Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - hotwire vs pl? various ?s

first, is there any difference in using them? would a three* hotel be the same *level for both? if a hotel reservation office tells me one mom and four kids is ok, would it be ok still if we had gotten the room by bidding? thanks!!

first, is there any difference in using them?

Yes. Hotwire will tell you some details about the particular hotel you'll get (without telling you the name) and give you an exact price to pay. Priceline will tell you nothing more than the star level and general location, and only give you very weak guidance about what price you should bid. Priceline tends to be cheaper, but you also know a little less about what hotel you'll get.

would a three* hotel be the same *level for both?

Not necessarily. Arguably, Hotwire tends to exaggerate quality more than Priceline. Being in the business, I've encountered a lot more unhappy Hotwire people than Priceline people.

If you use a site like betterbidding.com (http://www.betterbidding.com/) you can get a sense of what hotels you MIGHT get from Hotwire/Priceline, and some guidance about what to bid.

if a hotel reservation office tells me one mom and four kids is ok, would it be ok still if we had gotten the room by bidding? thanks!!

Priceline guarantees occupancy for two people. There is no guarantee of number of beds/size of room/smoking preference. If you need to have any of those things guaranteed, book directly with the hotel. Also, it doesn't really matter what a reservation office tells you, because there is no way to definitely know which hotel you're going to get from Hotwire/Priceline.

There is a real possibility you could get a small smoking room with one double bed and be upcharged for three extra people. That possibility is small, but it is real, and technically there is nothing you can do about it. Once you make your bid, you are at the mercy of the hotel as to which room you get and YOU CANNOT GET A REFUND if it doesn't match what you really wanted.

If you can tolerate the ambiguity, you can often save 60%+ at Priceline and 40%+ at Hotwire. But you have to be honest with yourself.

if a hotel reservation office tells me one mom and four kids is ok, would it be ok still if we had gotten the room by bidding? thanks!!

I think that's really pushing the limits of Priceline. The worst case scenario is if the hotel is not cooperative with you, and has two different policies for guests in each case. Most will be cooperative, but that's really wringing a lot out of a cheap room.

Go to biddingfortravel.com and very closely read the tutorials on how to bid for rooms on priceline.

Biddingfortravel lists bids on there as well for priceline but don't rely on those - learn how to use free re-bids and how the process works - it has usually worked very well for me. I just booked a 3* that would have cost $80 plus tax for $50 - and it's a really nice facility.

One word of caution: The woman that runs biddingfortravel is a bit difficult if you dont follow directions. She wants you to bid thru a link as well because biddingfortravel gets a very small kickback. Do your homework before you post anything and you'll be fine. I personally have no problem using the link, she's saved me thousands of dollars..it's the least I can do.

Generally speaking hotwire is higher - but you know the price and can usually get a pretty good idea of which hotel it is. They inflate their star ratings. However, there's times priceline doesn't have inventory or you bid the wrong price - at that point Hotwire is viable.

Both are usually less expensive than Travelocity or Expedia..etc. etc.

Hope this helps.

Michael :p

One word of caution: The woman that runs biddingfortravel is a bit difficult if you dont follow directions.

To editorialize slightly off-topic for just a moment... I've stopped using biddingfortravel because I don't like being scolded. I accidentally didn't use her link the first time I used the site. The tone of the message back to me was way over the top, especially considering I had written a report that, itself, added value to her site, and considering it was the first time we had ever communicated.

It's fine if she wants to scold, but I didn't appeciate it, and won't be posting there again. :eek:

There is a separate thread for BFT issues, bump it.

On the OP's question, can you house a mom and 4 kids in a PL room, the technical answer is no. But I have gotten away with housing myself, my wife, and 3 kids in 2 PL rooms. One time the hotel was snippy and claimed not to have any connecting rooms - the (older) kids stayed one door away (although technically there is supposed to be one adult per room). Another hotel graciously did give us connecting rooms although they did not have to. If you want to try it, avoid busy periods (conventions, etc.) and schmooze the front desk clerk. I would explain you are a mom with kids and it's hard to take them on vacation paying full prices and you have no choice except to bid for rooms on PL. Remember, desk clerks are not that well paid, and they do respect people who buy on PL even though they are not supposed to do anything for us.

thank you all for your comments. i have looked at the bidding sites, but it doens't seem as straightforward as i would like. will let you know if we try it.
hani