Hyatt Lake Las Vegas - Henderson (Priceline bid?)
 

My husband's company is having a convention out here in early May. Anyone who follows my posts - yes I will be in Vegas late May for MY work convention. Kind of why I don't mind staying off strip for this visit. Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated. Bidding for travel gives it mixed reviews but if it is indeed the same hotel they used in America's Sweethearts it can't be too bad.<BR><BR>My question is actually a priceline one. We want to stay for 2 more nights after the conference is over and I thought I'd try for a good deal since it's high season. I've never used Priceline before but looking at the biddingfortravel.com site it looks like if I bid on a resort in Henderson I would be sure to get this one? Am I right? Is there somewhere else I should look for a list of the hotels?

Yes, you can 'target' the Hyatt on Priceline. <BR><BR>The hotel is very nice, you should try priceline for it. <BR>I think the mixed reviews is just that the rooms are nice, but nothing special.<BR>The restaurants are great, and the pools are real nice. <BR>And now the Ritz Carlton is open too, so there will be another resort @ Lake Las Vegas.

You can target the Hyatt but all bidding advice sites warn you that you can't be 100% sure that another hotel hasn't been added to the list recently. If the Hyatt is the ONLY nice hotel in that area, then your chances are good. I actually used Priceline a couple of years ago and got a hotel that wasn't on biddingfortravel.com's list, so it sometimes does happen!

Okay, so excuse my ignorance here - I've never used priceline before. Should I go directly through the priceline website or through one of the bidding links websites using the assistance option? If I bid on my hotel and it is rejected, will I get the option to counteroffer with the same requirements, just a different price? How would this be different from doing a free re-bid? Will priceline offer the chance to do this free re-bid or is it some secret thing only the saavy pl users know about? Does it mean that other re-bids aren't free?<BR><BR>Again, sorry for all of the questions - as you can see I'm pretty clueless about the whole thing, even after reading all of the biddingfor travel info.

Read this BRIEF tutorial:<BR><BR>http://www.betterbidding.com/index.p...t=SF&amp;f=173

Alice:<BR><BR>When you bid on Priceline, and you bid is not accepted, the only way to make another bid at a higher price is to do one or more of 3 things: 1) add a hotel quality level - you are always adding a LOWER * level, since whatever * level you start at, it includes any * level HIGHER 2)Add another zone of the area you are bidding for. 3) Change the dates of your stay.<BR><BR>The concept of free rebidding still follows the above rules, but there is one major benefit. The concept of free rebidding means that you are able to make another priceline bid at a higher price, hoping it will be accepted, by adding another zone of the city/area you want to stay at. The catch is that you will add a zone that DOES NOT have a Quality * level that you are looking to stay at in your original zone/area.<BR><BR>An example:<BR><BR>You want to stay on the LV strip at a 4 * hotel. You start you bid with the 'LV Strip' area checked off, the 4 * quality level checked off, the price you want to bid, lets say $50, and and the dates of your stay.<BR><BR>Now if the bid is rejected, and you still want to stay on the strip in a 4* hotel on the same dates, the only way to rebid at a higher price is to add a zone. So, you will keep everything the same as the 1st bid, but also checkoff the zone called 'Convention Center', and the enter the new price you want to bid.<BR><BR>Why add the 'Convention Center' zone? Because there is no 4* hotels offered by PL in that area of LV, and you want to stay at a 4* or higher quality.<BR><BR>The reason that this concept is important is that if you do add a zone area that offers 4* hotels, you may be offered a hotel by PL in this new area, which may not be where you want to stay. By adding a zone that does not have the quality level you want to stay at, it would be impossible to get a hotel in this new area; therefore, in essence, you are getting to raise your PL bid without 'really' affecting the parameters that are important to you.

