Priceline Hotel: Need advice for Priceline- Austin Downtown

[MightyBoognish]

Hi. Let me start out by saying I've never used Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia or any other discount travel site. But seeing the great deals to be had, I feel the time is NOW for me to try!

Situation:

I'm looking for a 4* hotel in Downtown Austin, Aug. 8 arrival, Aug. 11 departure.

Priceline has four 4* hotels in this area: The Omni, The Hilton, The Stephen F. Driskol, and The Hyatt.

I've seen several people say they have The Omni (that's my FIRST CHOICE) for as low as $70 via Priceline. We won't have a car, but three of the hotels are all within walking distance of where we need to be: The Omni, The Hilton, and The Driskoll.

The Hyatt is too far, so I want to try to exclude that from being picked, but I know I can't since it's also a 4-star Downtown designation.

I'd definitely bid anywhere from $70-$85, seeing as the best rate I can get via the OMNI's own website is around $179/night using their "3-night corporate stay" rate.

My question is: I'm pretty certain if I check off "4*" and "Downtown Austin" I'll HAVE to end up with ONE of those 4 hotels... just wish I could somehow exclude the Hyatt. Because if we get that, I'd have to rent a car, and the savings would then be nullified due to the cost of car rental.

Any suggestions for a first-timer?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Priceline has four 4* hotels in this area: The Omni, The Hilton, The Stephen F. Driskol, and The Hyatt.

You don't know this for certain as priceline doesn't let you know which hotels in the area participate and how they rate each property. If you're making this determination from the Priceline Hotel List be sure to read the comments at the top of the list, as the list can never (and shouldn't) be considered exhuastive as new hotels are added all the time, other hotels are upgraded, etc.

If you're trying to target a specific property, or avoid a particular property, why not search HOTWIRE as there at least you can make an educated guess as to the hotel you're likely, or not likely, seeing.

If you do a current HOTWIRE search, do any hotels appear within your price range? (at the 4* level)

[MightyBoognish]

Thanks for the info, thereuare.

So you're saying Priceline won't show you ALL of the participating area hotels, just some? When I do an exclusionary search for just the 4* hotels in the Downtown Austin area, I keep seeing the same four hotels pop up... but you're saying there's likely more 4* hotels they're not showing?

Hotwire doesn't have a name your own price feature, right? When I do a 4* search at Hotwire for Austin Downtown hotels, it shows prices that are around $159-200 for the same (I'm assuming) hotels that I've read have gone for as low as $70-75 on Priceline.

Thanks again for the help.

[thereuare]

So you're saying Priceline won't show you ALL of the participating area hotels, just some? When I do an exclusionary search for just the 4* hotels in the Downtown Austin area, I keep seeing the same four hotels pop up... but you're saying there's likely more 4* hotels they're not showing?

Priceline doesn't show any hotels that participate with their "Name Your Own Price" service. If you're looking at their "retail product" where the names and prices are shown, then see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Hotwire doesn't have a name your own price feature, right? When I do a 4* search at Hotwire for Austin Downtown hotels, it shows prices that are around $159-200 for the same (I'm assuming) hotels that I've read have gone for as low as $70-75 on Priceline.

Correct, there is no bidding on HOTWIRE. However, if you're seeing price of $150-$200, then the odds are against there being availabily on priceline at a $70-$75 rate. Priceline is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but not twice as expensive. There are many instances on the board where $75 is not enough in this area (although i haven't looked at your specific dates)

[bossx20]

The SFA Intercontinental is the other 4* in DT Austin. The Driskill is not offered on priceline.

The Hyatt isn't that far from the central part of DT, and is off on town lake. Its a $5 cab ride to central DT.

I have bid priceline for 4* Austin downtown hotels 10-20 times and have not once picked up the Hyatt. If you were "unlucky" and get the Hyatt, it is still a very nice place to be and is a very short walk to the other downtown hotels.

[MightyBoognish]

This is a long time coming (sorry for the delay!) but I ended up just booking rooms for my Austin trip (August 7-10, 2007) directly via the Omni Hotel Austin web site. It was important that I be within walking distance to Red River Street for this trip, so rather than take chances with Priceline, I decided it best to pay the rack rate offered at Omni's own website and grin and bear it.

Since this trip, however, I have successfully won hotels via Priceline in both NYC and Baltimore, MD. See the respective threads for details.