I have seen many requests on various message boards for &quot;what hotel might Hotwire be offering in this city if the amenities are _____.&quot; OR &quot;what hotel am I likely to get if bidding in XYZ city&quot;<BR><BR>As a result, I have started a database of Priceline and Hotwire hotels, so as the database grows there will be one place to compare amenities, star ratings, and prices. Having this info in one place will make it easier to narrow down the choices and make an educated guess as to what hotels they may be offering.<BR><BR>Although every state (and country) is covered, there is a post there of particular interest to anyone cruising out of Florida. It dicusses hotels in each area, how far each is from the port, and what activities/nightlife each has to offer.<BR>(Florida&gt;&gt; List and Tips&gt;&gt; Helpful Hints for Cruisers)<BR><BR>I would encourage everyone who uses Priceline and/or Hotwire to post their results so we all will have lots of experiences of others to peruse when booking our own hotel rooms and be able to bid more intelligently on Priceline and find out which hotels Hotwire is using. If you're new to either Priceline or Hotwire you can ask for assistance here as well.<BR><BR>I know there are some other sites out there for Priceline, but this is the first one that i know of for Hotwire, and therefore the first one to cover BOTH services! We are also FREINDLY... you won't be &quot;sent to the back of the room to stand in a corner and read the FAQs&quot; if you leave out a piece of info in your question or ask a question that has already been answered.<BR><BR>Please submit hotels you have received OR feel free to ask a question at: <BR>www.BetterBidding.com <BR>

Thanks.<BR>I, for one, have not used either of these for that reason. Usually when I stay somewhere I need to know approximately where I am going to be and to put a bid on a hotel that you don't know ahead of time is sometimes not in peoples best interest.<BR>We are going on a cruise in April and I needed a hotel near the airport/cruiseport that also offered a free shuttle service to both. That was a major factor in where I needed to book since we were paying additional money for a one night stay only because we could not get a flight on the day of the cruise that would get us there in time. I did not want to also tack on taxi fares etc. That may not sound like a big deal to some but it was for us.<BR>We have saved for a long time for this trip.<BR>Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that your website can be very helpful in supplying us with some of this information from peoples experiences.<BR>

Cathie,<BR>How did you find the hotels with shuttle service?

Hi Shon...well, that is kind of a long story but here goes...we are flying into Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise so I was checking different hotel sites for cheap deals..<BR>One of them was www.lodging.com<BR>Just typed in Ft. Lauderdale and they came up with a list and price for the dates that I wanted..then they tell you info on each hotel..some had listed in amenities that they had shuttle service from the airport..if they were a chain hotel, like Comfort Inn Suites or Holiday Inn, then I would also go to their own website and see what it told me. <BR>I went to the Comfort Inn Suites website and looked up the one for the Airport/Cruiseport since that was closest to where we would be and it told me that it not only had a free shuttle from the airport but also to the cruiseport and was in the price range that I was wanting.<BR>So, you should be able to find out that informatuon on any of the websites for the hotels.<BR>I also emailed directly a couple of the hotels and they promptly emailed me back whether they had shuttle service for both or just the airport and what the hours etc. were..<BR>One hotel was 24 hours free shuttle service and others were until midnight.<BR>Some did not offer any service.<BR>Hope this helps you out.<BR>

Cathie:<BR>As a frquent value traveler, I respect everyone's opinion on the value of different services. I'm not here to convince you on the merits of using Priceline, but just want to make an observation.<BR><BR>Choosing a pre/post cruise hotel simply because it has a free shuttle may not always be of the best value or the lowest cost. <BR> For example, Port Everglades is only a $10 cabride from FLL airport. Many of the hotels that are nearby the port are only a $6 cabride away; not per person, but per cab. So whatevermeans you are reserving a hotel, you should know the approximate cost of this amenity; otherwise, you may not get the best 'value' for your hotel stay. <BR><BR>Look at some of the winning hotels at Miami. The Hyatt Miami can be gotten for $27/nt!!!!!!!!<BR>You could't stay at a Motel 6 for that price. Even if you paid for cab fares all day &amp; nt, it would still be a better value than staying at some other place that had a free shuttle but costed you $90/nt.<BR><BR>

Cathie,<BR>Thank you.

hotel - Thanks! I'm all for getting as much Priceline/Hotwire info possible, and I find Biddingfortravel very cumbersome to use, which I think prevents many people from posting. I welcome any new info, I'm going over to check your site out now!

Anthony, thanks for your comments.<BR>I certainly cannot argue with your logic and prices. I would have loved to get a $27 hotel room in the Ft. Lauderdale area.<BR>I recently had a friend stay there for a cruise and they paid $15 cabfare from where she stayed and the hotel was quite old and rundown she said. It was a major hotel chain, though.<BR>I guess I just like to be able to know more about my hotel before I am obligated to pay for it..<BR>Once sites like &quot;betterbidding&quot; get going then I might be more apt to take a chance with priceline or hotwire since I will have more information provided by consumers.<BR>Thanks again, Anthony. It is nice to have some friendly advice.<BR><BR>

Although fairly new (3+ weeks) our Florida section is QUITE extensive (thanks to a poster that knows the area well and has contributed a WEALTH of info). There is also a thread devoted just to Cruisers out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale... which explains each of the zones, what nightlife they have to offer, how far from cruise port, etc. (you get to it by hitting FLORIDA&gt;&gt; HOTEL LIST AND TIPS)<BR><BR>This is also where Hotwire comes in handy, as they will tell you the amenities BEFORE you purchase. One amenity they show/don't show is a shuttle bus. If the hotel offers one, there will be an icon of a bus in the hotel amenity description (NOT to be confused with a red &quot;S&quot; which designates a suite).<BR><BR>www.BetterBidding.com

I have had terrible results with Priceline. I've tried them 3 times 1 time was tolerable 2 were nightmares. Never again. And believe me when I tell you that when you do have a nightmare, there is no one at Priceline to offer you ANY ASSISTANCE, or who even cares that you had a problem.

In my experience, most disappointments with Priceline occur with lower rated hotels (1 and 2 star rated properties), and the majority of people are happy with their stays when they've selected 3 stars or above.<BR><BR>The other problem people have is overbidding and paying too much for their room, but that's why sites such as the one above is so helpful, they give you an idea of what you should be bidding, as well as what hotels you might get (and you can avoid areas of there's a particular hotel you don't want)!<BR><BR>I'll also add that i'm not too fussy of a person, so i've always been content with the hotels i've received, especially when i've gotten most of them for less than 1/2 price!<BR><BR>I figure i could have a bad experience at ANY hotel (no matter how i booked), so paying much less for it just makes makes more sense.

I have never had any luck with priceline, and want to know what hotel I am staying in. So, it is good that our bids were not accepted.<BR><BR>I would make reservations yourself, and can usually do just as well as going though one of these organizations. I guess it depends what you are looking for.<BR><BR>As far as a $15 cab ride to the Miami pier.....that isn't bad. We were at the Hyatt in Coral Gables....very nice hotel.

I too had had been pretty disappointed with Priceline although I've used them several times. My biggest complaint was that there was NO CUSTOMER SERVICE where you could contact someone. I now use Hotwire.com and LOVE IT! It is much easier, no hassle, you know the price before you give them your credit card and you can actually talk to a live person with any questions. For all those that have sworn off Priceline.com, you might want to give Hotwire.com.....it is much better IMO.