Priceline Hotel: Multi-destination fight with hotel and car

[Birdwell]

Hello friends--

We're trying to get the best price for a November 07 itin of LAX to Dulles to Orlando and back to LAX plus hotel in both Washington DC/Dulles area for 9 or 10 days and then Orlando Convention Center area for 7 days plus a car in both places.

I e-mailed Priceline and they said no, can't be done except in pieces. Seems to me they could extend their discounts to such a big package. But maybe it would make their software too complicated or, more probably, it isn't profitable.

The best bet I can see so far is bid on LAX/Orlando airfare, Orlando hotel and Orlando car separately and then do an airfare/hotel package for MCO/IAD. A trip within a trip, as it were.

Also, when is the best time to start bidding for November?

I'm also posting this in the Orlando, FL section.

I welcome your comments!

[Birdwell]

Uh, FLIGHT not fight. My fella and I get along great and love traveling together. :)

[thereuare]

Please don't double post... especially this early in your planning stage, as you've essentially asked the same question twice. Once you are ready to bid/purchase on specific dates than you can continue this thread for your DC dates and then start a NEW TOPIC in the Flordia forum for your Orlando dates.

If you book a "trip within a trip" you will not be able to fly directly from MCO-->LAX w/o returning to DC (added flight time equals less vacation time). As well, you won't know your flight times until after you book, so you'll need to spend at least one day in DC on the return trip back to LAX (otherwise you should get stuck with a flight from MCO-->IAD which lands at 5pm and a flgiht from IAD-->LAX which departs at 4:30pm).

I think the best way to go about this is to book your flight on your own and then use the opaque providers for car and hotel (separtely). As well, don't know what you're planning on doing in DC, but if you're staying within the city you probably won't need a car, which would also be an added expense.

As far as when to bid, see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

[Birdwell]

Wow, my first post and I already made trouble...sorry!

The trip within a trip would be a roundtrip from MCO to IAD. We'd fly to MCO, then fly up to IAD the next day (for Civil War trekking mostly, so we do need a car), return to MCO for the convention and then fly home to LAX.

[thereuare]

I don't think you made trouble... just trying to keep things organized and have all answers to the same questions be in one place :)

So your two 'package' trips would be:

LAX-->MCO and

MCO-->IAD

This would be considerably more travel time (packing, unpacking, getting to the airport, waiting at the gate, etc, etc) then simply buying a 3 leg ticket from LAX-->IAD-->MCO (not to mention the flying time). I think you'd basically be adding an extra nite at MCO airport awaiting your departure the next day to IAD, as well as increasing your flight time... for little or no savings. Have you priced the 3 leg itinerary vs. two roundtrip tix?

In the current market, the savings on airfare are not big, so i'm doubtful you'll be saving much money by bidding. Even if you were to take two round trips... i think you'd be better purchasing them on your own for the benefit of choosing your times (and mabye even time it so that you can arrive in MCO and depart to IAD in the same day... leaving enough time inbetween for any 'mishaps' or 'delayed' flights)

[Birdwell]

Method to my madness...Priceline is offering a flight/hotel package (MCO to IAD round-trip which is normally $178 a person and 9 nights at a hotel that's priced $119 a night on the chain website and $189 on Priceline) for a total of $700 for two of us. Seems a very good deal. Then I'll book the LAX/MCO flight, hotel and car separately.

[thereuare]

Dates? Hotel?

[Birdwell]

Candlewood Sterling 11/3-11/12

[thereuare]

That hotel typically goes for $35-$40 thur Priceline's "opaque" service ($358-$408 'all-in' with taxes and fees)... so let's assume that you'll hit the midpoint, which comes to $383 for the hotel.

You can get aifare for $175/pp, which comes to $350 for air.

Total cost combining the two: $733

The upside of paying $733 vs. $701 (package price) is that you know your flight times and that the route is non-stop and direct. Thru priceline's package you agree to the possibility of a connection... which imo isn't worth $16/pp to have a non-direct flight.

Of course all of the above assumes that you're comfortable with any similarly rated property in this zone... as you'd be bidding for a 2* property and not specifically the Candlewood Suites (as there are other 2* rated hotels reported in this zone).

Whether or not you'd prefer to risk a layover and a connecting flight vs. the unsurety(??) of the actual hotel is a matter of preference... but the point of the above is more so to compare how you could theoretically put this together on your own for similar cost (and gain the luxury of your flight times).

Your thoughts?

[Birdwell]

Good points.

Looks like there is a chance of not getting a direct MCO/IAD flight, but not a huge risk. There seem to be many direct flights available. but you never know in this biz...

I'm not married to the Candlewood, although my experience with the chain is good, the online reviews are positive and the location is perfect. Still, the 2* options in Sterling all look fine and dandy.

I would not have thought that getting a $189 hotel for a 40 buck bid was very likely. I usually don't have success unless I bid at least 50% of the non-opaque Priceline rate. So I learned something very useful today.

Thanks for your comments!