Priceline Hotel: HNL multiple zones Rejected 1* @ $61

[MichaelBei]

Bid *3 and above in upper 60s then 2*, then 1* up to $61 in all zones, all rejected. Then booked the Coconut Plaza thru a discounter in Oahu at $63 (which is actually cheaper then $61 plus the priceline fee), presumably would be rated as a 2 star by Priceline. Lowest price listed for these dates by Priceline was $92 for the Aqua Continental, which Priceline classifies as a 1 star.

Zones included in these bids were:

Executive Center

Ihilani

Waianae

Waikiki Beach Area

Waikiki City Central

Waikiki Marina Area

[LoneStar]

Glad you weren't hit at $61 for the 1 star! We don't have a lot of bidding history for the low-end properties (it seems that most people flying to Hawaii are looking for a little luxury), but I can easily imagine some less than ideal properties near Waikiki.

If you want to continue your non-opaque search, I recommend calling ResortQuest (formerly Aston) and seeing what you can get for half-price using the Entertainment Card. If you're willing to spend another 20 bucks, I'd suspect you could get something quite decent. I'd also recommend waiting and rebidding. Just keep it at 3 star, or 2 1/2 star if you want to live on the edge. :)

[BrianA]

Is it best to call a hotel directly when wanting to use the Entertainment Card, or is it possible to get the same deal using the Entertainment Card web site?

[LoneStar]

Unless something has dramatically changed, you need to call the hotel directly (sometimes a central reservations office has the rates, but usually only the hotel itself does).

It would be nice to see Entertainment rates on the web, since the vast majority of them are NOT useful (50% off an inflated rack rate doesn't do any good). Hawaii, however, has generally been somewhat of an exception. And it's best to go to the Entertainment website to first see which properties are participating -- often, more hotels than what are listed in the book participate.