hill Country resort, but it sounds like that may not be possible.

I just need help on how to bid so that we either end up with a resort hotel (I think the Hyatt and Radisson may be the only 2 resorts listed?) or a 4* hotel either West (or Northwest?) or downtown on the Riverwalk.

I'd like to keep our rate under $100. And did I read something about adding $10 if it's a resort?

Thanks for your help!!

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Hi, I stayed at the Radisson resort near sea world last month. Was great for kids, I believe my winning bid was 70.00 a night. They show a Disney movie out by the pool and have a grill going with hot dogs and burgers and a fire pit for smores in the evening. The pool is very small however, but its fine for kids. They have a free shuttle that takes you to Seaworld which will save you 10.00 on parking. I did not get charged a resort fee when I was there, they might have one but I wasn't charged. Self parking at hotel is free. There is a Mcdonalds and a Bar B Q place down the road, not to far. . As I said in my trip advisor review, if im going to Seaworld most of the day, this is a much better deal then spending what Hyatt wants just to have a lazy river which you wont use if your at sea world. Radisson trys to make it fun for families, No it's not the Hyatt, but your not paying Hyatt rates either. I went in the summer, now with school in session I see rates at 50.00 or so. You can try for the Hyatt but if you get the Raddison dont be disapointed . I would expect you to get the Radisson between a bid of 50.00 to 65.00 Good Luck, lets us know how you do.

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First, since this is a family trip, i'll point out that Priceline only guarantees double occupancy, after that it is at the discretion of the hotel. In more family oriented areas this is less of a problem then in downtown districts, but it is a risk that you must be willing to accept if you are to use priceline. If this is not acceptable, HOTWIRE will allow you to search for up to quad occupancy.

Let us know your thoughts on the above and we'll take it from there.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Well, if we're at the Radisson, it sounds like they're pretty family friendly - so hopefully they'll be okay with that. Otherwise, I guess I can call the awarded hotel and ask if they're okay with children. Has anyone done that before? Is that too risky?

I wish there was a way to get a suite! If there was a way to bid on a Starwood property (as I understand, you can't do that on Priceline), we could get upgraded automatically to a suite.

So I guess what I'm saying, is that unless you think it will be a BIG issue, I'm willing to take our chances.

Thanks so much for your help!

Kelly

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Okay - I just called Radisson, and what they have available is a Junior suite (no reg. rooms - yea!) - it's a king size bed and then out in the living area a pull-out sofa. Perfect for us!

I asked if I booked a reservation for 2 adults and then decided to bring our kids at the last minute (wink wink) - if that would be a problem.

They said no - kids always stay free (under 17) and the only limitation is the fire code, and 2 adults and 2 kids is no problem.

Hooray!

Now I just need to figure out how to get it really cheap!

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You're still taking a risk. Assuming you even get the Radisson, there's no reason at all that they can't upgrade someone else into a junior suite and give you a regular room. In fact, it's more likely they'd do that than give you a junior suite.

You have to be willing to accept the possibility you get the worst room in the hotel.

If you can't, priceline probably isn't for you.

Have you considered hotwire? They will show you a list of amenities in advance. Sometimes you can see a "Suite" amenity in the listing. You'd at least know you can get a large-ish room that way.

Really, tho, you have to ask yourself. If I show up in San Antonio and the hotel has reserved a small smoking room with a queen sized bed... Can I make the most of that? Or will I want to throw a fit at the front desk?

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:) Yes - I talked to my husband and we would be fine with one boy in a sleeping bag and the other in his Pack-and-Play. It's more the pool, family-friendly activities, etc., that we really want, more than the perfect room. So I'm ready to bid..... what should I do? I've read a little about re-bidding, and the only resorts are in the West zone I'm interested in anyway - just the Radisson and the Hyatt - so I'm hoping it'll be straightforward.

Suggestions?? Thanks so much!!

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So to confirm, you're looking to bid for a Resort property in the West zone with a maximum bid of $100.

You have seven re-bid zones available when bidding Resort in the San Antonion zone. 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 and the West zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $61, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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The classic five options :)

1) Bid higher (after 24 hours).

2) Lower the acceptable quality level.

3) Include other zones. (tho obviously this would include lowering the quality level, right? only 1 zone has resorts?)

4) Wait a while and try again (to see if more inventory opens).

5) Try hotwire.

Do you have a cancellable backup reservation somewhere?

