Priceline Hotel: 4* Vancouver 5/25/07 appreciate any help!

[Chitoryubt]

Hi - looking for a 4 star hotel in downtown Vancouver for one night, May 25, 2007. So far, I've tried the following, for several consecutive nights:

4* Vancouver

Bid $65, rejected. Added Surrey.

Bid $70, rejected, closed browser, re-accessed.

4* Vancouver and langley

Bid $75, rejected. Added Surrey.

Bid $80, rejected. Closed brower, re-accessed.

4* Vancouver and Delta.

Bid $83, rejected. Added Surrey.

Bid $85, rejected. Closed browser, re-accessed.

4* Vancouver, Langley, and Delta.

Bid $87, rejected. Added Surrey.

Bid $90, rejected.

Would it help if I tried for 2 rooms? We'd like to stay together, but could split if the price stayed low enough. We have three adults, and two kids.

Am I too low in price?

Thanks for any advice - admit to being a major newbie here :) .

[thereuare]

Rates currently don't appear that high for this date... what is your maximum bid?

How much of a 'rush' do you feel you're in to get this done?

[Chitoryubt]

I have confirmed reservations for those dates, so I'm not in a rush. It's just that the confirmed rates "hurt" quite a bit . . . as for maximum bid, I quit after $90, but I would be willing to pay higher. I guess I could use some advice as to what my maximum bid should be.

I apologize for asking newbie questions and not knowing what I'm doing. This is all new stuff for me.

Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Where and how much is your back-up?

[Chitoryubt]

Backup is Westin Bayshore, $285 (no charge until one day prior), for 3 adults and 2 children The internet rate for same date (charging credit card as soon as booked) is $235 but I don't know how the 5th person fits into the picture.

[thereuare]

Are you looking for one room (quintuple occupancy) for your Priceline bid?

[Chitoryubt]

Yes - I read the disclaimer on Priceline and it states that I am responsible for arranging "special needs" with the hotel. I'm hoping we can all stay together, but if that isn't allowed, and we could get the rate cheap enough, I would get two rooms.

[thereuare]

Not sure if you're experienced with the 'opaque providers' or not... but i think you're taking a big risk and maing a few assumptions.

Going for quad occupancy is risky... quintuple occupancy is really stretching it a bit as many hotels won't allow 5 people in one <standard> hotel room. A Priceline your room is guaranteed for double occupancy, and you're basically seeking 150% more than that. As well, if you get one room and can't work it out with the hotel... you can't just add another room. If you bid again you can receive another hotel in the zone.

If you want to use the opaque providers i would suggest figuring out your budget and trying for two rooms (for which your still over the 'guaranteed occupancy' on one of the rooms). HOTWIRE allows you to search for up to quad occupancy per room and i wouldn't use it for quintuple occupancy... but you can search for 2 rooms on HOTWIRE and include the true 2adults/3children that you'll be.