Priceline Hotels in FtL, how to bid?

[gammaf]

Getting ready to bid on a hotel class in Ft. Lauderdale for February downtown, but do not know which catagory to bid on? We would like to stay in the Rennassaince and would like to know what our chances would be of getting it, if we bid downtown. Any info would be helpful!! Thanks!!

[Bfson]

Go to a web cite called www.biddingfortravel.com. They monitor Priceline and will give you an idea of what hotels are being used and what kind of bids are being accepted.

[SeaCruiser_1]

I used Priceline for the first time a few months ago and managed to get The Rennaissance Hotel downtown for the night prior to our cruise. I agree you need to study www.biddingfortravel.com . It was very helpful. I actually was trying for Pier 66 but my first bid was turned down and I needed to change criteria on the second bid so I added Downtown to my bid.

Good luck!!

Sea..

[MandyGirl]

Our past successful bids for FLL:
~ Embassy Suites (FLL, downtown, 3*, $60 - look for S for Suites if using Hotwire)
~ Renaissance 17th Street (FLL, downtown, 4*, $79)

Both were for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving for either one or two nights.

I've definitely utilized the website listed above for PriceLine and HotWire bidding in various cities (PHX, LAX, PHL, LAS, DC area). Another resourceful website is www.biddingfun.com (http://www.biddingfun.com) that Burbunny does (posts here on the Hotels board of CruiseCritic). We've been very satisified with all bids and hotels and will be experiencing the FLL Renaissance later this month.

[Giorgi-one]

Check biddingfortravel to get an idea of prices being paid. Price varies by date.

Depends on where you want to be. If you want to be near the port, best place to stay is on 17th street. Close to restaurants and stores. If you bid 3* Downtown, you will get either the Marriott Marina or Embasy suites. I got the Marriott Marina for January 2005 for $75. Internet rate is $249.

Remember, that once your offer is accepted, your credit card is immediately charged and there are no refunds.

[Sue's Mom]

We bid 3* downtown and got the Renaissance. :)

[peaches from georgia]

.... If you bid 3* Downtown, you will get either the Marriott Marina or Embasy suite.
Don't ever count on getting any particular hotel no matter how many people got it. There are other hotels in the 3* Downtown FLL area.

[Giorgi-one]

Don't ever count on getting any particular hotel no matter how many people got it. There are other hotels in the 3* Downtown FLL area.

Anything is possible. However, over the last three years, I have been checking bidding for travel and have not seen any other 3* hotels. Remember, Priceline has contracts with specific hotels. However, you can get a 4* hotel if you bid for a 3*. That is why the previous poster got the Renaissance.

My real point was that if you bid for a 3* hotel, Downtown Ft. Lauderdale, you will get a very nice hotel close to all the action on 17th street for about $75 during high season and as low as $40 low season. You cannot come close to these prices anywhere else.

[mountainmare]

HELP!! I was so happy to see this thread. We are going on the big O Jan 9. My friend and I are flying to FLL on the 7th to be joined by our better working halves on the 8th. I've booked the airport Comfort suites with our TA for $122/night, but really want to get closer to the beach or other activities. I've never used priceline, but it seems silly to pay top dollar. I've already checked and I can cancel our room at the airport.

Questions:
1)I don't understand how you get info from biddinfortravel.com. Since I've never seen anything other than the airport and cruise dock in FFL, does it really matter to me which hotels are 3*** or 4***?

2) Do most of the 3*** hotels have transportation from the airport? The DHs will be coming in at something like 1AM?

3) Are there nice hotels along the beach? Would it be a good thing to check both beach and downtown?

4)From everyone's experience, what is generally a reasonable bidding range for this time of year?

[Pilot70D]

Here are some answers for your each of your questions. My answers aren't the only answers but they do come from research, experience and a little common sense.


1)I don't understand how you get info from biddinfortravel.com. Since I've never seen anything other than the airport and cruise dock in FFL, does it really matter to me which hotels are 3*** or 4***?

