Hotwire Hotel: 3* Seattle (Lake Union South) Silver Cloud Inn

[wexcellent]

Hello All -

First time posting, so I hope I've done so in the appropriate forum!

Here's what I'm seeking help on:

My family (2 adults, 2 kids, 1 infant) want to stay in the Lake Union area for 2 nights, starting June 20th. From doing a little research, there are only 3 hotels available in that area, all rated at 2.5*: Mariott Residence Inn, Mariott Courtyard Inn, and the Silver Cloud Inn.

I've called all 3 hotels, and 2 of them (Residence Inn, Silver Cloud Inn) have 1 or 2 bedroom suites that would accommodate us. However, if my Priceline bid is accepted, I'm worried that we might get the Courtyard Inn, which only offers 2 double of queen beds in a single room.

Is there any way in Priceline to increase the chances that we'd get one of the 2 hotels with the suites?

If not, it sounds like Hotwire may have a similar name your own price feature, but where we could specify 4 people?

Suggestions?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

From doing a little research, there are only 3 hotels available in that area, all rated at 2.5*

There could be more hotels than just these three... see the comments at the top of the Pricline Hotel List

I've called all 3 hotels, and 2 of them... have 1 or 2 bedroom suites that would accommodate us

It's not necessarily a question if they have rooms which will accomodate you, but if a standard room will accomodate you. PRICELINE (and HOTWIRE) reservations are for standard rooms... so even though a hotel may have a 2BR suite which can accomodate you, your reservation may only be for a 1BR suite (which may or may not accomodate you in the hotel's eyes as it could put you over fire code or occupancy rules of the hotel itself).

I think HOTWIRE would be a better bet since you can declare up to quad occupancy, and if 'push came to shove' you are abiding by their search parametes since they ask for the number of adults (aged 18+) and kids (aged 2-17) so by searching or 2adults/2children you are including the correct number asked for. As well, you can also then try to identify the property based upon the star rating and amenities shown before the purchase, and get a feel for which property you may likely be receiving.

Lastly, one other option (if the two adults are willing to split up if unable to get connecting rooms) but often 2 rooms thru the opaque providers (PRICELINE and HOTWIRE) can often be cheaper than one room booked directly.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[wexcellent]

Ok, thanks thereuare -

It seems like the safer bet for us would be to go with HOTWIRE, since as you say we can specify the 2 adults/2 children option.

However, I've never used HOTWIRE - from a quick visit to their site all I saw was the ability to do a citywide search for hotels, given check-in, check-out dates. Do they have somewhere a similar feature to Priceline - i.e., the ability to focus on a specific area (South Lake Union) and bid on price? I realize that there may be a place on this forum that provides those answers, and if so, feel free to direct me to that post/location.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

It seems like the safer bet for us would be to go with HOTWIRE, since as you say we can specify the 2 adults/2 children option.

Safe, but not 'completely' safe, since HOTWIRE only guarantees up to quad occupancy... but technically you've searched their site as instructed, imo (since the infant is under 2 years old), and i'm doubtful the hotel will give you a hard time regarding an infant (like could happen if you book for double occupancy and show up with a family of five... or in the situation of others, showing up with 4 adults when booking for double occupancy)

This is a good thread which explains the similarities and differences between priceline and hotwire: I've Never Used Priceline or Hotwire

Please read the last message we sent and and use these links to begin your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE searches.

Let us know if you have any questions regarding the above and how we can be of further help.

[wexcellent]

Thanks Thereuare:

Still somewhat fuzzy on how Hotwire works. I read the thread you referenced, which states:

"HOTWIRE follows the same general theme, except Hotwire allows you to

pick the area you

[thereuare]

If you go to HOTWIRE and enter the city and occupancy details, the next page will offer you hotels in the various areas within Seattle.

Clicking the word "AREA" on the left hand side (under the ability to limit to only 3* and 4* hotels) you can then limit the offerings to specific area(s) within Seattle.

[WillTravel]

I agree with all of thereuare's advice.

In respect to Lake Union, I've never seen any hotels offered cheaply on HOTWIRE in that zone. But people do get good deals on PRICELINE in Lake Union from time to time, although typically at the last minute and most often for single-night stays.

Two hotels that would really suit your needs well would be either the Springhill Suites or the Pike Street Suites, although I can't give you any advice on how to be sure of getting them through PRICELINE.

[Colfax]

It's true you should always be prepared for some hotel that's not on the list to show up, but I also think it's safe to say that in Lake Union zone no other hotels than the three in the list would come up because those are the only hotels there, at least for now. I stayed at Res Inn last month and looked all around. Geographically Lake Union zone is a small area and I didn't see other hotels. I wouldn't be surprised if more get built.

