three people...priceline?

[eeniemeenie]

new to priceline, would like to give it a try. how do you secure a room for three people? form only provides for up to two in a room. any help would be most appreciated. need pre cruise for october...is this a prime time in florida?

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

The only time I have booked on priceline there was a HUGE problem. The hotel my mom waas going to stay at would not let her check in unless she paid the difference between their rate and what priceline paid them and it was very difficult to get in contact with the people at priceline. There are people here that use them without problems, but this was a hotel here in Ft. Lauderdale that gave her the problem and I don't want to see anyone else have the same issue. October is extremely cheap here so if you went to the actual website for the hotels that you would like to book I am sure you will get one very cheap.

[Ellya]

Priceline (as well as Hotwire and most other online booking agencies) only guarantee double occupancy. If you must have 2 beds you should book directly with the hotel (not even expedia or other sites like it). If you can be flexible on the beds, book the room and then call the hotel after you are done and request 2 double beds. If they have them available (and most of the time they do) they will give them to you. Your other option is to bid on two rooms. This would probably negate your savings however. I always check around for prices before I bid on any site so I know if I am getting a good price or not.

[serene56]

Read http://www.biddingfortravel.com I have used priceline using this site with no problem at all. Yes, you are bidding on a room with double occupancy only. But after you win your bid a few days before you go-call the hotel directly and ask for a room with a double bed.

 

To the above poster... if your mom was having that problem with a hotel- I sure hope she called priceline and let them know she was being harrassed. I booked rooms many times for the 4 of us and never-ever had a problem like you described.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

I booked the room for her and I called priceline when she had the problem. It took forever for me to get any kind of response and when I did it was "we will call the hotel." After two hours I got a call back and they said that the hotel had changed managers and he was refusing to budge on the price. Priceline wasn't willing to pay the difference, and was not willing to get her another hotel. I paid the difference, then found out the room was cheaper from the company website than what the original priceline price was. That was the first and last time I tried a third party website. I now make any reservations through the company website and find that I get a much better rate. I beleive that a few chains guarntee (sp?) they give you the BEST internet rate. I want to say it is either Marriott or Hilton. And AAA has great discount lodging from time to time.

[serene56]

Can you tell us the name of the Hotel?? I wonder if its still being serviced through Priceline. Im under the impression that when a bid is accepted - thats the bottom line--

[geoherb]

We've primarily had good luck with our Priceline bids, especially in Fort Lauderdale. The hotels that have guaranteed low prices on the Internet usually have a disclaimer that excludes Priceline and Hotwire type rooms. (The Hilton's disclaimer says the rates on its website are the guaranteed lowest "except for opaque websites.")

 

The two problems I have had with Priceline rooms were resolved satisfactorily. In one instance, we switched rooms because of the overpowering smell of smoke (although it was a nonsmoking room on a nonsmoking floor). In the second instance, I got a partial refund from the hotel for extra charges. That hotel has also been downgraded from 3 stars to 2.5 stars.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

It was the Holiday Inn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

[hkolln]

Just be aware that when you win a bid on priceline it only for 2 people or double occupancy.

 

We had trouble one time due to this when it was the 3 of us. We won the Wellsley Inn in Orlando and I emailed the hotel to ask them if they could put us in a room with an extra bed or cot. They said that would be no problem. However when we got there they stated they were booked solid and the only room they had reserved for US was a King size bed room....with a recliner! No cots to be found either and they said if they had one they would send it up. Well needless to say we had to go across the street to Walmart and get our daughter a sleeping bag to sleep in. And the hotel wouldn't even bring us extra linens for her either! It really sucked. So now I don't use priceline unless it's only the 2 of us.

[novie]

Last year for our cruises we did all our hotels on Priceline between $35 and $38 per night. Booked them about 10 days before leaving. In each case once I got the booking I called the chain booking centre (as directed by Priceline) and requested two doubles rather than one bed.

 

It worked great and we always had two beds in the room.

 

We drove to Boston, did a stay, park, and fly at the Holiday Inn express on Boston St. for $119 including 21 days parking. arranged over the net but not priceline.

 

stayed at Doubletree -downtown Boston - only problem was parking fee of $30 per day

Miami - Hyatt downtown - on Carnival - we checked in for the cruise in the lobby - no lineups - beautiful hotel - parking for rental next door in municipal garage at $6 per day.

Houston - Doubletree Allen Centre - valet parking was free in garage - they charged my card at the Priceline rate, but reversed it when i called them. Even had the houston Marathon run by!

Houston Airport - Hyatt - great - no problems

 

In all cases the website rates were over $200 per night! I highly recommend biddingfor travel.com Using their help I had 8 or 10 "free re-bids" for each stop, so no harm in trying to lowball them. Usually I started at 28 and then went up by $3 per re-bid. I usually got a counter-offer in the high 40's on the bids in the low thirties, which just tells you you're getting close!

 

I'll be doing it again this winter!

[oscarmoraz]

I agree serene...biddingfortravel and sidestep is great also.

[DavidO]

I've done priceline several times for my family of 4 and have never had any problems with there being four of us. Part of this might be that our kids are smaller still. I think many hotels let children stay at no extra cost so if the extra people are kids it should be easier for you I think.

 

David

[zurmoly]

Just call the hotel and let them know you are coming with a third. No big deal.

[lmmn]

We have used Priceline and Hotwire around 25 times. We have been very lucky to get two beds, by request, until recently. This last time we got a hotel with one queen bed....no roll-aways available. They did offer another room at same price which we had no choice but to take.

 

All other times we have used Priceline, the hotels have honored my requests and have been treated very well. I've never had problems with reservations or the rooms.

 

If you are needing two beds, I would recommend trying Hotwire. You list the number of guests before bidding. If there are only two, but you want two beds, list your guests as 2 adults, 1 child.

[novie]

Just a further update on this year's experience. We have been paying more than last year, usually around $50 or $55, but we have been getting suites!!!

 

Generally two queens or 1 king in the bedroom, and a pull-out in the "Living room"

 

no complaints here!

 

Novie's DH