Three star hotels are what I consider very nice hotels. Examples include Marriotts, Embassy Suites, etc. Four star hotels are truly upscale places to stay. I have stayed in both 3* and 4* hotels in both the Ft. Lauderdale downtown and beach areas. I can't imagine anyone being unhappy with any of the hotels in either of these categories. Every hotel has an off night or a disgruntled employee but by large you will have a great night's stay in either category. When bidding start out bidding ONLY on 4* hotels. More about a bidding strategy later.

2) Do most of the 3*** hotels have transportation from the airport? The DHs will be coming in at something like 1AM?

Most but not all of these hotels do have airport shuttles. However at 1:00 A.M. the wait for them to round up the shuttle driver and get it dispatched to the airport could take quite a while. Given their arrival time I would consider taking a taxi. The fare to any of the hotels in thedowntown area or the beach area is no more than $5-$12 or so.

3) Are there nice hotels along the beach? Would it be a good thing to check both beach and downtown?

There are some nice beachfront hotels and you might want to consider that Priceline area as well. See my brief tutorial which I will put after the last answer.

4)From everyone's experience, what is generally a reasonable bidding range for this time of year?

From what I have seen on the various boards the 3* hotels in the downtown Priceline area are going for $70-$90 during the time of year you mentioned. The average seems to be around $80. There will be exceptions but from what I have seen the $80 average is typical.
************************************************** ****
OK, now let's talk about a bididng startegy when using Priceline. Priceline 101 (so to speak). Priceline divides metropolitan cities into geographic areas and then let's you bid on a hotel in a specific area or at your option multiple areas simultaneously. Priceline also assigns hotels into catgories based on amenities, level of service, quality of furnishings and so forth. Their categories range from 1* to 4* and resort.

The basic mechanics of Priceline bid work something like this. You select an area and a category of hotel based on your preferences. You then tell Priceline how much you're willing to pay. Priceline will then search it's database of available properties. If the bid price is acceptible Priceline will immediately bill your credit card and make a reservation at a specific hotel in your name. The catch is what happens in case your bid is NOT accepted. You can't simply increase your bid amount while leaving everything else the same unless you wait for 72 hours.

With this in mind there are strategies you can pursue that will help get the type of hotel you want. First, start your bidding process by selecting the 4* category of hotels only. If you select 3* Priceline will automatically select 3* AND 4* categories for bid purposes. One strategy is to bid a low but reasonable price on the four star category. If not accepted then you can submit another bid immediately for the same dollar amount (or greater amount at your choice) by selecting 3* and 4* hotels.

Another strategy is to add another geographic area. Let's say you submitted a bid for a 3* hotel in the downtown area for $50 and the bid is not accepted. Priceline will already have automatically selected 3* and 4* categories so you can't raise just the dollar amount of your bid. What you can do is to include an additional area which has no hotels above 2 1/2* and then increase your bid amount and resubmit your bid immediately.

Priceline has 9 areas for Ft. Lauderdale. The areas with their highest rating category wise are as follows:
Coral Springs 3*
Downtown 4*
Airport 3*
Ft. Lauderdale Beach 4*
Ft. Lauderdale North 4*
Hollywood 4*
Miramar 2.5*
Pompano 2.5*
West Ft. Lauderdale 4*

Once again using our example above you could add the Miramar or the Pompano area to your bid criteria, leave the category of hotels alone and immediately resubmit your bid with an increased dollar amount. Note that Priceline will never search for a hotel in a LOWER category than you selected.

Just a quick word about Priceline and hotels. Priceline negotiates contracts with many different hotels in all of the categories. In the contract there is a price which Priceline and the hotels agree to. Rarely will Priceline sell a room to you at price below this negotiated rate but it does happen ever so often. Furthermore hotels release additional inventory to Priceline on an unscheduled basis whenever the hotels have a slack booking period. There is no predictability but the bottom line is that your bid which may have been rejected today may be accepted at sometime in the future without changing anything.

