Priceline Hotel: Resort Orlando (WDW) Gaylord Palms

[vermilionroad]

We have already booked our flight and have a hotel we booked through Hotels.com - Holiday Inn Sunspree ($623 total for all 6 nights) but are considering trying a priceline bid in hopes of staying at the Dolphin or Swan. I hve two children, 3 and 5, and would love to stay here. This trip is a big suprise for them.

I'd love to get some adive on how to score any hotel nicer than the Holiday Inn Sunspree (preferably one great for children) for our stay. We'd love to stay on Disney property. Any thoughts are welcome.

Here is a property i'm showing on Hotwire.

4*

Restaurant

Pools

Fitness Ctr

High Speed internet access

Golf nearby

Tennis nearby

Any thoughts on this property?

Thank you in advance

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

OK, i don't have 100% 'confirmation' on this but i'm going to guess that the 4* is the Celebration hotel. I think this because it matches what is known for this property except for a laundry icon which as of last report was associated with this property. This hotel still shows a Boutique icon and a Laundry icon in the Vacation package, so this may be a property that 'mixes things up a bit'. There is also a much cheaper 3.5* offered on your dates with a similar situation. My guess is that this one is the DoubleTree Club. In the past this hotel had been reported to have the same amenities that are currently showing, yet the most recent 'win' indicated that this hotel was now just showing a restaurant icon. So this is unusual, but those are my guesses as to two properties which i'm less certain on, but think the logic is sound. Don't know how either of them fit into your plans, but i would venture a guess that the 4* you are seeing is not the Swan or Dolphin.

The other option since the Hotwire scenario is less than ideal is to try Priceilne. Although this is a busy time for the WDW/Orlando area, i'm fairly confident that you can do better than your current hotel at the same price or lower. However, with Priceline you have a little less control over the property and can get a hotel anywhere in the shaded region. Take a look at the PRICELINE HOTEL ORLANDO FLORIDA LIST at the 'known' hotels at each star level. If you are comforatable upgrading your current hotel to anything at a specific star level listed than i would give Priceline a try (but keep in mind that getting the Swan or Dolphin during this timeframe is not a high probability). If you decide to go with Priceline let us know the minimum star level you'd like and the most you'd like to pay and we'll supply a recommended bidding strategy to follow.

Any questions on any of the above feel free to ask :)

[vermilionroad]

Ok - I'm going to go with Priceline. And I think that any of the Resort level hotels listed on Priceline sound good. I have booked the Holiday Inn Sunspree for $623 - includes all taxes and fees- (6 nights) through Hotels.com, but can cancel with a $25 penalty. I would love to stay somewhere more upscale for less if possible. The Gaylord Palms seems like a nice option with children. Thoughts? I really know nothing about the Hilton, Marriott World Ctr or the Wyndham Palace except for checking their websites. Not so sure they would be the best spot for a 3 and 5 year old. Anyway, I'd love any advice you could give me on how to land something better than what I have already booked. Your website is amazing. I have been "studying" since this afternoon. Please let me know your thoughts. Are there any of the these Resort class on Priceline that would not be good? I guess my bottom line thought is....can I go wrong here?

Getting closer!!!

[thereuare]

OK, time to roll up the sleeves...

Before bidding you need to make sure you understand the concept of re-bidding which is explained here: BIDDING AGAIN BEFORE 72 HOURS. Please read thru that link and feel free to ask any questions that you may have as well as confirming with us which zones are your re-bid zones.

When bidding resort in WDW area, you have 8 re-bid zones availalbe giving yourself a total of 9 bids. I would proceed as follows:

Select Resort in the WDW area:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bid $100.

That $100 bid may take you close to $700 after taxes and fees, but you'll be shown the total befor pressing the "Buy My Hotel Room" button, so you can determine at what price ($90?, $95?, $100?) you want to stop.

Thank you for the PM about using the SavingsBarn link, it's much appreciated.

Let us know if you have any questions regarding the above.

Good Luck and i look forward to hearing how it goes.

[vermilionroad]

Well I did it!!! Although I was unsuccessful, I will try again in 72 hours. I bid as follows:

** Resort Level **

1 Disney World - $60

2 - added zone Dwntn Orlando - $65

3 - added Florida Mall - $70

4 - Kissimmee - $75

5 - Maitland - $80

6 - Orlando East - $85

7 - West Disney - $90

8 - Winter Park - $95

I was very easy and not as stressful as I thought it would be. Could not have done it without the help of Better Bidding. I did go in to Priceline using SavingsBarn. Thanks for all your help!!! Wish me luck!! Now I'm a pro.

Cathy

[thereuare]

Well i guess that's good and bad :)

Congratulations on giving it a go.... next time we'll be congratulating you on your winning bid :)

If you're not successful after the next round of bidding in 3 days (or perhaps the round of bidding after that) you may want to consider splitting your bid which is discussed here:

PRICELINE TIP: Shoudl i Split My Bid

Doing so involves the likelihood that you may have to change hotels during your stay. Some dont' like doing this.... others have no problem doing so. I guess it depends how lightly you pack and how difficult it is to get your family organized and motivated. If you choose to split the bid you can bid immediately after trying for the entire stay; as changing the dates of your stay treats it as an entirely new bid.

