jpurdy Posted July 28, 2004 Report Posted July 28, 2004 Please help. need 2 suites, total of 8 people. How can I be assured I'm bidding on a suite? Should I use Hotwire or Priceline? Any help will be most appreciated. Pre-cruise, Jan. 9th.Thanks very much.
thereuare Posted July 28, 2004 Report Posted July 28, 2004 Welcome to BetterBidding!Which city?I have to give the disclaimer that both Priceline and Hotwire only guarantee double occupancy, although i think 4 per room should be 'ok' in either the Ft. Lauderdale or Miami downtown zones as we've heard that the hotels in this area have been accomodating (especially true if 2 of the 4 are kids and/or 2 are willing to sleep on a pull-out couch)... but it's something you need to be aware of and make the decision for yourself. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Posted July 28, 2004 Guess I'm out of luck then. I don't want 4 in a double room. We need two separate rooms for the 8 of us. I don't want to spend a fortune, but don't want to cramp 4 of us in one room either. My only other option is to just find best suite/best price. Any suggestions? Looked at Mutiny Hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites, Blue Lagoon, Embassy Suites. Anyone have recommendations? Thanks.
jpurdy Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Posted July 28, 2004 Forgot to say it's Miami we are looking at!!!!!! Sorry!
thereuare Posted July 28, 2004 Report Posted July 28, 2004 I don't know of any 'all-suite' hotels in the Downtown Miami area that particapate with priceline or hotwire.However, i would find your best rate elsewhere and then try to beat it for multiple rooms (3 or 4) as Miami Downtown is one of the best values throughout the Priceline system and you still may be able to save money getting multiple rooms thru Priceline vs. a hotel-direct rate. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
young2by2 Posted August 5, 2004 Report Posted August 5, 2004 Check out the summerfield suites Miami airport. We have stayed there about 10 times now. It is trult a wonderful property! with full hot breakfast in the morning.Trey
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 Flying into FLL for one nite stay pre-cruise. Need 2 rooms. Would like beach room, but not necessary. Should we stay in FLL or MIA hotel to save $$? Also, which transportation service to use if we stay in FLL area? Thank you so much.
thereuare Posted August 30, 2004 Report Posted August 30, 2004 Please provide the date(s) of your stay... there could be some event/conference/show that would cause an exception to the usual advice.Is this for a different stay than when you were recently looking for 2 suites? Have your plans changed or are you planning on fewer people in your group (as there are some hotels in Ft. Lauderdale that have suites). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 Sorry, should have given date. Jan. 9, for one nite only. 7 of us. We are 1 less than when I posted previously. Am seeing that Embassy Suites at MIA Airport is only 3.5* hotel on Hotwire list and would risk bidding on this if you think it is a fairly good risk. We would like 2 suites.Yes, I'm still on a suite kick!!! Thanks so much for your help.
thereuare Posted August 30, 2004 Report Posted August 30, 2004 My thoughts:I always recommend staying as close to the pier as possible... leaves less room for error the next day (somebody gets sick in the morning and can't get out of bed, car trouble, accidents, traffic, forget a suitcase at the hotel, etc, etc).I don't think bidding on two rooms is a good risk as there is no way to determine if you'll get a suite or not (it's possible on Hotwire but i didn't see any for your dates).However, Downtown Miami is one of the best values in the Priceline system and it's close to the pier. I haven't yet looked but i think you can get rooms there near the $40 area. I would get 3-4 rooms determined by if one in your party is willing to double up or not. You get the extra bathrooms which makes getting ready in the morning much easier and you start your vacation with some relaxing space for everybody.Don't know if you've been in an 'all-suite' hotel or not. They certainly can accomodate 4 per room, but they're not exactly true suites that you would find at a higher end hotel.Let us know how you want to proceed and we'll take it from there. I don't know all the needs of your group, but from what you've told me thus far, if i were in your shoes i'd be going for multiple rooms in Downtown Miami. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 Ok, I trust your advice! I'll go for 3 rooms (there will be 3 of us in one of the 3). Downtown Miami it is! What next?