Another thing to consider is selecting an area a little fruther from the port. In these areas the hotels go for a much lower rate for the same star category of accomodations. For instance we just bid on 3* hotels in the Ft. Lauderdale North area for $40 and on a date very near yours. Our bid was accepted by the Marriott. Admittedly we will have a rental car so the slight additional distance to Port Everglade is of no consequence. It is something to consider.

I hope this information proves helpful. If you have other questions my email address is Pilot70D@yahoo.com.

Everyone have a great day out there.

[Giorgi-one]

I agree with everything Pilot70Dsaid. However, I doubt that you want to stay in any areas other than Downtown which is close to the Port or at the beach.

Answer to your 1st question - Go to biddingfortavel.com. Go to hotels and scroll down to Fort Lauderdale. One of the first messages will list hotels used by Priceline. Most of the hotels also have reviews you can read. The remaining messages are from people either asking for bidding advice or reporting on winning bidsl I use these messages to get an idea of the current winning bids for the hotel categroy in which I am interested. I always bid 3* downtown and have always gotten the Marriott Marina. Average rooms but the location is hard to beat. You can see the cruise ships from your balcony (when you check in ask for a room with view of the port). May restaurants and stores right on 17th street. And the water taxi stops at the Marriott.

From what I have read, most hotels at the beach are a little run down except for the Marriott Harbor Beach resort which is supposed to be spectacular. Check biddingfortravel to see if anyone has been able to get this resort (note that you have to bid resort) lately and what price they paid.

[Pilot70D]

Yes, the Marriott Harbor is a really nice hotel. I have stayed with them a couple of times over the years and yes, many of the beachfront hotels are a little on the run down side.

One thing I forgot to mention is to ignore Priceline's warnings about your bid being too low and having little chance of success. Priceline is in business to show a profit so the higher that people bid the greater their profit. Consequently Priceline will almost always try to get you to raise your bid. Go ahead and submit your bid at the LOWEST price you feel will be accepted. If this bid is rejected you can resubmit your bid.

Each ofthe last three years we stayed in the Marriott Marina for our precruise hotel with a successful bid of $47 and each year the "your bid has little chance of success..." message appeared. Unfortunately the acceptible bid level for this hotel has gone up.

Good luck with your bidding.

[mountainmare]

Pilot70D and Giorgi-one thank you so much for the user friendly info. I'm ready to take the plunge and save money!!

[Giorgi-one]

I am guessing Pilot70D was talking about off season for $47. I recently booked Marriott Marina thru Priceline for mid January for $75.

[Pilot70D]

For the last three years one could get rooms at the 3* and sometimes at the 4* hotels in Priceline's downtown Ft. Lauderdale at some very affordable rates. The bid I mentioned in an earlier post was for middle of December through the middle of January.

This year the prices are a different story in this same time period for 3* or 4* hotels. One reason for this is that the Embassy Suites on 17th near the port signed contracts with at least two major cruise lines to be the hotel for their fly/stay/cruise packages. This took several rooms out of the general inventory that in years gone by were available to Priceline.

I think that another factor came into play as well. The management of the remaining 3* hotels aren't dummies. I am assuming that they put two and two together and decided that they could retain the bookings from departing cruise ship passengers even if they raised prices from the bargain basement levels prevalent in previous years. Once they found out about the Embassy Suite contract they realized that the supply of rooms just went down fairly dramatically while demand for the remaining rooms has if anything probably increased slightly over the years since 9-11.

Still a price in the $80-$90 for the Marriott Marina isn't a bad deal at all. For years the Marriott Marina has been my home away from home whenever business took me to Ft. Lauderdale. Except for Priceline I was never able to get rooms there for anything near the $80 threshold.

So good luck to everyone in their bidding and have a great afternoon.