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No - don't have a reservation elsewhere yet.... hoping to get this locked down. Worst case scenario, we just won't go. :)

Can I start a new bid doing 4 star hotels in the riverwalk area now, or do I have to wait 24 hours too?

If I can go ahead and open a new window now and bid on the riverwalk area now, I'd love a strategy....

Thanks!

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You can do that without waiting.

Note that you only have five rebid zones when bidding 4* Riverwalk.

Not sure what the bid breakpoints would be. Maybe thereuare will jump in right now. In the mean time I'm going to poke around and see if I see a pattern.

(Have you checked HOTWIRE just to make sure nothing on there works for you?)

Oh one more thing... Have you considered splittng your bid? You could bid for some days at a Resort and some at 4*. If you're ok changing hotels we can see if there's a specific day causing you problems and bid around that.

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Select 4* and the Downtown-Riverwalk zone...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $73.

I know you really want to get this DONE, but I think if you raise your bid faster than that, you risk overbidding. You can go higher tomorrow.

and/or... you can wait for thereuare, who is going to be wayyyy better at picking out the pricepoints than I am.

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You tell us :)

It's our policy not to list them for you. You should check them every time you bid. If you want to list them here, we can confirm as of when we look, but you should check them every time.

UPDATE: Actually you have six rebid zones. "West" is not a rebid zone technically, because it offers Resort bidding... But that would be fine for you. So can you pick out the one zone that is NOT a rebid zone?

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It's more the pool, family-friendly activities, etc., that we really want...
There are no assurances that a 4* property will have a pool... could you accept receiving a 4* property that didn't have a pool?

If a pool is a must have, rather than a want, you may have to look at HOTWIRE.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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No, if we end up in a 4* at the Riverwalk, we don't have to have a pool - it would make up for it b/c it would be such a nice hotel in general.

But we really would prefer to be at the resort... have you ever seen someone bid (like I did) and not get it and then come back the next day and win it? But if the odds aren't very good, then I'll switch to the 4* Riverwalk area.

I'm not that interested in Hotwire - it looks like Priceline is the real bargain - isn't it? I'll take a look, though, while I'm waiting.

Hope I'm not driving you all crazy! Thanks for the help.

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Priceline is usually (but not always) cheaper than HOTWIRE so it pays to check them both, and both typically offer substantial discounts relative to traditional bookings. If using HOTWIRE gets you the hotel you want (identifying it beforehand based upon the star rating and amenities shown) but it costs you $10-$20 more than 'rollling the dice' for any hotel in the zone with Priceline, is that less of a bargain? If you didn't want a specific hotel in the area and get that because you were looking to save $10-$20... is that more of a bargain even though you didn't receive the hotel you really wanted? The point is that each service typically offers great value and big discounts, but each also has their pros and cons, so you need to determine which works better for your own needs.

If you really want the resort then i would try up to your maximum bid before seeking alternate zones and options. After 24 hours from your last rejected bid in this zone i would try as follows:

Select Resort and the West zone...

Bid $61, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Okay- I'm checking on hotwire just so I've done my due dilligence...

For finding a 4* hotel in the downtown/riverwalk area, $97 - San Antonio - 10/20/06 - 10/24/06

4 * hotel in Downtown San Antonio and Riverwalk

Amenities listed:

~Fitness Center

~Pool(s)

~Restaurant(s)

~Business Center

~High-speed Internet Access

~Golf Nearby

~Tennis Nearby

~Spa Services

Then I went to the vacation area and looked for a four star hotel with the same amenities, and the only one that matched (once I tried different dates):

Hyatt Regency San Antonio - which lists the same amenities, except doesn't list "spa services".

Am I doing this wrong? Do we think this is the same one? Or do you have another suggestion on how to find it? I understand we can never be absolutely sure, but.....

I think I'm going to post this under the Hotwire forum too - b/c this is just supposed to be about Priceline, right?

Thanks!

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If you check the list of reported HOTWIRE HOTELS on the site here, that exact amenity combination is a match for the Marriott Plaza. So that would be our best guess.

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread. We'll move it if needed when you win.

So what do you think of probably the Marriott for $97? Is it worth it to you to bid on priceline for lower? Or keep bidding for that resort you want...?

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What is the story??? I bid as everyone suggested, using all the free bids for resorts near sea world and 4 stars downtown riverwalk.... all up to $105. What's wrong? I wonder if there's something going on that weekend? It seems like it would be a boring weekend.

Should I try to split up our hotel stays? I just hate to do that since my hubby didn't want to.

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