Priceline

[ranchette]

Want to bid for a hotel two nights precruise for June 7th. & 8th. In Vancouver I want the downtown area. What star rating should we indicate and what is a fair starting bid? Is it too soon to start now? Should I use priceline or go with hotwire?

[Putterdude]

My experience has been with Priceline. I wouldn't rush to start bidding...sometime in February would be time enough. There have been a number of new hotel rooms added to Vancouver's inventory without a corresponding increase in demand, that is post Olympics. Once the Olympics are over I believe this is going to be a tough year for hotels what with the US economy still on slow and a reduced number of ships homeported in Vancouver this season.

So back to the question, I would go to the Vancouver-Downtown screen and start bidding at about $150 for a 3*+ hotel. This will get you the likes of a Marriott or Hyatt at the low end and maybe the Pan Pacific at the high end. All hotels at this level are in a safe area and almost all are within a $10 cab fare of the piers. If you spot something you like on Hotwire and is under $150 p/n then you won't go wrong with that. Good luck!

[Murrumba]

Want to bid for a hotel two nights precruise for June 7th. & 8th. In Vancouver I want the downtown area. What star rating should we indicate and what is a fair starting bid? Is it too soon to start now? Should I use priceline or go with hotwire?

 

I always use Priceline first and then if not successful use Hotwire.

 

I used Priceline for Vancouver last year - 5 nights at 4 star 70 bucks plus taxes per night and got the Hyatt - it was brilliant and fantastic rooom with wonderful view.

Then in chicago I got a fantastic hotel for the same price on Hotwire in the Magnificent Mile. I rarely go over $80.00 bucks for either (then plus taxes) and I always book when I know I need rooms.

 

For instance I have already used Hotwire and Priceline for my hotel rooms in New York, Boston, and New Orleans for October 2010. I booked these last year. I did pay 140 for New York though - but then that is good for Manhattan. If you choose 4 star and 3.5 you will be pretty sure of getting good central hotels.:)

 

 

Good luck

[Murrumba]

My experience has been with Priceline. I wouldn't rush to start bidding...sometime in February would be time enough. There have been a number of new hotel rooms added to Vancouver's inventory without a corresponding increase in demand, that is post Olympics. Once the Olympics are over I believe this is going to be a tough year for hotels what with the US economy still on slow and a reduced number of ships homeported in Vancouver this season.

 

So back to the question, I would go to the Vancouver-Downtown screen and start bidding at about $150 for a 3*+ hotel. This will get you the likes of a Marriott or Hyatt at the low end and maybe the Pan Pacific at the high end. All hotels at this level are in a safe area and almost all are within a $10 cab fare of the piers. If you spot something you like on Hotwire and is under $150 p/n then you won't go wrong with that. Good luck!

 

 

These bids are extremely high. I have never bid this much. I got a lot of my information off the Hotwire Priceline Best bid forum. Once Priceline told me to bid higher and I got snitchy and remembered what they had said on the forum so I lowered my price and it got accepted. I think this was at a Portland Hotel - which turned out to be really nice.

I only bid 70.00 per night for the Hyatt and it got accepted. But I bid early too. I am usually over organised when I travel and I just have to know where I will be laying my head. I have only ever been upset about one Priceline hotel and that was one in Australia which was disgusting and nobody uses it who lives in Melbourne. Generally the hotels in the States are much better than hotels in Melbourne and Australia generally. What you would call a 3.5, or 4 star, we would call a 5 star. i.e. Hyatt.

[Billabongi]

FYI - it might be to early as I have been bidding on a hotel in Vancouver for May and have gone up to $140 without being accepted

[LA_FadeAway]

Same here, although I haven't bid over $100 yet. I'm looking for the first week in June.

[LA_FadeAway]

By the way, which areas should we be checking for Vancouver on Priceline. I know Downtown, but what about the "Granville Entertainment District". Should we include that one too?

[Putterdude]

By the way, which areas should we be checking for Vancouver on Priceline. I know Downtown, but what about the "Granville Entertainment District". Should we include that one too?

 

My fellow poster, the eminent Ut and I have disagreements about this but as a former partner in a Granville Entertainment District hotel...my advice is no. There are just too many other good hotels in the Downtown area to be bothered with the the Entertainment District....putting it another way I would not care to have my wife stay in that area.

[Putterdude]

FYI - it might be to early as I have been bidding on a hotel in Vancouver for May and have gone up to $140 without being accepted

 

Hold on to your Confederate money....you are probably still a bit too early and in fact with the Olympics it may be well into March or even April before we see rooms being released to Priceline. However it may not to hurt to check a few of the major hotels websites for promotional deals.

[LA_FadeAway]

I think you're right that it's too early. I'm not going to bid over $95 until at least after the Olympics. I'm only bidding 4 stars and the list of 4 star hotels offered in the Granville District look to be nice, which is why I was thinking I should include it. Based on your advice, I'll hold off on adding that one unless I keep striking out with downtown proper after the Olympics. Thanks!

[scottbee]

By the way, which areas should we be checking for Vancouver on Priceline. I know Downtown, but what about the "Granville Entertainment District". Should we include that one too?

 

All depends what you want. You can also get a hotel at the City Hall area part of town (I think that's what priceline call it), which is right on the subway line airport-downtown (which runs under Cambie St). So if you just need a place to base yourself, it's just as convenient, and quite a bit cheaper.

[Billabongi]

Hold on to your Confederate money....

 

LOL never heard it put quite that way. I figured out this and have decided to check back weekly or every 2 weeks until probably 1st week of April unless I see the hotels start getting booked up.

[dboyleky]

LOL never heard it put quite that way. I figured out this and have decided to check back weekly or every 2 weeks until probably 1st week of April unless I see the hotels start getting booked up.

For any orientation to Priceline, I recommend the forums betterbidding dot com and biddingfortravel dot com. See also the book "Priceline for Dummies". It's important to know what 4-star hotel you would probably get for your bid, at any time.

Dave

[Murrumba]

For any orientation to Priceline, I recommend the forums betterbidding dot com and biddingfortravel dot com. See also the book "Priceline for Dummies". It's important to know what 4-star hotel you would probably get for your bid, at any time.

Dave

 

 

Dave I agree - I used this to assist me - wonderful. I have probably booked about 60 nights via priceline within the past year - and have just recently started using Hotwire too. I found them good in Chicago when I was just not sure where the 4 or 5 star hotels were. I did not want to be miles out of the main drag. I was told that in Chicago there could possibly be 4 and 5 star hotels upto 24 miles from the centre. It was easier to directly use hotwire at that time.