Priceline Hotel: Help please for Miami 4/1

[pookie9922]

Okay, Thereuare, I hear you're the absolute pro on this. I could use your help.

I'm trying to get a 4* in Miami for April 1st. I'd like something on the beach but I'm not horribly picky and could settle for a 3*. I'd like the price as low as possible but nothing over $100. I tried priceline on my own and failed.

I bid 4*, Downtown, Miami Beach, South Beach and Key Biscayne - $60: rejected

Added Coconut Grove - $75: rejected

Bid 3* - Back to $60: rejected.

I can have my husband bid and thought we'd try this again. What do you suggest for the next go 'round?

Thanks!

Angela

[thereuare]

Okay, Thereuare, I hear you're the absolute pro on this.

You should be listening to other people! :)

Seriously... Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates are currently very high for a your dates and a few of the hotels in the Downtown area are showing a sold-out condition. (do you know of a special event/function/convention going on during this date?)

With a few hotels showing sold-out conditions the first thing i would do is book a cancellable back-up!! Not sure which direction you'd like to go, you can book some 'lesser quality' hotels for less than your budget, but for the quality level you're seeking i found the MARRIOTT BISCAYNE BAY for $109/nite. Although this is a few dollars over your budget, there is no booking fee, so it's about $3 more than an equivalent $100 priceline bid, and the REVIEWS are excellent! That is what i would probaby book at this point as a back-up (should be cancellable up to 72 hours before check-in)... hotel's website is $229/nite! :)

If you'd rather go lower in quality than we can try to look for other options, but i believe the above to be the best i could find at the current moment (given the higher than usual demand). I would probaby hold off bidding again at this point and try to find out what the reason for the sold-out conditions... if there it is a conference, they may be holding a block on rooms which, if they're eventually released, should result in a lower winning priceline bid than you have already placed. Of course, if demand for the conference (or whatever other venue is causing the demand... it could even just be a lot of cruise ships in port that day) remains highs than there is a chance that the opaque service won't get any reasonably priced inventory and existing rooms thru traditional means will sell-out, and that is why the above back-up is recommended.

Those are my current thoughts, maybe i'll have addtional insight if a reason for the higher than typical demand can be found.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

[pookie9922]

You're awesome! Thanks for your help. I did book the backup reservation. I called a few of the hotels to see if they knew why that weekend was so busy but they weren't of any help. I'll keep researching that.

In the meantime, what should my priceline strategy be? Should I try bidding as often as possible until I get a keeper? About what should I be bidding if I try that?

[pookie9922]

The only event I found was the Miami Motorcycle Show. But I also just realized that Easter is the Sunday before so it might be a Spring Break thing.

[thereuare]

The questions to ask now is "How much would i have to save in order to lock-in a reservation today?"

I would probably have to get something for $65-70 or less at the 3* level in order for it to be worth my while to lock something in now (this figure may differ from person-to-person, not really sure what your figure would be).

So would it be worth it to you to lock something in now at $60, $70, $80.. what do you think that figure would be? Obviously the risk is that you lock something in today (at a high price) and then rates go down enough that you'd be successful in the $40's. This is why i would probably just do nothing for the next 2 weeks except see if rates go up or down from here... if you see them begin to go down at all then it's the right time to start bidding again, but i wouldn't be jumping to make a bid much more than $70 at this point in time (actually close to $76 when you consider Priceline's fee) when i back-up cancellable back-up reservation is in hand for about $30 more. If you were 2-3 weeks before check-in, then it's a different story, as time begins to play a factor; but at this early stage of the game i think you have a good deal with your back-up reservation (relative to the high current rates) and it wouldn't be worth locking in something in the $70's which would prevent you from taking advantage of any potential rate drops over the next 7 weeks.

Hopefully you followed all of that (if not just ask us to clarify)... if you have a different opinion then let us know at how much savings would it be worth to you to lock something in at this point, and we'll suggest a strategy from there.

A suggestion would also be to monitor rates at HOTWIRE for any major changes. A hotel drops by $10 is not significant as Hotwire's prices fluctuate throughout the day in order to increase opacity... but if all of a sudden you see a new hotel at a given quality level appear, and it's priced in the $60's where prior offerings were in the $90-110 range, then it's time to take a serious look again. (and bump this thread to let us know and we'll re-anaylze rates at that time)

Any questions regarding the above feel free to ask.

[pookie9922]

I've been faithfully tracking prices on Hotwire for the last month and something finally changed. I've been tracking Miami Beach, South Beach and Downtown because those are the areas I'd be happy with. On Feb 23 4.5* in South Beach went from $429 to $369. I didn't try anything then because that is way out of my league. But today a 4* in Downtown went from $189 to $80. The amenities are Restaurant, Pool, Golf and Tennis. Do you know which hotel this is? All other prices have stayed within $10 for the entire month and some star ratings are no longer available (DT 4.5*)

I'd like to try Priceline out again, somewhat out of curiosity honestly. But right now we're booked at the Marriott Biscayne (which I'm very happy with) for about $121 with fees and taxes. Is there any chance I'll get that hotel again or something equally good, just for cheaper? Or should I just stick with what I have.

Thanks again for your help!

~Angela

[thereuare]

Please double check the star rating on the HOTWIRE hotel you describe, i just did a search for your dates and show the hotel you describe as a 3.5 star... if so i believe it to be the Sheraton Biscayne Bay.

If you want to try priceline you have 2 re-bids available at the 3* level. If you're not sure of re-bidding please ask for help and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding. This is how i would proceed:

Select 3* Downtown

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $60.

Any questions feel free to ask.