Priceline Hotel: Branson Bidding Help for 11/25 - 11/28

[toliverair]

Hello Everyone ~ I'm needing some advice on getting hotels in Branson on Priceline. I have never had any luck and have tried several times. I need three nights 11/25 checking out on 11/28. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would like a 2.5 star or above.

A friend of mine got the Chateau on the Lake a couple of years ago for $40!! Has anyone else had any luck getting a night here?

Thanks,

Narissa

[thereuare]

What bid amounts and star levels have you already made which were rejected?

[toliverair]

None in the last 72 hours. I have tried in times past and never was able to win anything. I can't remember the star levels and prices. Sorry.

[thereuare]

But have you tried for these dates at all (prior to 72 hours?)

If so, how high have you bid? What is your maximum bid? Do you have a back-up reserved or now what you will do if unsuccessful with Priceline?

[toliverair]

No, I haven't tried for these dates. I don't have a back-up reservation....I am a procrastinator! My max would be around $50 preferably lower, of course. If I'm not successful, I'll search the internet for hours until I find something else.

[thereuare]

I would bid today:

3* at $40 (not likely), if rejected add 2.5* and bid $35

If rejected try again in 72 hours and up each bid by $5; if rejected wait another 72 hours and up each bid by $5. This will make your final bid $50 for a 3* and $45 for a 2.5*... if your back-up at that point is not very desirable you could even consider bidding $50 for a 2.5* on your last bid.

[toliverair]

After doing some research, I think I would like to try and get the Chateau on the Lake. All the reviews that I could find were a couple of years old so they may not be doing Priceline anymore...Does anyone know? I read three and they all won bids around $40 to $45. It makes it hard b/c you don't have any rebids in the Branson Area.

[toliverair]

Tried resort .....$45 rejected

3*....$40 rejected

2.5*....$35 rejected

Any other ideas?

[thereuare]

Nothing you can do now except increase your bid on subsequent tries or split your bid. On an earlier search i saw many hotels not have availability for the complete stay, so that could be part of your problem as well, although i'm not sure if you'd consider splitting your stay for this trip.

[AlSleet]

Lately I haven't had much luck bidding for Branson on Priceline. Last Spring I got a 2 Star Econo lodge for $30. It was OK for a night but, if Econo Lodge is a 2 star in Branson, I decided NOT to bid on a 2 star again.

Recently I've been trying to get a room for December 16th. It's a midweek room and not exactly high season for Branson. It's the last week Silver Dollar City is open and, I believe the last week that the Christmas shows will be running. Weather can get bad this time of year in Branson as well.

At any rate, I ended up booking a room at the Hampton Inn for $53. as all our bids with Priceline, up to $40, for 3 star hotels had failed. Total cost for the Hampton Inn will be $59.06. That's pretty close to what the final cost would be through Priceline with a $45 bid. Since Econo Lodge was considered a 2 star with priceline, getting the Hampton Inn has affected what I'm willing to now bid on Priceline. It's to the point that I really don't consider Priceline a viable option for us for this a particular trip.

[AlSleet]

Just to add a note, I continued to put bids in through Priceline right up until the day before we left. I was never able to beat the price I had at Hampton Inn using Priceline.

This is the first time in many years that Priceline hasn't been able to offer us a better rate. What I found unusual was the large number of vacant rooms for this date. The Hampton Inn was maybe 50% capacity at best. Every hotel in Branson had the vacancy sign out for that night. On the 17th it appeared that the hotels filled up a lot more, but there were still a LOT of vacancy signs out.