Priceline Hotel: Trying to get Resort Maui (Ka'anapali - Lahaina)

Newcomer to betterbidding.Thanks for great job maintaining the forum.

Hotwire gives a 176/night for a resort very likely to be Sheraton, I'm thinking too high for that season.

Looking at Priceline, Resort level listed in the Ka'anapali - Lahaina area are: Maui, Sheraton, Hyatt, Ritz, Whaler. Pretty sure I won't be able to get Ritz, but the one I certainly want to avoid is Whaler. Checked the previous posts and didn't see a strategy. I studied the amenities, it seems Whaler does not have Business Center listed: choose Hotel Amenities/Business Center in List View and Whaler is gone. Since the Guaranteed Amenities during bidding include Business Center, does it mean Whaler will be excluded? Advice and experience much appreciated.

Welcome to BetterBidding! (and thanks for the compliments on the board :) )

I studied the amenities, it seems Whaler does not have Business Center listed: choose Hotel Amenities/Business Center in List View and Whaler is gone. Since the Guaranteed Amenities during bidding include Business Center, does it mean Whaler will be excluded?

Not necessarily... wherever you're getting the 'no business center' information from, may not be showing the complete list of amenities (for example, there may be hotels which do not show Hi-Speed Internet, yet almost all hotels (in the US at least) offer this amenity). As well, the 'Business Center' amenity is fairly vague... for example, at least years ago when a user and questioned HOTWIRE on what the 'business amenity' signified, and was told that the minimum threshold was a fax machine on site.

With the above noted, the 'retail' and 'bidding' section of PRICELINE each use a different universe of htoels, and the Whaler has not been reported to the board thru PRICELINE in nearly 5 years (see last reported priceline win for this property). So this property may or may not still be participating with the 'name your own price' division of PRICELINE, and while new hotels can appear at any time (and previously reported hotels not seen for quite some time can re-appear at any time), i would think the odds of receiving The Whaler are fairly low, although a risk you'll need to decide for yourself if it worth taking.

If this is not within your risk parameters you can still use HOTWIRE, which will cost a little more than HOTWIRE, but you have a better chance at targeting/avoiding a specific property.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know if/how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

Thank you very much for the detailed response. I'm willing to take this level of risk, don't believe in such thing as guaranteed deal. Since I have plenty of time and that week sits nicely between peak season and Japanese "Golden Week" Holiday, I think I will start low ~100 try daily two re bids with $5 increment and gradually work my way up every couple days or so, certainly using the forum link. What do you think of my strategy? Is it too early for the week of 4/21-4/27, resorts don't have their room availability yet?

Thanks again.

Your gameplan seems sound, although based upon current rates i'm seeing i'd guess you're realistically looking at the $140-$165 to be successful.

If you want to get your bidding done a bit quicker you could:

Select Resort Kaanaplali-Lahaina

Bid $xx, if rejected add 1st re-bid zone...

Bid $xx, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select Resort Kaanaplali-Lahaina and 2nd re-bid zone

Bid $xx, if rejected add 1st re-bid zone...

Bid $xx

This gives you one extra bid per bidding cycle. Any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help along the way.

Just a quick update and reference point for anybody in the same shoes: $155 not good enough so far. We will see in another 24 hours.

Thank you for keeping us updated; sorry to hear that bids weren't accepted, but hopefully the next round will be successful. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

We will see in another 24 hours.

Please remember to start your bidding, searches and purchases with the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Thanks.

How is the bidding going? I would check the regular rates for each night and consider breaking up your reservation into two 3 to 4 night segments.

Last try was more than a week ago, I went as high as 165 and not successful. With this price I'm weighing other options now. Been busy traveling last week as well, need to refocus. Will update no matter the result.

Good luck on the next round of bidding.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

You have lots of options you really should be able to get the win with that level ($165) for these dates, I suspect the length of your bid is hurting you. I would recommend starting with the whole period at around $120 again, rebidding appropriately. If you don't get the win try the last 5 days with the same bids, then the first 5 days. If you get the win you can consider purchasing full price for one day, or Hotwire if it's Hotwire identified. You can continue with 4 day bids if that is acceptable as well.

You also have lots of time before your trip so persistence will help.

I ended up booking through Costco Travel due to two factors:

1, Repeated unsuccessful bit at around 160. That's before tax.

2, My wife really wants Sheraton Maui.

Thank you all for the information and help. Will try again next time.

Thank you for closing the thread.

Enjoy your stay. :)