Downtown Hotel Rooms in Ft Lauderdale

[anngie]

Is something going on in downtown Ft Lauderdale in November and December that has the hotels booked up. Just this week I wanted to book Embassy Suites for December and it was $133 on Hotwire. I bid on a 3 star on Priceline and was upgraded to a 4 star, Renaissance, that I really did not want. I had never heard of being upgraded on Priceline.
Today I tried Hotwire again for November. The site said that there were no hotels available in the downtown Ft Lauderdale area. :(

[jhannah]

The holidays, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, get pretty busy in the Caribbean ... and much of Florida. I can see where rooms would be tight.

[janisutx]

I paid $125 each for 2 rooms at the Hyatt Pier 66 on 12/18. Of course that's a lot better than the $215 and up on the other internet sites. I agree that the large number of cruise passengers on the weekend nights influence the rates upward. I tried for the Beach and Downtown areas Resort and 4* hotels. I used the advice on betterbidding.com.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Begining in November the hotels in Ft Lauderdale do start filling up quickly on sites like hotwire, tavelocity, etc. due to the fact that they are only alloted so many rooms at a certain price. Now I know you want to get a room at a cheaper rate, but if you checked the hotels directly, you would probably be able to book a room at a higher rate than priceline. etc.

:)

[anngie]

I wanted Embassy Suites for November 1 which is a Monday. That is why I am surprised to find no downtown hotels available on Hotwire.
This time it is not in conjunction with a cruise. We are driving to Key West and had hoped to stop at the Embassy in Ft Lauderdale.
I will call the hotel directly and see if they have rooms available and what the price is.

[Giorgi-one]

The problem in November could be the Ft. Lauderdale boat show which is the largest in the world.

[superstein61]

I wanted Embassy Suites for November 1 which is a Monday. That is why I am surprised to find no downtown hotels available on Hotwire.
This time it is not in conjunction with a cruise. We are driving to Key West and had hoped to stop at the Embassy in Ft Lauderdale.
I will call the hotel directly and see if they have rooms available and what the price is.
Just use a free re-bid zone and bid again. Or if you don't know what a free re-bid zone is - bid again in 3 days. New inventory opens up all the time

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

We got caught last year also - didn't make reservations early - so didn't get to stay at the Embassy Suites in Ft Lauderdale. Hotel rooms everywhere were sold out.

The last few days of October are the International Boat Show in Ft Lauderdale at the Convention center.

We ended up staying at the Embassy Suites in Deerfield Beach before our cruise.

:)

[Giorgi-one]

Just checked. The Ft. Lauderdale boat show is schedule for Oct 28 thru Nov 1. I would assume that many people make a week of it and stay over both before and after the show.

[anngie]

Thanks. You guys are great!! I thought someone might know what is going on. That is Parrothead week in Key West so rooms there are all booked up too.
We had better plan not to stay close to Ft Lauderdale.

[beej]

We sail on Oct 30 and are having the Boat Week problem. Priceline is dead. We booked a room at Sleep Inn Dania, 3 miles from airport. It is only a year and a half old. There is a Walgreens and Publix and restaurants across the street they say. I am going to try PLine until closer, but need a bed to sleep in. If interested, call them. The rates are better than web, that I could find

[srpilo]

anngie

I wouldn't panic yet...
Its not unusual for hotels to hold on to their rooms until the 60 day point and then release them for "priceline" bidding... Many times on "Biddingfortravel' the advice given is simply: "Too Early", try bidding sooner to your date.. For you to get a realistic take on availability, you'll have to wait until early September, and then start your bidding all over again.

So Don't Panic..

Srpilo