How to get Best Hotel Deal in Vancouver?

I have been bidding on a room for my couple of nights in Vancouver in August with no luck so far, I know I have to keep increasing my bid more. I was wondering if anyone had any additional advise on a way to get a nice room in Vancouver in the downtown area? Does Vancouver have alot of tourists in Vancouver in August? In Florida, this is our slow season, wasn't sure what peak tourist time in Vancouver was, thank you.

July and August is our peak summer season - although tourism is strong here all year because of Whistler for skiing in the winter so finding the best price on hotels can be challenging although there have been some great deals mentioned on these threads.

Are you using Priceline?

Hope this helps

Cheers

Dennis

I am using priceline, I don't go untill August, so I will just keep trying. I would like my family to stay in downtown Vancouver in a 4 star hotel. We have a couple of days before our cruise to explore. I was just seeing if any other options, I am also watching hotwire.

What is the price range you've been bidding at?

We have been reading of some great deals on Priceline.com but frankly I am trying to bid on something for next week without much success.

I have just received some good Prices on all Fairmont Hotels - incl Vancouver (all of them) for May and early June (prices from $100 I think) - pls email me, so I can forward the offer to you from their website. If you decide to book, I receive elevation of status which means I might get a room upgrade next time I book etc.

I'm only allowed to email 10 people, I've sent the offer to two friends so far.

desumbers@gmail.com

Des.

I got an email from Fairmont as well as I member of their frequent flyer plan but the CDN rate was $139 and it was for specific dates and none were the dates I wanted.

However I did just get the Marriott Renaissance Harbourside for $75 (US) on Priceline.com .... so my need is looked after. On the weekend I will call and request, an accessible with a view. LOL

Maybe everyone knows this already, but since it hasn't been mentioned yet, you may want to check out http://www.biddingfortravel.com

biddingfortravel is a site where Priceline users go and post their winning bids and hotels, so you know what the going rates are. It can save you wasting bids that are too low, and save you from starting your bidding too high. You can also get help with bidding strategies for particular cities if you read the FAQ and do your research first (the board's moderators are pretty strict and do not suffer fools gladly). I use it whenever I am planning to do a Priceline bid.

There is a deal on Travelzoo dot com for the Listel Hotel on Robson Street. $109 a night. It get good reviews on tripadvisor. 3.5 star hotel.

Maybe everyone knows this already, but since it hasn't been mentioned yet, you may want to check out http://www.biddingfortravel.com

 

biddingfortravel is a site where Priceline users go and post their winning bids and hotels, so you know what the going rates are. It can save you wasting bids that are too low, and save you from starting your bidding too high. You can also get help with bidding strategies for particular cities if you read the FAQ and do your research first (the board's moderators are pretty strict and do not suffer fools gladly). I use it whenever I am planning to do a Priceline bid.

I'm a fan of biddingfortravel, but don't ever post there or she'll bite your head off! Just not friendly moderators on that board! I'm a bigger fan of betterbidding.com. It's much easier to navigate and the people there are super helpful. I use their hotwire boards religiously. With their boards, I've never ever booked a hotel that I didn't know what it was before I booked - and I've generally saved more than half, if not more, of their published rate. Again, nothing really against biddingfortravel - just be careful what you post! :-)

I'm a fan of biddingfortravel, but don't ever post there or she'll bite your head off! Just not friendly moderators on that board! I'm a bigger fan of betterbidding.com. It's much easier to navigate and the people there are super helpful. I use their hotwire boards religiously. With their boards, I've never ever booked a hotel that I didn't know what it was before I booked - and I've generally saved more than half, if not more, of their published rate. Again, nothing really against biddingfortravel - just be careful what you post! :-)

I agree with you about always knowing what I was getting on Hotwire until tonight.

I have been floowing the Sutton Place with the golf nearby amenity which is supposedly the only difference between the Sutton Place and the Pan Pacific.

The price had been dropping and was down to $113 per night.

Tonight I went to Hotwire and saw 5* without the golf nearby icon and the price was $158. I thought AHA the Pan Pacific is finally listed.

Booked immediately and got the Sutton Place.

Oh well that's what I get for being cheap.

Bill

How did you get the renaissance for 75? That looks like a great hotel. I have never done the priceline thing and I am worried about getting stuck with something bad and not being able to cancel. Thanks for your help.

How did you get the renaissance for 75? That looks like a great hotel. I have never done the priceline thing and I am worried about getting stuck with something bad and not being able to cancel. Thanks for your help.

I had never done priceline either till last night we will be staying in Vancouver for 2 nights pre-cruise. Bid $95 4* and received the Pan Pacific right away:D

We are really excited.

I had never done priceline either till last night we will be staying in Vancouver for 2 nights pre-cruise. Bid $95 4* and received the Pan Pacific right away:D

We are really excited.

