Priceline Hotel: Ft. Lauderdale Nov 5th Embassy Suites

[Jerlyn]

Last year Oct. I was able to use Hotwire and get the Emb. S. for $70.00. This year the price is really up there. I have never used priceline, so I am not sure what to do. Do you think the going price would be cheaper on PL vs Hotwire?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Jerlyn

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What are the date(s) of your current stay?

[Jerlyn]

It will be Nov 5, 2004 for only the one night.

[thereuare]

Sorry, i missed the date in the title.

There are two issues at work here:

1) Occupancy rates are up substantially vs. a year ago

2) This hotel has signed a contract with a few of the cruise lines for pre-nite cruise stays, thus making inventory a bit tighter.

Deals are still good, but not as great as they had been.

There is a good chance that the price comes down somewhat between now and your stay. If you choose to try via Priceline you'll most likely get a 3* hotel for less, but you also may not get the Embassy Suites (the Marriott Marina is also reported 3* hotel in this zone via Priceline). If your happy with either of those properties i would try Priceline, but if you'd be unhappy with the Marriott than i wouldn't advise it.

Another factor is your one peace of mind.... are you the type that likes to have everything planned ahead of time OR would you feel comfortable not having a hotel booked until a month before your stay? (also, if you booked now and then the price went down how would that affect your mood?)

$119 is a good rate for that property (not great, but good) and depending upon the answers to the above questions would determine how i proceeded. Let us know your own thoughts (temperment?) and we can assist further. If you choose to go with Priceline we can suggest a bidding strategy to follow.

[Jerlyn]

Thank you very much for your advice, I have never stayed at the Marriott so I cannot compare the two. The reason we like the E.S. is sometimes our cruisemates decide to drive down a day early and of course there is the other couch/bed in the room.

But if I can get either one at a good price I think they will need to worry about getting there own or let me know now.

I would appreciate your help in a bidding proceedure.

Thanks in advance

Jerlyn

[thereuare]

When bidding 3* in this zone you hae 2 re-bids available... if you're not familiar with re-bidding please read the prior link and if there are any doubts (or you just want to confirm the re-bid zones) then ask for help and somebody will confirm help you with it (i'll be gone until tomorrow nite though so hopefully another board member can help).

I would bid as follows:

3* Ft. Lauderdale Downtown:

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

Bid $83, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $86.

I think it's too early to bid much more than that at this time.

Any questions feel free to ask.

[Jerlyn]

Thank you very much for your help. I will check with my friends and try this.

Regards.

Jerlyn

[Jerlyn]

I wanted to let you know I did chicken out because I needed the 2 rooms just in case. I guess my friends are lucky they are my friends. Thank you for your help but I needed to have my ducks in a row.

Jerlyn :)

[thereuare]

So why not bid for two rooms?

You can purchase up to 4 rooms at a time on Priceline or Hotwire, and as long as you do them as one purchase (by selecting the number of rooms from the drop-down list) they will be at the same hotel.

[lmmn1]

I just got the Embassy Suites today for 8/13 for $55.

[thereuare]

You can see the details of lmmn1's win in the thread Ft. Lauderdale Embassy Suites, however their date was in August (a low occupancy time in Florida) vs. your stay in November.

[Jerlyn]

Thanks again I also noticed the dates and there is a big seasonal change in rates in the fall.

Thanks again. :)