Scared to try Pricline

[stprdi]

We'd like to stay 4 nights in San Juan after our cruise in January. Hotels seem real expensive so thought priceline might be worth a try. Can anyone offer some simple tips on bidding and how to use it in general. Thanks.

[Andee]

If you go to http://www.betterbidding.com and http://www.biddingfortravel.com and read the sites carefully, you will learn all you need to know.

[cherylandtk]

The only difficulty in using Priceline for San Juan is that the bid area covers everything from Old San Juan all the way to the Airport. On a four day trip that could be a convenient location, or not at all.

[chasetf]

The only difficulty in using Priceline for San Juan is that the bid area covers everything from Old San Juan all the way to the Airport. On a four day trip that could be a convenient location, or not at all.

I agree... sometimes it is better to pay the added amount to be close to where you want and need to be. For instance, in Sydney, we stayed right down near the port so we could walk to the ship on boarding day. Prior to boarding, the days we spent in Sydney we were close in to what we wanted to do and did not spend time and money taking taxis back and forth.

 

Just our choice......;)

[10X]

The thing about Priceline is you never know where your going to be, but what you will receive is a location in the Star category (Resort, 5 star, 4 star, etc.) that you bid on. So you know that you won't end up in a 2* if you've bid a 4*. On our 2007 cruise from San Juan I was looking for 4 rooms and would have preferred the San Juan Marriott, based on reviews that I read online. The San Juan Marriott is a Resort.

 

After checking Bidding for Travel and Better Bidding, it appeared that the San Juan Marriott was going for a minimum bid of $95, but I wanted to see if I could get it cheaper. However, Priceline only allows one bid every 72 hours, unless you change the parameters of the bid. Here is what I did.

 

A look at Priceline's web site revealed about 5 areas that Puerto Rico is divided into. It also shows what category of hotel is available in each area. The "San Juan" area had resort hotels (the area for the San Juan Marriott) but the areas of Dorado and Mayaguez did not. Knowing this helped with the bidding process.

 

I started my bidding at $85 for a Resort level hotel in the San Juan area. The bid was rejected.

 

Next I bid $90 for a Resort level hotel but added the area of Dorado, knowing full well that there was NO possible way to ever get a Resort hotel in Dorado because there aren't any. However, this changed my bid parameter, which satisfied Priceline. Effectively, I was again bidding on only the San Juan area. The bid did not win.

 

Lastly, I bid $95 on a Resort level hotel but added the area of Mayaguez, again knowing full well that I could not get Mayaguez because there aren't any Resort hotels in that area. Again, this satisfied Priceline's requirements for a parameter change and again I was effectively bidding on only the San Juan area. I won this bid and did indeed get the San Juan Marriott and I got all 4 rooms for $95 each, plus taxes and fees.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Denny

[jkloni]

I prefer betterbiddingdotcom to the other site. They are nicer. The administrator of the site is very helpful and will walk you thru the steps.

 

Don't be afraid. We used Priceline for a 2 night pre-cruise in San Juan and got the Marriott.

 

Put just remember, you are agreeing to pay X dollars for a certain quality hotel (priceline calls them star levels), and if Priceline can find a hotel that is in that category that is willing to sell you a room for that price, Priceline buys it for you - no returns, changes (not even in name) if you can't go. It's lost money if something happens. But it's also how you can get a $300 room for $95.... Just remember not to overbid because he want a certain property. It doesn't work that way. Read the betterbidding board. You'll understand better.

 

Kathy

[sunlover5]

We did it for 3 days precruise this past Feb. in SJ. I did it just like 10X said to do. We won the Caribe Hilton for 75.00 a night. With tax it came to 299.00 for 3 nights. We loved it. They put us up in one of their new suites. We were very surprised!! I agree also, betterbidding dot com is so much friendlier!! I was trying to learn as this was the first time I ever used priceline and the other site was rude. I was a newbie and I guess I was asking too many ?'s or dumb ones!!!

Good Luck!

[jkloni]

We did it for 3 days precruise this past Feb. in SJ. I did it just like 10X said to do. We won the Caribe Hilton for 75.00 a night. With tax it came to 299.00 for 3 nights. We loved it. They put us up in one of their new suites. We were very surprised!! I agree also, betterbidding dot com is so much friendlier!! I was trying to learn as this was the first time I ever used priceline and the other site was rude. I was a newbie and I guess I was asking too many ?'s or dumb ones!!!

Good Luck!

We also stayed at the Caribe Hilton the next year thru Priceline - $65!! The only way I knew to bid that low was because I had been following he betterbiddingdotcom board and saw that someone got it for that. Now....I bid in JANUARY 2007 for a November 2007 date! But it all worked out. 5 of us got that price on Priceline within a 2 day period. Then....it just poofed away...

 

It really, really helps to read that board. In fact the first time I bid, I was so nervous that the administrator, thereuare, was on instant message with me, walking me thru what I should do. (This was for a 2002 Hawaii 1 night pre-cruise). He is so nice. By a fluke we met up on the Crown Princess repositioning cruise last year. So I finally got to meet my knight in shining armor, that had helped me save BIG BUCKS on pre and post cruises hotels.

 

Kathy

[katiebug the travel girl]

Be careful! I have used priceline many, many times. In fact three times in the last two weeks. I was very disappointed in the most recent hotel (bid on last night). Thats it. I am stuck with that hotel. I will eat the price and pay for another. I would be a bit concerned about bidding in San Juan, one of my favorite cities to visit. I found a real gem on our last trip there in March, though not with priceline. It is a boutique hotel in the Condando area. Easy walk to the beach and quick taxi ride to old San Juan. It is called the Coral Princess. You can find it on trip advisor. We stayed three nights before our last cruise. When we got back we stayed at the Embassy Suites. A great pool scene compared to the coral princess, but also twice the price. After being stung so bad this time with priceline, I'm not sure I would risk it in San Juan. I think I would go with a sure bet. There is huge variation in the quality of rooms in the three star arena, some of which are not in a desirable location. A trip to San Juan could be fabulous or terrible, much would depend upon where you stay. Decide what it most important to you eg view, price, pool, beach, city...then read real people reviews on trip advisor. Check out the ratings of those hotels on priceline. Look to see what would be the least desirable place you would be stuck with in that category. Make your bid, but be willing to stay in that least desirable place. Keep your fingers crossed. You may get a real gem at a bargain basement price, or the ring at the bottom of the cracker jack box.

[jkloni]

Katiebug, what hotel did you get that you didn't like?

 

Kathy

[sunlover5]

That is why it is good to do a little homework especially on the named site!! In Sj I learned the strategy to bid a resort, and rebid adding the areas that had no resort but could up my $$ amounts for the SJ area. It really pays to go to betterbiddingdotcom and learn a few tricks. We were very pleased with our outcome at SJ, but I did not bid on anything lower than a resort. Good Luck!!

[TenerifeSharon]

However, Priceline only allows one bid every 72 hours, unless you change the parameters of the bid.

Denny

 

Just to help for the next bidding -- Priceline changed the rules quite a while ago. You can now rebid every 24 hours for hotels, (rental cars are still 72 hours) if you don't change the parameters.

[lovemylab]

I used Priceline for my November cruise out of San Juan. I booked in March and was successful on my first bid. Before bidding, I went to betterbidding and did a lot of reading. I noticed that everyone bidding $100 or less on a resort level hotel was getting the Caribe Hilton or Marriott. I bid $75 on a resort level and got the Hilton on my first try.