thereuare Posted August 30, 2004 Report Posted August 30, 2004 Are you familiar with re-bids? If not, read this link: RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED and feel free to ask any questions that you have. When bidding 3* in the Miami Downtown area you have 2 re-bid zones availble, please ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board if you are unsure of anything!This is how i would start:Select 3* Miami Downtown...Bid $37, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $39, if rejected add re-bid zone and...Bid $42.If the above i rejected, do NOT get discouraged this early on. Report back whether you have success/failure and we'll take it from there.PS - don't forget to select 3 rooms from the drop down menu. Also, the bid you enter is per room (so don't multiply the above bid numbers by 3 when placing your bid).Good Luck and let us know how it goes (or post any questions beforehand and/or confirm your re-bid zones before bidding) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 I got rejected for 37.00, but it says in order for me to re-bid I have to add a zone, but I don't want too! What do I do??? Thanks.
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 One more thing! It also checked off automatically a 4* resort that I can't get rid of. What's up with that???
thereuare Posted August 30, 2004 Report Posted August 30, 2004 Do you mean when you try to re-bid?That's because when you bid for a star level it's the minimum that you are willing to accept.HOWEVER, i don't know if Resort should be present or not. Which zone did you add for a re-bid? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 That's just it, I don't know WHICH zone to rebid!!!!! Should I do Key biscayne because I am quite SURE nothing is there that is 3*!!!!!! They are all more!!! Please help! Thanks so much. You are wonderful.
thereuare Posted August 30, 2004 Report Posted August 30, 2004 Slow down and make sure you don't make any mistakes... you've got other people you are bidding for so be patient.Key Biscayne is not a re-bid zone!From the link re-bidding link above:The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.Please try to follow the instructions above and then state which zones you think are re-bid zones at the 3*level (so you're looking for zones that DON"T offer hotels at 3* or above). It's important that you learn how to do this part on your own because it needs to be done before each bidding cycle, so we'd rather take the time to make sure you understand it and can do it on your own. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Posted August 30, 2004 Ok, I did it. No 3* at Southwest Miami, so I'll try one more time checking that with the rebid figure you stated.
thereuare Posted August 31, 2004 Report Posted August 31, 2004 There are two re-bid zones in this area, did you find them both or just one of them? (Key Biscayne is not one of them). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Posted August 31, 2004 Tried the 2nd rebid and was rejected again...will try again in a few days. Sorry for being so nervous! 1st time!!! Now I know what to do. I was initially confused because Key Biscayne is listed as an option with a check off box, but when I go to priceline, there aren't any options to choose from. We'll try again soon. Thanks for your help.
thereuare Posted August 31, 2004 Report Posted August 31, 2004 Huh?What 3 zones are you bidding for your last bid? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Posted August 31, 2004 I tried Southwest Miami as the next re-bid (no 3*--only less) for 39.00, was rejected. We decided to just wait and try again in 3 days.
jpurdy Posted September 7, 2004 Author Report Posted September 7, 2004 Have gone through 3 cycles now of bidding on downtown Miami. Upped my bid on 3rd try to 50.00. Still rejected. Happy to say I now understand the process! Thanks for your patience. But should I go higher next time? Looking for 1/9/05 one nite stay, 3 rooms.
thereuare Posted September 7, 2004 Report Posted September 7, 2004 I would continue bidding:$41$46$50each time you bid until mid/late October.PS - book a cancellable back-up in the meantime if you haven't done so already Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
jpurdy Posted September 27, 2004 Author Report Posted September 27, 2004 Just won Hyatt Regency Downtown Miami for $50.00 pre-cruise 1/9/05. Decided to up the bid a bit on the 1st try this time. Since we need 3 rooms, was willing to pay alittle more if needed to get the rooms.l I'm psyched! Thanks for all your help!
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