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View Full Version : Playing Russian roulette with hotels? [Priceline]



mommy-san
08-15-2006, 04:39 PM
Have any of you booked a hotel and then tried one of the 'bid' sites as well? Hotwire and priceline, right? We are thinking of booking at HoJo but thought maybe we could get something a bit nicer if we tried Priceline closer to our trip too. If you bid do you have to take what comes up? Can you decide not to take the room?

JookyG
08-15-2006, 04:43 PM
If you bid on Priceline, you're obligated to take the room if a hotel accepts your offer. It's a binding contract, just like on ebay.

Booking someplace else is a good tactic in case you don't end up getting a Priceline room, but bear in mind some area hotels charge a cancellation fee. Not sure about HoJo. Check first.

rentayenta
08-15-2006, 04:43 PM
They charge your card in order to accept your offer. I have heard both good and bad. I am sure you could cancel but I bet the fee is hefty.



Personally I wouldn't do it. My type A personality doesn't lend me to enjoy suspense much.

annieb727
08-15-2006, 04:57 PM
Priceline has no cancellations or changes. If they accept your bid, they charge you immediately. If you want to be within walking distance of DL, I wouldn't bid on Priceline. From what I've heard, most of the 3* in the DL area have shuttles to DL, but that of course is not a guarantee.

If you want more information about the hotels that come up and how to use priceline, got to www.biddingfortravel.com. They have a lot of good information.

DangerMouse
08-15-2006, 05:01 PM
Better than HoJo? Pffft! :p I'd just stick with your current ressie.

Oh, and HoJo has a 48 hour cancellation policy.

I Heart Disneyland!
08-15-2006, 07:59 PM
Personally I wouldn't do it. My type A personality doesn't lend me to enjoy suspense much.

Mine too, Jenny! ha!

Squeaky
08-15-2006, 08:09 PM
Sean and I have used Priceline for our last 4 trips, totaling 6 hotel rooms, and have not been disappointed! :D 4 stays at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, one at the Doubletree and one at Hilton Suites. (we stayed at 2 hotels our last trip) We've never paid more than $65 a night ($65 was for Hilton and it was 2 weeks in advance, usually $52-$55 for Hyatt) We always choose 3 star hotel, with an offer of $40 (it asks us to up it once by $12 to brings us to $52 a night) We think it's kinda exciting when the page goes through! :D We've never been disappointed, be it price, location, or our stay.
good luck! :)
*Nicki*

WFGood
08-15-2006, 09:11 PM
The Ho Jo is a very nice hotel. We have used it a few times when the hotels on property are all booked. The one thing you have to be very careful about where your room is located. In all but two of the buildings there is quite a bit of noise from the freeway. We had to move rooms the first time we stayed. It was very loud, and my wife could not sleep. They are pretty good about giving you a quiet room unless it is booked solid. There are also no elevators, so if you have a stroller it can be problematic to get it up to the second floor.

DangerMouse
08-16-2006, 07:29 AM
The Ho Jo is a very nice hotel. We have used it a few times when the hotels on property are all booked. The one thing you have to be very careful about where your room is located. In all but two of the buildings there is quite a bit of noise from the freeway. We had to move rooms the first time we stayed. It was very loud, and my wife could not sleep. They are pretty good about giving you a quiet room unless it is booked solid. There are also no elevators, so if you have a stroller it can be problematic to get it up to the second floor.

Just to clarify, there are elevators in Bldgs. 1 and 2. Just none in the two story buildings 3-6.

going2disneyAZ
08-16-2006, 07:35 AM
I think I prefer Hotwire over Priceline but I have only used Priceline a few times. I use Hotwire ALOT. I book all my business travel thru them as well as my last three trips to DLR. From what I can tell you pay a bit more at hotwire than priceline but you can narrow down the "area" a bit more. For Disneyland you can choose north or south. I always choose south, 3 stars. The hotels end up being Hyatt Regency Orange Cty, Hyatt at the convention center (twice). All my stays were booked for $75 which is a fraction of the rack rate....But I have heard that Crowne Plaza is also a 3 star option for Disneyland South.

I have NEVER been disappointed in three years of booking hotels on Hotwire and I am pretty picky about hotels.

junglemom
08-16-2006, 07:42 AM
Being the polar opposite of Jenny... If there was one, I'd be a type Z!!!
I LOVE priceline. Won't ever go back. The hotels we have won were Hyatt(two times), DoubleTree and Crown Plaza. Our winning bids were $44, $45, $50, and $52. I have never stayed in Anaheim that cheap and especially never in a hotel so nice. I had paid more for hole in the walls. Now price being my driving factor, this works out fanastic for us. We didn't care about the locations, because we had a parking pass. That didn't even matter though, each of those hotels offered free shuttles, nice ones too. Is the binding contract and blind bid worth it to me? Absolutely, and for me it's fun seeing which one pops up. The link that was posted by annieb is extremely useful, it helps you to be a smarter bidder, and helps teach you the tricks to get free rebids.

PennyLane
08-16-2006, 08:42 AM
I always use Priceline and have never been disappointed! I would much rather stay in a much nicer hotel for cheap. I don't have children and always rent a car so I don't care if I have a breakfast or shuttle. I have won the Hyatt, Doubletree a few times, and the Crowne Plaza a few times. Do these seem to be the most popular hotels through Priceline?

JookyG
08-16-2006, 01:19 PM
I have to chime in to say that I also swear by Priceline, but NOT when I'm traveling to Disneyland. Value is more important to me than cheapness.

Since I never go on side trips when I visit DLR from Seattle, I refuse to drive, preferring to walk everywhere or take the bus. I'm also willing the pay the extra $$$ for a hotel on Harbor, right across the street. To me, it's an excellent value to not have to hassle with a stinky car or poky resort shuttle, and to be close enough to wander over for an afternoon nap (or to change clothes after GRR). I like saving money, but value and convenience are far more important than saving a few bucks when I want to have a magical vacation.

I've stayed in 4-star hotels in major cities for the price of an airport motel by using Priceline. Can't beat that!

annieb727
08-16-2006, 04:01 PM
I have to chime in to say that I also swear by Priceline, but NOT when I'm traveling to Disneyland. Value is more important to me than cheapness.

I agree with that...for my DL trips I will not use Priceline - I want to be right near DL - right on Harbor. This is how my DH put it: "I might use priceline for WDW since I don't have the option of being within walking distance anyway, but at DL, I DO have that option."

That said, I have CONSIDERED using priceline, and did for my first night, just for the fun of it, I also included Buena Park and got the Holiday Inn Buena Park (3*) for about $50. I'll stay there on the 10th of September, then in the morning on the 11th, I'll check into the Disneyland Hotel. They do have a shuttle to Disneyland but it only goes about 5-6 times a day. So I'll either take the city bus or a taxi to the DLH early in the morning. Unless of course I decide to rent a car.

I'm going back down to LA in October (and going to DL for part of it). The first four nights we're staying in Downtown LA...I got the Westin Bonaventure Hotel for an average of $60/night! It's a 4* hotel and looks INCREDIBLE. I got that on Priceline. I will forever use priceline when going to LA area. And for my near airport stay before and after a flight if necessary.

But not for DL. *sorry...couldn't help but share my GREAT deal with the Bonaventure...again ;) *