Priceline - pick your own price

[mlpreston]

Has anyone used this service before for booking hotels? If so, what were the negatives with it? Late check in? Early check out? Bad hotel? Bad location?

 

I'm worried of getting scr*wed by doing it...

[bthorn1108]

Has anyone used this service before for booking hotels? If so, what were the negatives with it? Late check in? Early check out? Bad hotel? Bad location?

 

I'm worried of getting scr*wed by doing it...

 

I use Priceline all the time for booking hotels and have always had good results. A few of my results have been $50 a night for a Marriott on Chicago's Million Dollar Mile (downtown), another time $50 a night for a pre-cruise in Vancouver.

 

If you are nervous about it, go to this website http://www.biddingfortravel.com and read all of the info on areas, rebidding options, etc. before you try it. Once you get the hang of it, it really is very easy. You're not always going to be successful, but when you are there is BIG money to be saved.

[Maryutah]

I've never used them, but a lady I worked with used them on several occasions and never had a bad hotel. She said that she either felt she got a 'good' deal, or even on occasion a 'great' deal. Her son played in a basketball league so they had to travel often, she said she had gotten a great place in Long Beach for about 1/2 the price.

 

Good luck, hope it goes well for you! :)

[rburns44]

I used it several times and have not had a bad experience. Used it for San Juan (4), Miami, Orlando. Before trying it read biddingfortravel. It really helps explalin things. Only thing I did have happen was in SJ and they didn't have a ressie showing us. I had my Priceline printout and they called Priceline. Was all ok then.

 

Becky

[mlpreston]

My biggest worry was reading on Priceline that you get late night check in with the pick your own price. It dont want to be checking in at 11pm.

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

Has anyone used this service before for booking hotels? If so, what were the negatives with it? Late check in? Early check out? Bad hotel? Bad location?

 

I'm worried of getting scr*wed by doing it...

 

the Captain thinks this thread does not belong in the Carnival forums :(

the Captain thinks that if OP is afraid of getting screwed by Priceline, perhaps OP should NOT use Priceline at all, to start with. :rolleyes:

 

Just the Captain's take on this subject

[slicklefty]

We have used priceline on several occasions, the deal is...pick the area of town you want to be in, i.e airport. You cannot specify room choice, i.e. smoke/ns, king vs. 2 doubles, however you can "request them" but not get a guarantee. We just stayed at a Holiday Inn Select in Atlanta internet price $148/night, I "bet" $60 and got it. I have used for airline as well no prob. To be safe pick a rating of 3 stars or greater and you will likely be satisfied (they only seem to book big name hotels).

 

Hope this helps...I love the gamble.:)

 

Slick

[serene56]

I have used priceline many times inthe past- Hasnt worked for me for my past two cruises. I too use biddingfortravel.com to learn about what hotels are being offered.

 

I have not heard that it is for late check in only.

 

Using priceline you dont get to pick your hotel.. Just where you want it to be-- example-- downtown miami with a 3 * hotel is all you get to ask for.

 

Be careful of the area you want to use- some areas are far from the cruise ports.

 

If you also need a room for 4 people I wouldnt use priceline as there is no guarantee for what kind of beds you get. you could get one bed.

[OhioJeff]

My biggest worry was reading on Priceline that you get late night check in with the pick your own price. It dont want to be checking in at 11pm.

 

Not sure where you read that, but the check in times wouldnt change because of going with Priceline. I have used them for well over 100 stays and never had a problem.

I have even gotten points on my Hyatt and Wyndham cards for Priceline stays, which most will tell you is impossible. A nice smile at the front desk will do wonders :D

[tigerdadky]

My only experience with priceline wasnt good. Had a small corner room with one bed for 4 people. You dont get to pick the type of room you want. Ive never tried them again but apparently they do well because they have been around a long time.

[beach410]

It is the luck of the draw with priceline, I have had good results and bad ones. If I am going on a vacation I would rather chose my hotel, location, amenities and pay more.

 

We used priceline for our New Orleans precruise hotel, I was happy with the location and the hotel and price, however, found out later that the hotel's pool is closed for renovations and priceline wouldnt do a thing about it, even though I picked a 4 star hotel and you would think at that rating the hotel would have a pool, which when I did a regular search all the 4 star hotels in that area were advertised with a pool, just the luck of the draw that it just so happens to be closed during our stay.

