Priceline bidding for 2 adults + 1 child 4 yrs
 

Suggestions welcome as how to bid for 2 adults + 1 child for London Hotels using Priceline. Understand that bidding is only for double occupancy, but what about our child of 4 yrs. Experts, please assist.

Hi A,

Check www.biddingfortravel.com to see what hotels you can expect.

Call those hotels to find out if they will allow the child and if they will supply a crib.

You can also ask for their absolutely lowest rate - quoting the Priceline price. You might get it.

Good luck.

((I))

You can't use Priceline for this. You'll need a family or triple room as a 4 year old is too big to fit in a crib(cot over here). Sometimes you'll get a room through Priceline that can have an extra bed added but you can't count on it - and it would probably involve an extra fee anyway.

Do as ira suggests and contact some hotels directly - but I wouldn't hold my breath for getting the same rates as Priceline.

by the way, so you don't get confused, a double room does not mean two beds. It has one bed for two people.

lol, I have no idea why my b/ turned into a funny face up there!

You can use priceline in this scenario, and many people do, especially with a small child. However you would be taking a risk that the hotel you win will charge extra - perhaps quite a bit - to put you in a room large enough for a portable bed, or even to just have the child in your bed with you. On the other hand everything could go smoothly and you could be charged nothing or very little. There's no way of knowing for sure beforehand.

&quot;<i>You can use priceline in this scenario, and many people do, </i> - - - Absolutely NOT the case for London hotels. No way/no how.

Not a problem in the States or some other places - but in London, PL <u>only</u> deals in doubles. Most London hotels double/twins have no space for an extra bed.

Look into renting a flat instead - more space for less money . . . . .

Yes, people do it in London too :)

&quot;<i>Yes, people do it in London too</i>&quot;

Foolishly - since most hotel rooms do not have space for an extra bed. So they get a hotel - have to pay in advance and can't use the room . . .

Some hotels will simply not have a room available that will work and be legal, so you could really be up a creek.

I would use Hotwire, which allows you to enter search parameters of 2 adults + 1 child, but accept that it will likely cost more.

Agree that you can;t do Priceline in London. Many &quot;double&quot; rooms are barely bigger than the bed - and there would be no roon to set up another for your dughter. Plus - if you asked for another bed your Priceline deal would be off - and the hotel could ask any additinal charge it wants.

If you're staying for more than a few days I would look at apartments instead of a hotel. Otherwise you need to look for a hotel with triple rooms.

Just for the record, I have recently &quot;illegally&quot; stayed at my parents' Priceline room in the London area. There was just enough room on the floor.

The reception guy actually guessed what's going on, but he didn't say a thing. :)

Well - if you don;t mind sleeping on the floor - but it's something I can;t comprehend. And definitely wouldn;t do with a 4 year old child.

And what if the hotel did find out - and demanded their regular rate for a triple? They would be well within their rights.

I've bid twice in Europe -- once at London Heathrow and once in Budapest -- for our family of 2 adults and 2 children. I spent a lot of time on &quot;better bidding&quot; and &quot;bidding for travel&quot; to figure out which hotels would likely show up. I then researched those hotel's websites to see if they had rooms with two beds or could accomodate at least a triple (our girls could share single bed). I then gambled that if I won that hotel, I could call the hotel and ask for a room with two double beds. It worked well in both cities. I got the Heathrow Marriott and with a single phone call to Marriott reservations the day after my win, I asked for and received a room with two queen beds. No mention of Priceline at all. I didn't get the hotel I was hoping for in Budapest (another Marriott), but the Ramada was very accomodating. I e-mailed the hotel in Budapest directly and asked for an upgraded room with a sleeper sofa (which I knew they had from previous research). They said it would be no problem, but would charge me an extra 15 euros a night. Seemed fair to me and was no problem on arrival. I specifically did not bid for a hotel in Prague because most of the hotels that people were winning did not have rooms with two beds and did not have triples. Is it a gamble? Sure. But with lots of research ahead of time, it wasn't as risky as it could have been.

Leslie28 --Please do not misguide the OP. LHR is NOT central London. There are a LOT more possible hotels in the city than at the airport.

Just take PL at its word - they only deal in doubles in London . . . . . .

A child is a person, no matter how young or how small. Priceline guarantees a room for two people.

There are plenty of reports of people getting away with bringing a third (or more) person successfully.

However, the hotel could refuse to give you a room for two people and charge you for a three-person room at whatever rate they please - if they have a room available.

Take a look at Hotwire.