Priceline Hotel: New and confused

[gregjennifer]

Hi,

I'm new to the priceline web site. I have read a bunch of these posts and I have a question. I will be in Anehiem the 2nd week of June for a 4 night stay, and would like to stay at a 4* on the beach, or as close as possible. I see the 2 Hyatt's in the "Newport, Hunington Beach" area and I was wondering of there is a strategy to get the Hyatt Huntingtion Beach vs. the Newporter? Do I just have to take my chances and hope for the best? Also I've seen a post on the Huntington beach Hyatt for $69/ night is that a good place to start?

Any input would be great,

Thanks

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You could get either one... you could get any hotel at that star rating within the shaded boundary.

You may want to try HOTWIRE where you may be able to figure out the hotel ahead of time based upon the star rating and amenities shown. (to get the basics you may want to look at: I'VE NEVER USED PRICELINE or HOTWIRE)

We'll need to know the actual dates of your stay in order to help further, suggest a bidding strategy, and/or alternatives.

[gregjennifer]

thanks for the quick reply,

We are planning to arrive on Monday June 13 and stay through Friday June 17th. 4 nights. We would love to be on the beach and it would be a bummer to bid to high for the location more inland. Would bidding the same $69 help get the beach location? Also do you want us to use another link to help support this message board?

[djohannw]

As thereuare mentioned you may give Hotwire a try as they seperate the Huntington- from the Newport-area. Usually Hotwire is substatially more expensive than Priceline, however.

I just did a quick check for your dates, and Hotwire offers what I would guess is the Hyatt Huntington Beach for 120$ in the one zone and what I would guess is the Hyatt Newporter in the other for 118$. So with this guidance I would assume they both offer the same or very similar rates to Hotwire (and in that regard to Priceline also) - making themselves undistinguishable on Priceline as they have them both in one zone.

From that rate my guess would be that 69$ is probably right on target for your dates with Priceline (maybe a little more like 75$), but again you could end up with any of the two Hyatt hotels (I think the third known hotel in that zone is much higher). I for my part was in the same boat for 2/23-25 (with similar rates available on Hotwire) and did not purchase the hotel through Priceline because I did not want to end up at the Newporter (even though it has been remodelled and is said to be pretty nice now)...

Greetings - Dirk

[thereuare]

djohannw took the words out of my mouth, but because i like to talk a lot, i'll add a few more :)

I too believe the Hyatt Huntington Beach is available on HOTWIRE for $120... a 4* on Priceline can probably be had for around $69.

So the question is... is it worth an additional $50/nite for you to be reasonably asured of staying at the Hyatt Huntington Beach vs. the Hyatt Newporter? If it is not worth the $50/nite additional cost, then it's an easy(er) decision to go with Priceline as you might get the Huntington Beach location or 'worse case scenario' you don't get your preferred hotel, but what you do get is one for $69/nite (assuming you're accepted).

If the Huntington Beach Hyatt is worth an extra $50/nite, then you have to make a tough decision: take a chance and hope you get the Hyatt Huntington Beach, or bit the bullet and pay the $120 that HOTWIRE is asking (for presumably the Huntington Beach Hyatt). Still a great deal vs. the hotel's $200+ nitely rate for these dates... but not so good if Priceline would have landed you the same hotel at $69.

Also affecting your decision should be your own personality (and those of whom you are traveling with). If your vacation will be absolutely ruined by getting a hotel that you don't really want... then the Priceline route is probaby not for you. If you're more 'go with the flow' and can deal with not receiving your ideal hotel, then you might be able to save some additional money by using Priceline.

Feel free to ask questions regarding any of the above. If you need help identifying the hotel we're refering to thru Hotwire feel free to ask for help; if you decide to go the Priceline route let us know your maximum bid (is it $69?) and we'll suggest a strategy to try.

[farnorthtrader]

Recently, I have noticed what appears to be a pattern. The Hyatt Huntington Beach seems to load their rates much earlier than the Newporter (or at least lower rates earlier), so bids further out are getting HB, while ones that are more last minute are getting the Newporter. By no means a guarantee, and it may be my minding seeing patterns where there aren't any, but if you decide to try Priceline, I would do it soon.

[windwalker]

And it looks like Sutton Place is now in this mix

[djohannw]

Yes, from what I heard they have substantially lowered their rate and now undercut the Hyatt's rate by quite a few bucks. I have seen accepted bids of $60 recently yielding the Sutton Place.

So now it's even more problematic to bid in this zone if you would be unhappy with anything else than the Huntington Beach Hyatt.

Greetings - Dirk