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Priceline Hotel: Priceline or Hotwire


olson99
By olson99,
in

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I am totally new to both priceline and Hotwire. I have been reading FAQs and posts. However, I seem to be reading conflicting information. Can you advise if after you have made your initial bid, and I have entered all my credit card information, do I get what I am given? Or do I get a list of available properties (without the names) and I can choose which one. Or does this only occur when I have clicked multiple zones and there are hotels available in each zone.

Is this true on both Hotwire and Priceline or just one or the other.

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Priceline and Hotwire are the same from the standpoint that you don't know the hotel until you agree to buy, but the process for each is different:

Priceline: You pick the zone and minimum quality level, next screen you name your price, then you put in credit card info on next screen, then you initial the terms and conditions... then they search for your hotel. If they have something that fits your criteria you own it.

Hotwire: You pick a zone and then hotels are shown to you at differnt star levels, amenities, and prices (BUT not their names). You then choose if you'd like one of those hotels and if so, you put in your credit card info and they will then reveal the hotel name (as you now own it).

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reply to this thread. If you'd like to post what areas you're considering and for what dates, we can provide more specifics as far as how to proceed.

It's also safe to go thru each's process up to the point of giving your credit card info (but DON"T enter your credit card just to make sure you don't make any mistakes), just to see how it works and get used to the interface, as neither can charge you enter your credit card info. This too many help you on the learning curve.

Hope this helped some.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Hello! I'm jumping in here on Thereuare's request since Ft. Lauderdale on Priceline/Hotwire is a pet project of mine :)

You have options here - whether to bid Hotwire or Priceline. Let's go over them both.

Hotwire. Putting in March 22 for 2 rooms, 1 night, Downtown Fort Lauderdale zone, the only 3* quality hotel that comes up is actually the 3.5* (as rated by Hotwire) Embassy Suites at $91 per room. It is the hotel which has the 3.5* AND the red "S" (for suite) icon in the amenities list. While there are no absolute guarantees, I've done extensive research in this zone, I cannot find any other hotel which meets this amenities list, PLUS every time I've selected it or someone I know have, they've always gotten the Embassy Suites. So it's as close to a sure thing as you can get.

Now the $91 is significantly better than you can get anywhere else for the Embassy Suites that night, but I believe you can do a bit better on Priceline.

So let's look at Priceline. In order to bid Priceline, you need to be willing to accept EITHER the Embassy Suites OR the Marriott Marina, with the very slight possibility of getting the Renaissance. All three are terrific hotels, 3* or above, and very close to the port, and within a $10 cab ride of the airport (if they don't have a shuttle). So since it sounds like all three meet your criteria, let's look at a bidding strategy for these hotels:

Your first Priceline bid, you'd want to select ONLY the Downtown Fort Lauderdale zone. On the next screen, select 3* and input your price. Based on the recent bid acceptances, it appears that $75 has been the lowest price Priceline has accepted for this time frame. So I'd recommend your first bid be $75. You'll get a "nag" screen telling you your bid has a very low liklihood of success and recommending you raise your bid. Ignore this screen. It's not correct - they're just trying to get you to pay more :) So simply put in the $75 offer again and move on.

IF that isn't accepted, you have the option for what's called a free rebid. That is, using a zone in Fort Lauderdale whose top level is less than 3*, so that you can raise your bid without risking getting a hotel somewhere else.

Because there is a chance Priceline has added new hotels to the current "rebid" zone for 3* hotels, you'll need to double-check that it's still valid. Before rebidding, open a NEW Priceline page, and click ONLY the Miramar zone. As long as all that comes up is 2.5* or below, it's still good as free rebid zones. If a 3* or higher option comes up, then unfortunately you won't be able to rebid. If this happens, please come back here and we'll assist you further.

But since it's likely you will be able to use Miramar if your first bid is rejected, my recommendation would be on your rebid to raise your offer to $82, and add the Miramar zone. This means you'll have marked for your second bid BOTH the Downtown Fort Lauderdale zone AND Miramar, and a price above $75 ($82 is what I recommend).

IF after your first bid, Priceline comes back and makes a counter offer to you that if you raise your bid by a certain amount, it will be accepted, don't take the offer. Split the amount in half and use your Miramar free rebid instead. For example, if Priceline tells you an increase of $22 would give you acceptance, raise your bid to $86 ($75 + $11) and add Miramar.

Hopefully you'll get acceptance and you'll be all done! But if not, you can start all over again in 72 hours with a new bid. New availability is added all the time. Don't give up or get discouraged.

We'll be here for you. Please ask any questions you have before you bid so we can make sure you're comfortable with the process.

Good luck, and be sure to keep us posted on what's happening!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry I did not respond back. Things got so hectic at work, I had no time to follow up. I assume it is porbably too late to bid now. One of the other couples reserved a room at the Springhill Suites. We can cancel up to 48 hours before without penalty. Has anyone ever heard of this place?

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It's NOT too late to bid.

Remember, hotels are basically giving Priceline/Hotwire rooms that they don't think they can sell at 'normal' rates. So unless the hotel has received more bookings for your dates than they originally anticipated, you should still have a similar probability of success. The only disadvantage is that you don't have an opportunity to "try again" because you need to take care of this outside of the 48 hour cancellation policy at the other hotel.

How much to bid is dependent upon what the rate you received at the Springfield Suites and whether you'd be willing to pay more (how much more?) to increase the quality of the hotel for this nite.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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The rate I have for Springhill is $140 including taxes for 5 people in a suite with 2 doubles and a pull out sofa. Amerisuites has a total of 4 people per room. So I had to go for 2 rooms. I tried at $65.00. It was not accepted. I went to $70 - same result. We decided that if we went to $75 with taxes and service fees, it might not be worth all the effort. So we are going to stay with our original choice this time. Again thank you all for your input.

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Olson,

You might want to check Hotwire again. I just did a search on it for March 22, and Embassy Suites came up (3.5* Downtown with red "S" for Suite icon) for $93 a night. They do have rooms with 2 double beds and a pull-out sofa, which would work for your situation. Might be a nice option for you :)

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