Priceline with kids?
 

Hi

Is there anyway that I can bid for hotels on PriceLine with kids ?

I need the room to sleep 2 adults, 2 kids and a baby in a cot and i cant see a way to do that - it all seems to be for 2 adults only.

Can anybody help?

There is no way you will be able to do that on Priceline. They only guarantee two people... and you are not even guaranteed two beds. So, I do not see how you can use Priceline for this purpose.

Now Hotwire will allow you to say two adults and two children (ages 2 - 17) in a room. But you would still need to find a way to accomodate the baby. I have never personally tried booking four into a single room... guessing you would get two beds in that case.

So, Priceline is probably out... but Hotwire could work... just make sure you are clear up front and put in two adults and two kids. Hopefully, having the baby will not be a problem.

In short, there is no way on Priceline to do it.

For bidding on hotels, Priceline guarantees a room for 2 adults. Any guests beyond that would involve making a request to the hotel itself for the particular bedding type needed. Many a US hotel will accommodate the request but some will nor or cannot and then you are left to the mercy -- or lack of mercy -- of the hotel staff working the front desk that day.

My recommendation were I in such a situation as yourself: I would bid for two rooms and prepare for the 2 adults to split up the 2 children and do 1 adult + 1 child in one room and 1 adult + 1 child in the other room and then take along the baby anyway. [For the baby, be prepared to have it in one of the adult's beds in case there is no cot/crib available or take the baby's own bed arrangements with you.]

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And keep in mind that the hotel may charge extra for use of a crib - this is completely at the discretion of the hotel, and any such extra charge would apply whether the room was booked via Priceline or via more traditional booking channels.

In the past, I've taken the risk - and tried for two rooms - and after winning - I've called the hotel and requested adjoining rooms - it has worked several times, and then the 2 adults can have their privacy, while still able to keep an eye on the kids. When it didn't work, we had to split the adults, as GUWonder suggested. This is really only worth it if people are saving a lot on Priceline in that area

Every other poster is correct; PL assumes you are bidding for only two people in a room.

That said, I have never had any problem with putting two adults and two children in a room on a PL bid. After winning, I always contact the hotel and request a room with two queen beds, and this request has always been honored. This has been in the US only.

One time we arrived at a Chicago area hotel I won on PL with our daughter. Our room had only one bed. The bell hop took one look and went up to the counter and changed our room to one with two beds.

It's just how much risk you are willing to take. I would think the majority of the time, if you are willing to be crowded and you could bring a pack-n-play for the baby to sleep in, you may find this works for you.

Great stuff!

Thanks to all for info; ill let you know if i we decide to be brave enough to try it!
;)

Do not try it in Europe. As you know not many hotel rooms here are big enough.

There are some hotels that are commonly available on PL that are very, very accommodating to travelers with children -- for example most Hyatt hotels and destination resorts.

Oh - definitely try it - you will save so much $$ the rare time it didn't work you would have extra $$ from all you savings to make other arrangements.

The times I would hesitate - might be staying in a central location in NYC or SF - or if I were having a very late checkin (when there might be few rooms left).

(If you are checking in late you can be "out of luck" even with a conventional reservation - of course, then you get your money back while on P'line you don't.)

Absolutely, as this response indicates, depends on where your travel takes you. Do not try it in NYC for sure - you might luck out, but very unlikely that you would be offered a room that sleeps 5 for the winning bid rate on a room that was meant to sleep 2. Many hotels in NYC don't even permit occupancy by 5 people in any rooms other than 2 bedrooms suites. If you book a PL room then show up with 5 people the hotel can offer you an upgrade (at a surcharge that can sometimes equal the cost of your bid) or even refuse to accommodate you if they are sold out and only have a 2 person room available. In the second case the hotel can keep your money by the way, even if you don't stay there. As a previous poster suggested, Hotwire might be a better way to go because you can at least reserve a room that sleeps 4 then bring along your own portable cot for the baby.

i would use hotwire , because you can get beds guaranteed for 4. if you want to use priceline (for the better price) , get 2 rooms. Make sure you consult with a site such as betterbidding.com or the biddingfortravel.com to get some coaching as to how much to spend / bid in a particular zone. there is also a new site that provides priceline bidding assistance, for 1.95. there is a thread here / also on FW and SD. CoolWulf was the id. I have the website address somewhere in my notes. Pls. PM me if you need it. I would utlize the sites or pay for the priceline bidding assistance. in some zones, what you are looking for would not be a problem. but , there is really no way to know for sure. it's all about calculated risk.

good luck to you.

You are very smart indeed to research what you want to do prior to making a bid. Due Diligence as I keep repeating. The following link will take you to only one of many, many sites where people are free to post negative experience with Priceline.com. The following poster actually did bid for a room and did not mention he had two kids with him. The ensuing problems he experienced (I am not making a judgment here folks) would be most unfortunate wherein one is dealing with this company

http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=40357