karen

I've been hearing about these great deals that hotels are offering, but I can't seem to get them? I'm planning a trip to Maui and BI in January, and the rates haven't changed on the hotel websites or sites like Travelocity. How can I get a deal?????

Owen O'Neill

Try calling the properties direct, tell them when you plan to be there, mention how many nights you'll be staying, make it clear that you're shopping for a deal and see what they offer. You may be surprised... I'm staying in Key West in December at a place that charges $190 per night for the suite I was interested in. When I mentioned that I was had stayed there before and was "checking prices" they reduced it to $150 per night. I have to believe that this is due to lower than normal occupancy. Good luck on your search.

Don

Karen, check out http://www.BiddingForTravel.com for information on Priceline bidding. There's a Hawaii hotel thread that has pages and pages of reports on successful (and some unsuccessful) bids for Hawaiian hotels.

There's a 3* Maui hotel called the Maui Coast Hotel (Kula-Kihei zone on Priceline) that someone got for $55 + $5 bonus money (the bonus money available via a link off that Web site) for mid-October, and that person's hotel review on the same site said it was a great deal. Here are links to the winning bid info and the hotel review:

http://pub4.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddinghawaii.showMessage?topi cID=136.topic

http://pub4.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingfrm113.showMessage?topi cID=80.topic

Nobody on BiddingForTravel.com has reported a successful bid for the Big Island in January yet, but at least you can see some of the winning bid prices for October-December.

Anyway, if you decide to try Priceline, read the Hotel FAQs on the BiddingForTravel.com Web site first. And be sure to check the Bonus Money Opportunities topic on that site (under Miscellaneous, near the bottom) for a link that could add $5/night (up to $25) to your bid.

Usual disclaimers apply--no vested interest in your using Priceline or the Web site mentioned above, previous winning bids are no guarantee that you'll be able to match them (although it's also possible you could even beat them), you can't pick a specific hotel (just a star rating and a Priceline zone), yadda, yadda...

Hope this helps. Have a great time in Hawaii!

Nikki

I am also going to Maui and BI during the middle of January, and I used the Entertainment Card (with advice from this board!). I was able to 50% off of rack rates at the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort, but there are many other hotels on Maui that will also give you the discount. Take a look at the site - enterainment.com

Didn't use the discount on the BI since we are staying by Volcano NP, but there are also resorts listed for that island that will take the discount.

Marcie

I think you will get the best deals on condos on ebay.com
We just returned and only paid $200 for a week in Maui and $200 for a week on the Big Island. Both of our condos were RCI Gold Crown Resorts with full kitchens, washer and dryer, lanais etc. and couldn't have been nicer. This works the best if you can travel on short notice (say within 60 days)

virginia

Try a condo/car or condo/car/air package from Los Angeles or San Francsico. More Hawaii 4 Less has a good selection of condos on all the islands.