[howard6933]

I have used Priceline several times for pre and post cruise stays and a couple of times for vacation stays. They have always come through very well for me. I've gotten good hotels in New York City, San Juan, Los Angeles, Vancouver, etc. etc. and saved as much as 50% or more from standard rates.

I always go for hotels rated at three stars or better and have never been disappointed. However, I am a little apprehensive about using Priceline for hotels in foreign countries (not Canada). And I have never used them for air travel. Some friends have warned me about the air travel and sometimes you get an itinerary that may have 3 changes of planes.....that's not for me. But again, for hotels, they are fine. ;)

[OhioJeff]

It is the luck of the draw with priceline, I have had good results and bad ones. If I am going on a vacation I would rather chose my hotel, location, amenities and pay more.

 

We used priceline for our New Orleans precruise hotel, I was happy with the location and the hotel and price, however, found out later that the hotel's pool is closed for renovations and priceline wouldnt do a thing about it, even though I picked a 4 star hotel and you would think at that rating the hotel would have a pool, which when I did a regular search all the 4 star hotels in that area were advertised with a pool, just the luck of the draw that it just so happens to be closed during our stay.

 

Actually the only star level that you are promised a pool would be "Resort"

[mlpreston]

Thanks for all the comments! I'm an apprehensive gambler..

This is our pre-cruise stay in New Orleans and I really want to be in the heart of things in the French Quarter. I need to weigh this a little more before I make a decision. I've dropped a fortune on this cruise already and am now trying to cut corners wherever I can to save a few pennies.

 

Most of our vacation fund just got put towards unexpected car repairs, and I really don't want to cancel this cruise. First actual vacation in 8 years.

[Guienevere_Arianette]

Thanks for all the comments! I'm an apprehensive gambler..

This is our pre-cruise stay in New Orleans and I really want to be in the heart of things in the French Quarter. I need to weigh this a little more before I make a decision. I've dropped a fortune on this cruise already and am now trying to cut corners wherever I can to save a few pennies.

 

Most of our vacation fund just got put towards unexpected car repairs, and I really don't want to cancel this cruise. First actual vacation in 8 years.

 

mlpreston, I'm so sorry; I know that hurts! I unexpectedly, of course, totalled my car last month. I owned that car, free and clear...now, I have a car payment to make every month! That really cuts into my vacation funds. In fact, I had promised to take my little brother for a graduation cruise on the Conquest in June; high season, high prices, big ship, high prices...you get the drift!

 

Now I have to explain to my little brother that I can't take him on the Conquest; we're still going to cruise because I'm a woman of my word, but it's going to be on a smaller ship, smaller itinerary, smaller price :o I hope he's not disappointed.

 

You keep your head and spirits up; you can make this vacation happen! Keep cutting corners where you can...for the next few months, think cruise, cruise, cruise! No extras, generic brands, etc.

 

Have you checked out the thread about money saving tips on the cruise? That might really help you out!!

[beach410]

ohiojeff, all the hotels with a 4 star rating in the french quarter had a pool when I did the regular search, I did that to make sure when I picked my own price in that area there wouldnt be any suprises.

 

mlpreston, with that said, we are sailing 4/2 out of NO and wound up with the Marriott thru priceline, $100, not sure if the pool will be closed when we go there, but right now, per their website it is, maybe renovations will be complete. I am happy about the location, we have been to NO before, so it appears to be centrally located to everything we want to do in NO precruise. My boys will have to make due without the pool if its still closed when we go, not a big deal, we are only in NO one day anyway.

 

The Marriott also offers a parking deal for one night hotel stay precruise and up to 5 nights parking, includes two breakfast's for $199, thru their website. But it doesnt say anything about a shuttle to the port and I heard that cab fares are pretty high. We are parking at the pier.

[indie]

i use priceline EVERY time. And i always get a decent hotel for between 33-55 dollars per night.

 

Biddingfortravel is a great way to understand how to bid, what to bid, and how to figure out what hotel you will likely end up in before you even bid.

