immdc Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 My husband and I enjoy travelling with our 3 children ages 6, 8 and 16. We usually book hotels online through Expedia or Travelocity"]Travelocity. We tend to get one room with 2 full or queen sized beds and a rollaway. Is it possible for us to bid for a room and guarantee room for 5? At the savings I've seen on this site, I'd be willing to get two rooms but they would have to be connecting. Can they guarentee connecting rooms? Any hints or advice would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 You can't guarantee a room for 5 thru Priceline or Hotiwre. However, as you've seen, two rooms thru the opaque services can often be had cheaper than one room booked conventionally... but you won't be able to guarantee connecting rooms.After your purchase is made you can call the hotel and put i a request for connecting rooms, but it is just a request and at the discretion of the hotel (and availability). Depending upon the maturity of your 16 year old she could be responsible for the younger children and call you if there were any problem, or the parents could split up in a 'worst case scenario'.Whether the above compromises are worth the savings involved is at your discretion. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
DDSeeker Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 I have always had the fear that I would get stuck with a king bed only with Hotwire or Priceline. That still may be the case with Priceline, but I want to draw your attention to an aspect of Hotwire. Hotwire asks for the number of children. It would be quite disingenuous of Hotwire to acknowledge my two children and not provide a bed for them. Is there still a danger with Hotwire? Link to comment
Guest aldo Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 When Hotwire added the "how many children" box to the website, I called them and asked if that was to guarantee enough beds. They said no, it was to make sure they didn't book you into an "adult only" type hotel. They reconfirmed their policy that the only guarantee is that the room will accomodate 2 people, and bedding/smoking preferences were by request only. Link to comment
WillTravel Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 That's very strange. Hotwire doesn't indicate on the acceptance screens that they will sell you only a double-occupancy room when you ask for a triple or quad, and I think it would be rather a scene if they did do that when the family arrived. Link to comment
Guest aldo Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 I thought it strange too, but that's what they said. I didn't know there were "adult only" hotels. Link to comment
Aprilmay Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Hi, I just thought I'd point you guys to a paragraph on Hotwire's Hotel Customer Care page."Q: How many beds are in the lodgings?A: All rooms booked on Hotwire will accommodate the appropriate number of guests in each room, based on the total number of guests you provided and the number of rooms you requested. While we cannot guarantee the number of beds in a property room, some properties may offer pull-out couches or cots. If you have specific needs, please contact the property directly. Our partners will do their best to make your stay as comfortable as possible."Hope this helps.April Link to comment
LoneStar Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 You can't guarantee a room for 5 thru Priceline or Hotiwre. However, as you've seen, two rooms thru the opaque services can often be had cheaper than one room booked conventionally... but you won't be able to guarantee connecting rooms.After your purchase is made you can call the hotel and put i a request for connecting rooms, but it is just a request and at the discretion of the hotel (and availability). Depending upon the maturity of your 16 year old she could be responsible for the younger children and call you if there were any problem, or the parents could split up in a 'worst case scenario'.Whether the above compromises are worth the savings involved is at your discretion. I think that's sound advice, thereuare. There are significant risks in booking a SINGLE priceline room for a family of 5. Although if you didn't advertise your family size and travelled with an inflatable air mattress, you could probably get by 19 out of 20 times. Your biggest problem (other than comfort) would be room occupancy limits (usually 4) sometimes imposed by management and/or local fire marshalls.The only likely problem of booking TWO rooms for a family is the connecting room issue. From personal experience, it does get messed up probably one out of five times -- and that's WITH a phone call in advance. But I suspect you'd have a similar "screw up factor" if you booked direct. In either situation, you're usually able to at least get nearby rooms, so if you're willing to put an adult in each room if you have to, it works.Regardless of whether you book direct or with priceline, always call the hotel a couple weeks in advance to tell them you want connecting rooms. Get the name of the person who helps you. Then call back a day before you arrive and -- if you're paranoid and want to further boost your chances -- call back the morning you're scheduled to arrive. And then it's better if you don't check in too late. And then hope the front desk staff is reasonably intelligent and helpful :) Wish it weren't so, but that's my experience. Link to comment
headtrip Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Here are a couple of my thoughts and experiences - I hope they help:There are no guarantees on what room you are going to get on Priceline...Even the best researched plans and strategies may yield unpleasant results, so if you only want a specific type of room/adjoining rooms, then probably Priceline is not for you.That being said, if you are willing to take a chance, you may be able to get exactly what you want, especially if it is a multi-night stay. Here are my experiences below: Link to comment
jicms Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 I previously booked a room for myself and two teenage daughters through Hotwire to Miami and there was no problem when we arrived at the hotel as they automatically allocated a room with two king beds. I'm tempted to try again through either Hotwire or Priceline as the savings are so great. Anybody had any problems getting a triple room on arrival please? Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Hotwire now allows you to search for up to quad occupancy.With Priceline, the "more than double occupancy" has been an issue at some properties in some markets, NYC being the most common among them. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
bbbb Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 A lot of hotels will not let you put a roll a way bed in a room with two double beds. They say its a fire code issue. I just take a blow up twin bed for my son in case I get one bed. Link to comment
jicms Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 The three of us are going to NYC in April. Does this mean it will be too risky to use Priceline? Link to comment
GM Mike Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 That depends. Can you deal with the risk that you get a small smoking room with one double bed and no room for a rollaway?It's a very small chance, but it is a possibility, and you have no recourse if the hotel wants to stick you in a room like that. Link to comment
jicms Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 No, I guess not. Even worse would be if they could refuse to let three stay in the room? Is that possible? Link to comment
bbbb Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 No, I guess not. Even worse would be if they could refuse to let three stay in the room? Is that possible?Yes it is. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountAlready have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now