Hotwire/Priceline

[sfwilshire]

I've had little experience with Priceline and Hotwire, but I know TUGers are expert in all things relating to travel.

Do prices go up on the weekend when more people will be searching?

I've read biddingfortravel and betterbidding and thought I had a pretty good idea of the price for an Atlanta Airport room for next Tuesday. I thought I'd win the bid tonight after lowballing a couple of days just to see what would happen.

Suddenly, the bids required to win seem to have increased. I expected just the opposite to happen closer to check-in.

Also, on Hotwire, a resort I had been watching for days suddenly went up nearly $20.

I realize that availability could just be evaporating, but there seems to be lots based on checking the hotel websites directly.

My only guess is that prices go up on the weekend and might go down in a day or so. Opinions?

Thanks,

Sheila

 

[djs]

There are probably several different factors that play a role. The first is most likely actual availability; next could be a factor like perceived supply and demand (if more people are looking at a location then the price might go up). Events going on in Atlanta during your stay could also change rates, perhaps someone has booked a block of rooms at the hotel you're looking at during the time you'll be there.

If you've been to the BFT and BB sites and read up, you ought to be well armed to get yourself a deal. I don't think it being a weekend is playing much of a role in the rates.

One strategy I've heard is to see what the rates are on HW and then go to PL and bid a bit lower. One thing that will be appreciated by those who run either of the sites you've gone to is if you use the links they provide to make your purchase/bid.....unless of course TUG has an affiliate link to either PL or HW, in which case you ought to use that link

 

[Bill4728]

There may also be a "cookie" question. When you look into a site that site can deposit a cookie which lets the site know when you come back. If hotwire sees that you came back the next day ( even without logging in) they may give you a completely different price than a first time visitor.

I know that amazon does this.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Priceline Hotels - Milw and Mnpls

I've been using them for the past couple of years, especially for travel to Milwaukee (at least 2-3 x's per year) and Minneapolis (annually in the summer) and have seen that the bid prices to "win" a room has gone up about 25-40%.

I used to get Milwaukee (Brookfield area - 2* level) for around $25 bid and now it's taking more like $30-$33/night. Minneapolis (Eagan area - 2* level) used to be available for around $30-ish and now it's taking almost $40/night.

All in all, we have been very happy however, in our Priceline.com hotels and have realized at least a 50% savings to the internet rates found for the same rooms.

p.s. I should have said these rates have all been typically for weekend stays.

 

[wackymother]

There may also be a "cookie" question. When you look into a site that site can deposit a cookie which lets the site know when you come back. If hotwire sees that you came back the next day ( even without logging in) they may give you a completely different price than a first time visitor.

I know that amazon does this.

This one I don't see happening. I go to Hotwire all the time, checking on prices, and they do fluctuate a lot within an area day by day, sometimes up, sometimes down. We have a brand-new computer, no cookies when I started, that I'm also using and I didn't see any significant differences in price.

 

[wackymother]

My only guess is that prices go up on the weekend and might go down in a day or so. Opinions?

My feeling is that the prices that will be shown over the weekend are set on Friday night and then they don't change till Monday. No hard evidence of this, though, and I haven't really studied it.

 

[sfwilshire]

I did try clearing cookies a couple of times.

Apparently things were just booking up in the area. Priceline wasn't accepting bids that they had offered me earlier. Snooze, you lose, I guess. So much for holding out for a last minute good deal.

I wound up taking a Hotwire night for about $20 more than it was showing when I started looking. At least we'll have a bed tonight.

I hoped I might get lucky and get the Residence Inn, but got a Fairfield. Not my first choice, but probably better than the Microtel I had originally booked for about $15 less. I had also booked a cheap Econolodge until I read the reviews on Trip Advisor. They were pretty scary.

Thanks,

Sheila

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I wound up taking a Hotwire night for about $20 more than it was showing when I started looking. At least we'll have a bed tonight.

With Hotwire, I've sometimes found it useful to use my browser history to return to the previous session where I received the better offer. In doing so I've gotten a better price.

I've never tried that for sessions that were more than one or two hours old. I don't know if it would work with HW offers that were several days old.

*****

If prices are increasing on HW, that is likely because the vendors are increasing their prices on the inventory they are releasing to PL and HW.

To reiterate a point some people seem to not be aware of. (This is not in response to anything posted previously on this thread - this just seems to be a good occasion for a reminder.) When you use PL or HW there is no guarantee the the price you receive will represent any savings at all. Vendors release inventory at reduced rates to PL and HW when they believe that will be surplus inventory. At times when the vendors don't believe they will have surplus inventory, the vendors release inventory only at prices that are higher than what they would charge for that inventory themselves.

 

[Linda74]

We changed plans a couple of months ago and decided to fly into Atlanta, overnight and then fly onto Mexico the next day because of an impending snowstorm in the Northeast. I used Hotels.com for the hotel at Atlanta airport and paid, I think $75.....not a great hotel but it served the purpose. You might try them.

 

[wauhob3]

I think they are both more popular which has increased prices. Whether it's more expensive or not on the weekend depends on the location. Big cities like Chicago tend to be cheaper on the weekends when people aren't there for business. Exceptions can happen too if there's an event attracting tourists like Christmas shopping or the Taste of Chicago. Keep in mind Hotwire and Priceling rate their hotels differently what is a 3* on Priceline is typically a 4* on Hotwire.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I think they are both more popular which has increased prices. Whether it's more expensive or not on the weekend depends on the location. Big cities like Chicago tend to be cheaper on the weekends when people aren't there for business.

Even within a big city it depends very much on the location. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area there is virtually no drop in prices on the weekend except in the financial district. But in areas that are entirely business travel, such as Dublin-San Ramon, I've gotten some astounding prices on Saturday and Sunday nights - prices such as the Four Points for $25/night.

 

[sfwilshire]

So, the Fairfield was very nice. Total cost through Hotwire with fees $84 and some change. The clerk noted that the room was prepaid when I checked out.

Got my credit card bill and the Fairfield had also billed me directly for $58.58. I didn't find any rate like that when I was searching the Marriott website for a reservation initially, so maybe that's what Hotwire paid them. I called and they promised to refund the erroneous charge.

I would recommend this hotel as the staff was terrific. The women at the front desk and the one taking care of the breakfast made me feel like long lost family. They even answer the phone nicely.

Sheila

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Got my credit card bill and the Fairfield had also billed me directly for $58.58. I didn't find any rate like that when I was searching the Marriott website for a reservation initially, so maybe that's what Hotwire paid them. I called and they promised to refund the erroneous charge.

That has also happened to me at the Sheraton in Hartford, CT.