Priceline Hotel: HELP: when should i book for maui: 11/24/10-11/28/10

[jrita]

1) when should i attempt to book. 2) anyone know anything about the whaler? my wife would be very very happy with the first 3, would probaly be real bummed with the whaler...

Resort Hyatt Regency REVIEW

Resort Sheraton REVIEW

Resort Westin Maui Resort and Spa

Resort Whaler REVIEW

thanks in advance for your help!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

You can start looking to book at any time, although keep in mind with PRICELINE you have to be willing to accept any of the potential hotels when you bid. HOTWIRE may be a better choice in terms of trying to ID a hotel you may be more interested in. PRICELINE is less expensive than HOTWIRE, but there's less "unknown" with HOTWIRE when making a purchase.

What would be your budget per night and desired star rating?

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links.

[jrita]

i am looking for four nights beginning on 11/24/10. i want a resort hotel. as for budget, just trying to get the est deal. i will pay wehatever i need to, provided that the rates are lower than the rack rates. since it is so far away, i'm wondering is it good/bad or indifferent if i bid now. if i don;t bid now, when should i?

[njsurfer]

I had the same concern about the Whaler when I did my recent PL bid for a resort on Kaanapali. After reading its description, the Whaler sounded to me more like a "condo resort" rather than what I consider a "real" resort (no flames please!). I was prepared to call PL and complain if I got the Whaler and explain my views on condos vs. resorts.

I'm usually a last minute kind of guy. I typically browse this board looking to see what others have won in terms of price and property. In my case most posts showed that the Maui Hyatt was getting a lot of hits for the $130 range, so I kind of set that as my expectation. I did the same for Waikiki. In both cases I received the Hyatt, which happened to be the properties that were won the most. Note that it does not always work out this way, so you have to be prepared to get a different hotel. I also start my bidding a little lower than the lowest price posted for dates that are similar to mine.

Anyway, the more people who post - the more data that we have to make our bidding strategies, so I hope that people continue to post their wins!

NJSURFER

[thereuare]

As far as "when to bid" see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

The Whaler has been reported to the board as a Resort property twice, back in 2007... this isn't to say it won't come up again, or if this property is even still participating in Name Your Own Price. I'd say the chances are low, but it could come up again at any time and you need to be prepared to accept any resort class hotel (as determined by PRICELINE) in the zone that you select.

If you prefer to take an educated guess as to the hotel you might received before your purchase (either to try to target or avoid a specific property) then HOTWIRE may be a better option.

If you'd like to move forward with PRICELINE, i'd first check rates at the resort proerties you've listed above, see the best rate you're able to find, then determine your maximum bid based upon some discount to the current traditionally booked rates.

Let us know what you find and we'll take it from there.

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

[jrita]

ok, i used the link btw, and tried 110, 120 and 130 no luck. the hyatt has been winning at 130 quite often recently, and had wins for the time i'm bidding last year (at 120)...i suppose that none of the resorts have released rooms to priceline yet (it is 10 months out)?

any advice?

thanks.

john

[thereuare]

There is not always a direct correlation from one year to the next, as the economy and travel conditions change. As well, there could be a conference in the area this year for your travel dates which wasn't there last year (thus driving rates up for your dates) or a conference there last year which won't be returning the same dates this year (thus making your rates lower)

Since you are 10 months out, i would be patient and only bid once every 2-3 weeks... any more than that you'll likely get frustrated and discouraged by the bidding process. As well, keep an eye on the board to see if anyone else begins to win hotels in this area around the same timeframe as your own trip.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE links for your bidding.

Keep us updated as to your progress and let us know if we can be of any help along the way.

[jrita]

thanks! i will folow your advice! i'm sure i'll get a resort at a discount at some point!!!! but i agree, i will wait every couple of weeks so i don;t get frustrated!