Priceline Hotel: Maui (Lahaina) help

[Doski]

I'm planning a honeymoon to Maui from 10/26-11/4. I have focused in on Lahaina as the preferred region. Of the 4 resorts listed on this site as Lahaina options, the only one I don't want is the Whaler. It seems that most people have been getting the hyatt regency as of late, which i would be very happy with. My stay is rather long (9 nights) and I realize that I have a lot of options available. I'm considering a bid of 3 nights, which I am hoping I could "extend at the same price" for 6 if i get a resort that I'm wanting. Then I would probably book the other 3 nights at a premium resort or perhaps spend a night or two in Hana. Any thoughts on my logic?

The "status quo" recommendation is to begin the bid at $100 and then increase by $10 increments. I have time on my side, so I'm happy with this approach. My only concern is that an ultra-low bid may give me a greater chance at getting the cheapest Lahaina resort (Whaler)? If that were to happen my plan B would probably be to book a 6 night stay at the Westin through Costco travel, which is listed at $780 per person and includes a rental car, partial-ocean view upgrade, and $250 in resort credit, bringing the net per night stay to the low 200's, which is somewhat reasonable.

Does anyone have experience negotiating with the resorts directly? Is is reasonable to assume that I could get a per-night stay somewhere in the 180-200 range at the specific resort of my choice? That would obviously be on the very high end of an accepted priceline bid.

Your advice is appreciated.

[thereuare]

I'm considering a bid of 3 nights, which I am hoping I could "extend at the same price" for 6 if i get a resort that I'm wanting. Then I would probably book the other 3 nights at a premium resort or perhaps spend a night or two in Hana. Any thoughts on my logic?

To clarify... you mean extend your 3 nite stay to 6 nites (and not extend your stay for the other 6 nites)? You'll only be able to extend your 3 nite stay for an additional 3 nites since you can only extend your stay up to the same number of nites as the original booking.

The "status quo" recommendation is to begin the bid at $100 and then increase by $10 increments. I have time on my side, so I'm happy with this approach.

I would probably bid in smaller increments given the time you have before your stay and utilize your re-bid zones in the process. If you let us know your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

My only concern is that an ultra-low bid may give me a greater chance at getting the cheapest Lahaina resort (Whaler)?

While hotels can re-appear at any time, if you search "Whaler" in the QUICK SEARCH box in the blue box at the top of the board you'll see the Whaler has only been reported to the board twice, and over two years... but the price was $200+ (granted those were different economic times) but the point being that the lowest hotel direct rate is not necessarily the one you will receive thru PRICELINE.

Of course the other option is to user HOTWIRE where you can take an educated guess as to what you may likely receive, and if the tripadvisor info is shown for a given property, you may even be able to "know" that you're not purchasing the Whaler if the info provded doesn't match that property.

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

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

[Doski]

my total stay will be 9 nights. I was planning on staying at least one night in hana so i have to figure out the logistics, but i didn't want to bid on all 9 nights in Lahaina. Bidding on 4 nights is probably the right #, and my reason was that in case i did get a hotel i don't want, i won't be stuck there the whole trip. and if i get a hotel i do want, i can extend it. does that make sense? would you suggest a different approach?

my max bid is 150. It would be nice to get 130 or less. anything over 150 and i would be tempted to go to hotwire or book some kind of package, which are pretty decent.

I would be OK with Wailea, but Lahaina is the #1 choice.

do you have any experience with the direct negotiation route? This would obviously land me in the exact hotel I want and I figure that I might have a decent chance at getting an upgrade thrown in up front.

[thereuare]

Bidding on 4 nights is probably the right #, and my reason was that in case i did get a hotel i don't want, i won't be stuck there the whole trip. and if i get a hotel i do want, i can extend it. does that make sense? would you suggest a different approach?

This approach is fine if you're willing to accept the chance that you may have to switch hotels midstay for the eight nites as you may not be offered the "add a nite" feature, and if even if offered, no assurance you'll be successful in adding the addtional nites.

At this point are your plans firm that you know which 4 nites you'll need to bid?

I would be OK with Wailea, but Lahaina is the #1 choice.

Did you want to bid Lahaina up to your maximum bid first before including Wailea OR is price ultimately the most important factor and the least expensive of these two zones at the Resort level is what you're seeking? (and obviously we're refering to the entire boundaries which make up the zones)

do you have any experience with the direct negotiation route?

I never say never, but this rarely works and likely won't be comparable to the deals you could get thru PRICELINE or HOTWIRE.

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