Priceline Hotel: Honeymoon in Oahu/Maui

[eazyc10]

I'm new to priceline but would like to try to get some hotels through them to lower costs for my honeymoon. The dates are for 7/26/05 - 8/1/05 with the return dates being flexible.

I would like to stay in oahu for a couple nights and then go to maui. I noticed that plane tickets don't vary much if adding a second flight to another island so I figured it'd be worth it. I would like to stay at the westin resort in maui and an either the JW marriot resort and spa or the regular marriot spa located in waikiki. Any helps or suggestions on bidding on these hotels would be great. I tried bidding $150 for the JW marriot resort but was denied.

Thanks!

[LoneStar]

Congratulations, easyc. My first advice is that if it's you're honeymoon and you're flying all the way to Hawaii, stay a little longer! Especially if you want to visit 2 islands. Personally, I don't think it's worth the trip if you don't have 8 or 9 days, and 10 days to 2 weeks is obviously better. So get your boss to give you more time off. With all the money you'll save on hotels with priceline, you can afford it. :)

Looking briefly at your days, it looks like there are currently better deals on Waikiki (I see nothing in Ihilani) than Maui. But you've got plenty of time. Please read the other recent Hawaiian posts where I've told folks how to use the "packages" feature on priceline to see if there's availability and which hotel (the cheapest in the zone at your star level) that you're likely to get. I great way to do it is break down your possible dates to 2 day blocks and set your origination city as another hawaiian airport (like if you're checking Maui hotels, put in a flight from Honolulu, for Oahu hotels put in Maui). Since interisland fares are about $180, you're looking for the 2 person 2-day package price to be under $400 for a "good deal" on resort hotels.

Play around with this feature, and tell me if you see anything at that price point that interests you (remember, unless you buy a package from priceline, you'll get the cheapest hotel in your zone/star level). I'd be happy to help you refine your bidding strategy.

[eazyc10]

I'm not quite clear on the 2-day package thing. Does this mean you would search packages for only 2 nights but then be able to extend the stay? Or is it a tool to check the prices out for certain areas?

Also, I did a search for maui from july 30 - august 2nd and july 31st - august 3rd for the packages leaving from honolulu but the westin does not show up for either of these two searches. Does this mean there is no availbility? (Expedia and Orbitz show up with availibility)

[LoneStar]

Yeah, the packages search has a two day minimum, so just fiddle with it by changing the days around. This way you'll see which days are available for the cheaper priceline rates you're looking for. Based on expected occupancy levels, some hotels offer lower priceline rates for some days and not others (they also adjust that inventory based on how fast or slow bookings are, so if you've got time before your stay and you don't like the current offerings, you might want to bid later). Also, one hotel may be cheaper for some days, and another one may be cheaper for other days. Since you'll probably be getting the cheapest hotel in your zone/star level when you bid, you may be able to adjust your arrival date slightly to get the hotel you want. When you actually bid "hotels" only, you can bid for as many nights as you want (keeping in mind, of course, that if your stay overlaps one of the expensive or unavailable days that you discovered in your packages search, your bid won't be accepted for the lowball price you might otherwise snag).

If the Westin does not show up on a packages search, it probably has decided not to offer priceline rooms on those nights. Remember, most hotels don't want to sell priceline rooms. They want to sell the rooms through conventional means for much more money! So if the hotel is busy, you're probably not going to be able to get it on priceline. Sometimes, of course, if you wait, the hotel will add priceline rooms closer to your arrival date. It's often a good idea to price the days you want on the hotel's own website to see if they are available and how expensive they are compared to other nights. Obviously, if the hotel has no availability or the room rates are particularly high for the nights you want, there is very little possibility of getting a priceline room at that hotel for that period.