All rooms at Residence Inn have a king sized bed and hideaway couch. If two kids can share a hideway bed then a standard room at ResInn, like a room you'd get on Priceline, should accomodate your family.

And if you win anything on Priceline then probably it will be Residence Inn. Courtyard hasn't been reported here in over two years and Silver Cloud longer ago than that. But "probably" isn't 100%. There's always risk you could get Courtyard with one bed.

ResInn is $199 your nights. On HOTWIRE it's $171. PRICELINE will usually beat Hotwire, but I don't know by how much here. If you're willing to risk the Courtyard I'd suggest a lowball bid to start, like $75 or $80. And work up in $10 increments from there.

[wexcellent]

Thank you very much for all your replies and advice!

One thing that Colfax said intrigued me: that "Courtyard hasn't been reported here in over two years."

While that certainly seems to make our chances of getting our desired hotel (the Residence Inn) in our selected area (Lake Union) more likely, it begs the question: why not just call the 3 hotels in question and ask if they do business with PRICELINE?

Is that a feasible strategy in this case, when I'm dealing with a very specific area and only 3 possible hotels?

[thereuare]

You could try, but you may not get an accurate answer or it may not be something the hotels care to discuss since they would prefer you book directly with them. :)

[Colfax]

why not just call the 3 hotels in question and ask if they do business with PRICELINE?

That's like asking a stranger if they've had plastic surgery. Echoing thereuare's comments, it's not something the hotels want you to know and you're not assured an honest answer. I expect some hotel chains have specific policies prohibiting employees from discussing Priceline/Hotwire participation with customers.

If you want the Lake Union Residence Inn and no other hotel will do then I'd suggest booking it conventionally. The discount on HOTWIRE is so shallow ($199 vs $171) that it's not worth it, imo, after Hotwire fee. Any room at the ResInn will accomodate your family but some rooms have better views than others and the full paying customers are likely to get the better views. Or book a two bed room at the Silver Cloud for $179.

After you've reserved you can keep bidding on PRICELINE every 24 hours and if you get accepted then cancel your $199. Don't plan on getting accepted though as ResInn is a popular hotel with high demand, probably even moreso since trolley service started, providing a direct connection between Lake Union and Downtown.

For less than $199 you could probably win TWO 3* rooms in Downtown zone. With five people there's something to be said for having two bathrooms and showers.

[WillTravel]

If you would consider bidding for two rooms at 3* in Downtown Seattle, I'd just bid for 2.5*. I can't see any downside in respect to including 2.5*, and you might get cheaper parking and free breakfast and suites.

The frustrating thing which you can't know is that it's quite possible that bidding for 2.5* in Downtown Seattle would give you a room large enough for five, but there's no way of being certain of that prior to bidding.

For your dates, the Springhill Suites has a conventional rate of $179 per night for its suite with two double beds and a sofabed, and free breakfast is included.

[wexcellent]

Well, I thought I'd test your hypothesis (and mine as well):

I called all three Lake Union hotels - here's a capsule summary of their responses:

1. the Courtyard Inn: an enthusiastic "Yes!"

2. Residence Inn: a more neutral "Yes we do."

3. Silver Cloud Inn: "we don't normally participate at this location. I don't know about other locations."

Perhaps they're not quite as hesistant to disclose their involvement with PRICELINE as you might have expected! (although yes, this is based on a small sample of 3 hotels...). And, although the Silver Cloud Inn rep sounded like he was giving an honest answer, who really knows...

[tilepusher]

I'm sure their answers were accurate, but not very enlightening (when you called each hotel, did you specify that you wanted to know if that hotel was available through Name Your Own Price? Hotels wouldn't have a problem admitting that you can book rooms there through Priceline's retail service). They only tell you what is possible, not what is probable. To do that, you need to do some research (rates, past winning bids, frequency of reviews by Priceline customers, etc.). It appears that you would very likely be accepted at the Residence Inn if you were to get anything, but that's not a certainty. What you have to ask yourself is, are the savings from using Name Your Own Price worth the risk of getting a hotel that you don't want? That's a question that we can't answer for you, because everybody's risk tolerance is different.

I would agree with previous advice that your best option may be to expand your search into downtown and see if you can get two rooms at a rate that's within your budget. The 2.5* hotels downtown seem to be fine (I recently stayed at the Springhill Suites and thought it was great -- and I ended up getting a room with two double beds, which are more expensive on their website than the single king rooms), so it appears to be safe to bid for a 2.5* or better.

