Priceline Hotel: ? about getting Dolphin in August

[shorner]

Hi there! I have noticed that the Dolphin has started showing up on Priceline again for June and July stays... Yippie! I would like to stay there for my birthday, which is the weekend of Aug. 12-15. My question is whether there seems to be any correlation between when the Dolphin appears at Hotwire and when it appears on Priceline. I know that Priceline's prices seems to be lower than Hotwire's and would love to get a really good deal on this trip. Obviously, I want to make as sure as possible that I'll actually get the Dolphin for my dates, however, so I wondered if I could be reasonably assured of a room at the Dolphin if it were available for these dates at Hotwire. Also, if there isn't a correlation, when would be my best chance of bidding on Priceline to get the Dolphin? Since people have been getting it in Jan. for June and July dates, should I wait 'til Feb. to try for August dates??

Any feedback on this would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,

Sarah

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I would suggest that there is a very slight correlation between Hotwire availability and Priceline winning bids. If it's offered on Hotwire then it most likely is a possibility on Priceline.... but Priceline deals with so many hotels, and any of them can be won at anytime, that i would not put a high assurance of it being won simply because it's currently on Hotwire.

Hotels wins do seem to come and go in trends so it's positive that we're starting to see this property come up more often.... but you may be better off spending a little extra money and purchasing thru Hotwire (although keep in mind that on Hotwire it's not guaranteed either, as this hotel currently has the exact same rating and description as the Swan, so you'd need to be comforatable receiving that property as well).

Although we all want the 'best' price, sometimes it's more important to spend your money wisely. If Hotwire is offering what appears to be the Dolphin/Swan for $10 (for example) more than you would expect to win it on Priceline, i would think that is $10/nite well spent.

Let's assume you think you'd be successful on Priceline at $70, and you decide to try it because you see what you believe to be the Dolphin on Hotwire for $80. How upset would you be if you get your Priceline result and it's the Wyndham, Gaylords, etc? At that point you'd probably jump at the chance to spend $10/nite to upgrade to the Dolphin and wish you had done so from the onset!

Just my .02

Feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding the info i've talked about above.

[shorner]

Thanks so much for the information! The reason I was asking about the correlation is that I plugged in dates that had been successful thru Priceline for this property and noticed that the same nights at this property were also available thru Hotwire... It's not that I'm that much of a penny pincher that I wouldn't spring for $10 more a night. I was just thinking that if I could save the money with a bit of reassurance that I'd actually get the Dolphin, it might be a good thing to do. I have visited your site lots of times before, so I definitely know the ropes as far as bidding, etc. I guess I'll wait to see if anyone else is successful at getting either the Swan or Dolphin (I wouldn't care which one I received) thru Priceline for Aug. -- or if either becomes available thru Hotwire for these dates I'd jump at that...

Thanks again for your help,

Sarah

[Diz]

I took this train of thinking when I made my successful bid of $69/night at the Dolphin for 18-25 July 2004. However, Hotwire was coming up almost $30/night more for the Dolphin's amenitiesss... I took a calculated risk and was granted my wish after holding my breath until it came through! Thanks to God for my guardian angel who must have been sitting on my shoulder! :)

[shorner]

Wow, great price, Diz!! Congratulations -- you're going to love the Dolphin! Hope I can find a rate like that for our August trip... Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Take care,

Sarah