Congratulations. I am quite envious!:)

Bill

I had never done priceline either till last night we will be staying in Vancouver for 2 nights pre-cruise. Bid $95 4* and received the Pan Pacific right away:D

We are really excited.

Wow that is a new low...rack rate is north of $300.:D

How did you get the renaissance for 75? That looks like a great hotel. I have never done the priceline thing and I am worried about getting stuck with something bad and not being able to cancel. Thanks for your help.

Once on the Priceline site and choosen Vancouver, go to the biding screen and choose Downtown-Vancouver and 3*+, then start your biding at about $70. All hotel at this level are in very good and safe downtown locations and all are within a $10 cab fare of Canada Place with the exception of the Westin Bayshore which will run you about $15. I can't think of a dud in the whole bunch.:)

To Galelynn and Priceline experts: Was Pan Pacific showing on Priceline list of 4 stars when you bid? Currently, Pan Pacific is listed as a choice for the Priceline list of hotels. Thanks for your response.

To Galelynn and Priceline experts: Was Pan Pacific showing on Priceline list of 4 stars when you bid? Currently, Pan Pacific is listed as a choice for the Priceline list of hotels. Thanks for your response.

Yes, it was:)

SkyAuction is a favorite I've used over the past 5-6 years for hotels in Vancouver and other places. We have a 4-day stay booked in July at the Marriott Pinnacle in Vancouver for $78 per night (consisting of $41 bid price + $32 service/taxes + their $20 booking fee prorated to $5 per night for our 4-night stay). Since the price includes all taxes, it is a fine bargain. We like that hotel. Another one booked for a similar price for a spring getaway, which we also enjoyed, is Pacific Palisades, right on Robson in the midst of endless restaurant and shopping choices.

We've also booked hotels through SkyAuction for our 2-day pre-cruise hotel stay in Montreal in September (Place D'Armes), and three days post-cruise in Boston in September (Taj Boston). All prices are well under 1/2 going rates.

You need to monitor Sky Auction offerings and get a feel for what a good price is, given your own needs and wants. We've been delighted with our results -- once even for Barbados!

Never bid on Priceline before and I was really nervous, just knew I would screw up, but I got the Pan Pacific in one day on June 13th.

4* PAN PACIFIC VANCOUVER 9/18-9/20 (Precruise)

Site: Priceline

Winning Bid: US $95

Subtotal: US $190.00

Taxes & Service Fees: US $39.76

Total Charges: US $229.76

Bids: 1) $85 (2) $90 (3) 95

I was a little nervous about bidding on Priceline too, but I finally took the plunge 6-22-09 and bid 4*, Downtown, $80.00 and got Delta Vancouver Suites. (2 rooms....well...ended up being suites!!). Now I wish I had done it sooner! I got it on the first try too! Was hoping for Pan Pacific after some posts I had read about, but am very happy with Delta also.:D

Never done it and I'm nervous too.

If I want to book 3 rooms at the same place is it possible?

We are 6 and want to stay one night in downtown Vancouver August 22.

Could you help me to do it... just explain me again everything I have to do and then I will tell you what I got... if I'm decide to plunge... I'm almost excited and did nothing yet....

Charlot

I used Better Bidding and other sites to learn how to bid. http://www.betterbidding.com/ and http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/. Both sites have great info on how to get more than one bid per day.

Here is a link for how I bid. http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/topic/89766/t/Bidding-for-Vancouver-4.html

Since I'm not as good in english that I wanted to, I read for an hour now and not sure I could do it.

First question : I am Canadian, so could I booked with Priceline too ?

Second question (if the first one is yes) : How many time does it take to have an answer and know that my bid is winning or not?

Third question : My bid must include taxes or not ?

Fourth question : If my bid is rejected (or ?), I am not loosing money on my credit card ??

Fifth question: do you think I must forget Priceline after all these questions:confused:

A part of me want to try and the coward part said to me '' don't do it ''.

Thanks for your help

Charlot

Since I'm not as good in english that I wanted to, I read for an hour now and not sure I could do it.

 

First question : I am Canadian, so could I booked with Priceline too ? not sure

 

Second question (if the first one is yes) : How many time does it take to have an answer and know that my bid is winning or not? once you submit your bid you will know right away if it's accepted or not.You must wait 24 hours to bid again unless there are free bids available. If you are bidding for a 4* hotel downtown and it's rejected you can rebid right away if you add a zone that doesn't have a 4* in it.

 

Third question : My bid must include taxes or not ? taxes are added after the bid has been accepted

 

Fourth question : If my bid is rejected (or ?), I am not loosing money on my credit card ?? Your credit card is not charged for a bid that is rejected.

 

Fifth question: do you think I must forget Priceline after all these questions:confused: I would read http://www.betterbidding.com to get a better understanding of how Priceline works.

 

A part of me want to try and the coward part said to me '' don't do it ''.

 

Thanks for your help

Charlot

Bill