While I'm on the subject of 2.5* hotels in downtown Seattle, I noticed when I was there that the conversion of the Pike Street Suites to the Homewood Suites - Convention Center - Pike Street is now complete.

[wexcellent]

Well, after all that I checked Hotwire today and searching for 2 adults/2 children (over 2 years old) they showed a 3* hotel on South Lake Union for $134. Checking over the past week, the lowest Lake Union hotel, if there was any availability, was shown on Hotwire at about $175.

Given the good points many of you made - in particular that booking through Priceline only guarantees a "standard" room that typically sleeps 2 - I decided to go the Hotwire route. I purchased the room (through the betterbidding link) at the $134 rate, and it turned out to be the Silver Cloud Inn. Yea!

Thanks, and I will also post this on the Hotwire side of the forum to make the information available in the standard manner.

[wexcellent]

I won a room at the Lake Union Silver Cloud Inn for June 19th, for $134 (plus Hotwire fees). I checked Hotwire over the past week and for 2 adults/2 children (over 2 years old) the lowest rate listed for South Lake Union had been about $175. Rack rate is anywhere from $189 Internet special rate, to about $209 for lake view suites.

Added bonus is that parking is free at the Silver Cloud Inn, whereas it's about $19 per day at the nearby Residence Inn.

[wexcellent]

Ok, I posted the info on the Hotline side of the forum.

Now, one more question about strategy, now that I've got the Silver Cloud Inn booked for that Thursday night:

Our schedule may clear up in the next few days to the point where our Friday night may also be open, allowing us a 2-night stay. Here's the question: If we determine we can stay another night, and if Hotwire still shows the same deal available (i.e., "Seattle - Lake Union for $134) for Friday night, is it pretty much a given that it will be the same hotel, that is the Silver Cloud?

(There are only 2 other hotels in the area, and of those probably only the Residence Inn would accommodate the 4 of us, plus baby.)

[thereuare]

Can you please add the ameniteis shown before your purchase... you can still view these by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[wexcellent]

Amenities shown before my purchase were:

No smoking, continental breakfast, fitness center, pool, business center, washer/dryer, high-speed internet.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up.

[Colfax]

wexcellent,

Glad to hear you found something. ResInn's rate has jumped from $199 to $249 since last week, making your $134 deal sound even better.

I'm seeing something very curious on Hotwire now; something I've never seen before.

Checking 6/19 for two people HOTWIRE has a 3* Lake Union for $171. Checking 6/19 for three or four people the rate drops to $134! When adding people the Hotwire rate usually goes up, stays the same, or the hotel disappears altogether. I've NEVER seen the rate go down.

But I see Silver Cloud Inn charges less for two queen beds ($179) than one king ($189), which is also unusual. Apparently Silver Cloud discounts their HOTWIRE rate for two bed rooms more than their rooms with one king.

tilepusher,

That's good news about Pike Street Suites becoming a Homewood. Homewoods often participate in PRICELINE. Maybe we'll be seeing more 2.5* inventory on Priceline soon. The new Downtown Hyatt Place should open this year too. Another potential PRICELINE 2.5*.

[Colfax]

If we determine we can stay another night, and if Hotwire still shows the same deal available (i.e., "Seattle - Lake Union for $134) for Friday night, is it pretty much a given that it will be the same hotel, that is the Silver Cloud?

Sometimes two hotels in the same zone will have identical amenity icons. Not often but it happens.

Last week when I wrote that ResInn was available for $171 on HOTWIRE I was making an assumption that it turns out was incorrect. The 3* we were seeing was Silver Cloud, not ResInn. I knew it wasn't Courtyard because Courtyard doesn't have free breakfast. I didn't think it was Silver Cloud because loading a $171 rate on Hotwire didn't make sense when Silver Cloud's conventional rate was $179. After Hotwire fee booking the Silver Cloud conventionally would have been cheaper. Nonetheless, we see now that it WAS the Silver Cloud after all.

If you see the same icons for Friday night you'll know it's not the Courtyard. It's probably Silver Cloud, but no guarantee. The ResInn hasn't been reported won on Hotwire so we don't know what its icons are, or if it participates in HOTWIRE at all. Maybe you want to make another phonecall?

:)

[tilepusher]

I think the rate drop you saw when you checked for four people was just the result of a bizarre coincidence. I just performed the same search and the $134 rate is coming up for two people as well.

One other development is that, since June 1st, the Best Western Executive Inn has been offering a free hot breakfast. So it appears that all of the 2.5* hotels in Downtown Seattle now have a complementary breakfast.

[Colfax]

Now I get $134 for two people or four, just like you, tilepusher.

Mysteries of the universe...

:)