 

if you check out hotwire prices in the area you wish to stay, you can usually get the same area hotel for $10 cheaper per night by bidding on priceline. I always know which hotel i will end up in before i even place my bid on priceline by cross referencing bidding for travel hotel lists, hotel amenities, and past accepted bids/prices in the area.

 

you dont have to worry about difficult checkout times, you always end up with the standard hotel checkin and checkout time. And i havent even had to mention priceline when arriving at the hotel, just give my name or reservation number.

 

 

I've done it at least 10 times and have never had a bad room or hotel.

 

Once you book, contact the hotel directly regarding any accomodation requests, Non-smoking, double beds instead of king...etc, and i have never had a problem getting the room i requested.

 

 

if anyone would like me to try to help them determine what they can end up with before they bid..email me at rodatkinson@gmail.com

 

give me the city, the area of town you want to stay in, the prefered hotel quality, and the dates.

[mlpreston]

Ok...so I tried the Priceline thing....Astor Crowne Plaza for $75...

 

good deal? Havent heard of this hotel. Going to research it now.

[PaulMedik]

Guaranteed late night check in means they won't release your room if you don't get in until late. Without exception, I have always been able to check in early (as early as 9:30AM).

 

When staying in some cities such as Miami, you can know for sure what hotel you'll get before you ever place a bid by researching on biddingfortravel and using the strategies they recommend.

[CruiseCentric]

Ok...so I tried the Priceline thing....Astor Crowne Plaza for $75...

 

good deal? Havent heard of this hotel. Going to research it now.

 

It beats the regular price, but you probably over bid for the star level. Im seeing $50-60 bid being accepted around that time for 4* hotels. Check http://www.tripadvisor.com for reviews.

[mlpreston]

i bid $60US for 4 star, got rejected. So it made me change my search so I accepted 3 star. It looks like a nice hotel, pretty nearby to the places I want to see. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

BTW...now that I've tried it...I want to book more hotels...its exciting not knowing what you're going to get!

[CruiseCentric]

i bid $60US for 4 star, got rejected. So it made me change my search so I accepted 3 star. It looks like a nice hotel, pretty nearby to the places I want to see. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

BTW...now that I've tried it...I want to book more hotels...its exciting not knowing what you're going to get!

 

If you are going to use it in the future be sure to read the bidding websites. They will give you lots of strategies on how to get the most bang for your buck. There is a thing called free re bid zones, that could have helped you stay in the 4 star level.

The biggest thing about priceline is patience and research.

 

But not too bad for your first time out.;)

[ballinafad]

Along with biddingfortravel.com you can also use betterbidding.com for research. We use priceline regularly and have always been more than pleased. Most recently for a late night arrival in Orlando before the Carnival Glory we only needed a clean cheap hotel. We bid $34 for 2.5 star and got the Amerisuites which was a little older but very clean. For that price we got free shuttle from the airport with a complimentary stop at liquor store, free wonderful buffet breakfast for all 4 of us and the room for the night which was a suite. Very pleased with ourselves.

[beach410]

For our hotel, we started at $50, but wouldnt accept it because going rate for 4 star was $200, and we knew we wanted a 4 star, so $100 was fair to us, have been to New Orleans and I didnt care for what they consider a 3 star in the Garden District. There are however, some nice, funky 3 star hotels in the French Quarter!!

[thehittgirl]

Thanks for all the comments! I'm an apprehensive gambler..

This is our pre-cruise stay in New Orleans and I really want to be in the heart of things in the French Quarter. I need to weigh this a little more before I make a decision. I've dropped a fortune on this cruise already and am now trying to cut corners wherever I can to save a few pennies.

 

Most of our vacation fund just got put towards unexpected car repairs, and I really don't want to cancel this cruise. First actual vacation in 8 years.

 

Gosh...ML, I can definitely relate. Almost every time we have planned on going on a cruise SOMETHING comes up and I wouldn't be able to book. Then a couple of weeks after we booked this cruise, BAM...we had two things go wrong with our van. Our brakes gave out on us last Saturday and we almost wound up in the lake. There was no damage done and that was the least of the $$$ damage! The other repair before the brakes went out was worse.

 

I use Priceline on almost every trip, with an exception being 2 trips ago, I used Hotwire. We got a good deal on that too, paid 62.00 a night at the Holiday Inn in Baltimore.