Keep us updated.

[vermilionroad]

You know we may just try that strategy. I could cancel just a few nights at the Holiday In Sunspree and bid a few nights at resort level. Do you think our chances of landing a resort level hotel are better the closer we get to our departure date? And anything important we should know about renting a car on priceline? Sorry for all the questions, but you seem to be the man (or woman) with the answers.

thanks again for all your help!!!

Cathy

[thereuare]

You're close enough to your stay now that i don't think closer to check-in is an issue. Essentially what you're hoping for is that a hotel re-evaluates its bookings and has more vacancies than it anticipated OR gets more cancellations than anticipated. The hotels would then likley turn around and offer this inventory, which they don't anticipate selling, to Priceline and Hotwire.

If you're willing to split the bid, you can actually try every day up until your trip by using the following strategy i just mentioned in another post. Since changing your dates is treated as a new bid i would follow this strategy using the same prices mentioned previously:

Day 1:

Bid 3/10-3/16 if rejected proceed to bid...

Bid 3/10-3/13

Bid 3/13-3/16

Day 2:

Bid 3/10-3/14

Bid 3/14-3/16

Day 3:

Bid 3/10-3/12

Bid 3/12-3/16

By Day 4 your 72 hour lock-out from Day 1 will have expired and i'd start the cycle all over again (just make sure you wait 72 hours from the time of your last bid and not just 3 calendar days)

Car rentals: savings aren't as great as they are with hotels and sometimes don't offer savings at all (especially if you can find a discount code to use). First i would check Hotwire and see their rates for your date. Then use the "Other Travel Links" link above to go to Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity to find the best prices you can on a car rental. You can also try the individual car rental sites if you want to pursue it further. Then take a few dollars off per day and try a priceline bid to try to beat the best price you can otherwise find (don't forget to include Priceline's fee when figuring our your total cost!) Always keep Hotwire's price in mind so that you don't go above that price when trying Priceline.

Continue to ask questions as that is how we all learn... i'm sure there are others following along with this thread that are learning from it as well.

[vermilionroad]

You are the best. Thanks for the new strategy. I think we'll try tomorrow. I will definitely provide you with feedback in hopes of helping others like you have helped us.

Merci -

Cathy

[vermilionroad]

:) :) **FIRST TIME WINNER USING SPLIT DATES (3 NIGHTS OF THE 6 NEEDED) STRATEGY AFTER FAILING WITH A 6 NIGHT BID** :o :)

Oh - You are going to be so proud of me. I put your strategy to work, splitting dates, and won!!!

We are staying at the Gaylord Palms for the last three nights, 3/13-3/16 (Sat - Tues) for a mere $85.00 per night!!! We are so excited. It looks like a great resort on the website. Today we are going to attempt to win the first three nights.

We employed the same strategy for the first three nights, 3/10-3/12 (Wed - Fri) and had no luck bidding with re-zoning up to $105.00 per night. Are these days just harder to get?

Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I will let you know how today's round goes. One question, what are the chances of getting the same hotel? As we have 3 nights left to bid, should we bid them two nights and then just one night? Or would we be better off just waiting the 72 hours and bidding all 3 as a group again? Not quite sure how to handle the last 3. I'm concerned about the possibility of staying in 3 different hotels. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks - Cathy

PS - We used SavingsBarn.com each time.

[thereuare]

CONGRATULATIONS... that's great news!!

Expedia shows a rate of $259 for these nites so this looks like an AMAZING deal. I'm sure you're kids will like that Octopus Waterslide i see on their website.

Don't know if you had a typo in your post, but you said you won 3/13-3/16 and are now bidding 3/10-3/12... this will you leave you without a place to sleep on the nite of the 12th!

I'd probably advise against splitting the bids once again as switching hotels 3 times is a bit much on a one week stay. The chances of getting the same property are undertermined, but i would put them at 'less than likely' (especially since the same bid for the entire stay was already rejected... if this hotel has Priceline availability they would have accepted your bid for the entire stay)

If you clarify the above dates that you now need (3/10-3/12 or 3/10-3/13) i'll advise a further.

[vermilionroad]

Oops...looking for 3/10 - 3/13 !!

Not sure how to go about these three nights. Any thoughts you might have would be appreciated.

Thanks again

[Boots]

You will love this hotel. We stayed there when it first opened 2 years ago and loved it better than any onsite disney resort. Our kids were 4 mos 2 and 5 and they loved it as well. The hotel often run really good specials so you should call and ask. Also on your priceline confirmation if you click on customer service there is a place than you can add nights to your reservation. (subject to availability of course)

Good luck and enjoy.