Of course, after you have exhausted all your free rebids, you can simply wait 72 hours and try again. Since you are not going until May, you have plenty of time for this. I would not rush it. Get a backup reservation that you can cancel in the meantime. I've had great luck getting good Priceline deals even at the last minute, so booking in advance doesn't necessarily help you/<BR><BR>Don't rush to take a Priceline counteroffer, either. They'll almost always accept less than their counteroffer, sometimes much less (I have offered as much as $15/night less than the counteroffer and gotten accepted). You may have to do a free rebid or just wait 72 hours. If you're talking only two nights, you might go ahead and accept it if you think trying again in three days isn't worth the trouble.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>

Alice, it is the same hotel as America's Sweetheart and very nice. To me being off the strip wasn't an issue as I'm not a Vegas fan, but it is a drive, so might be for others. We were only there 2 nights, and did drive into the strip one of those--the drive didn't phase my DH, but I'm glad I wasn't the one doing it! Certainly it isn't as convenient as being right there, but if you are looking for something else other than &quot;strip&quot;, it's a great alternative. Disclaimer--before I go further, my husband is a Hyatt GM, but I stand to gain nothing by promoting other Hyatts, and when I've found one that I've been unhappy with, I've said it as well.<BR><BR>I wouldn't worry too much about reviews on BiddingForTravel--not for that hotel, not for any. I've read some weird things there--there might be some very sophisticated travelers using it, but there are plenty who aren't, as well!! I was a bit suprised to hear there were mixed reviews for that Hyatt as the hotel is beautiful. From what I read though, there were only 3 not-so-good ones: one by someone who found the pool, kids club and two best restaurants closed when they were there (not long after 9-11, otherwise, can't imagine everything being shut down at once), another who was there for the strip and complained about $15 breakfasts, which, rightly or wrongly, isn't at all unusual in hotels, and another who said the rooms were so so. Then among other positives, you have one who said it was the highest quality hotel they'd received through PCLN, and that they'd go back even at full price--so there you have it. :&gt;<BR><BR>We've stayed there once, and had one of the &quot;Casbahs&quot;, small villas, and those rooms were actually the ones used in American's Sweetheart. It was lovely as you'd expect of a suite, and as I didn't see regular rooms, I can't comment on them, but I did love the remainder of the hotel, and the grounds--can't imagine the other rooms could be too bad!. It's a beautiful site. We had one of our best ever hotel meals at their top restaurant, Japengo, Pacific Fusion cuisine not inexpensive, but it was fabulous.<BR><BR>As far as I know, that and the Ritz are the only resorts in the Henderson area, and as Ritz does not use PCLN, odds are you would get the Hyatt if you bid there (not that you'd mind getting the Ritz)! :&gt; 'Course there is always that odd chance that a district is redrawn and something else was added, but that is most likely what you'd get.

Thanks everybody - now I just have to convince my husband to trust me and I'll try my first Priceline bidding!

If you are bidding on weekend dates, it's much tougher. When you check the biidingfortravel posts, see if people had any luck on the weekends. In any case, it doesn't hurt to try. I'm sure if you're bidding for weekday, you'll get a great deal. Good luck.

Hey everyone, me again. I think we should make our own priceline board here, you all answer so much faster than anyone else!<BR><BR>I am now authorized to bid for this hotel for 5 nights! Talk about pressure. My understanding after Andrew's post is that I don't have to add more zones if I'm willing to wait 3 days to rebid. If this is right then I'm going to go for it. After all, I have plenty of time and if we don't get this property, I'm pretty sure my husband will not ever let me make the travel arrangements again!<BR><BR>Last thing - someone on the bft board got this place, 3 weeks later for $80/night. Is that the amount I should start with?

I don't know your specific dates in May, but here's somebody that got this hotel for 5 nites in May: <BR><BR>http://www.betterbidding.com/index.p...80ec4c6a5eae11

Why start at $80? You have plenty of rebid opportunities, and you have plenty of time. I personally would @ $60, and work my way up in $5 increments. But if you want more specific bidding info, you need to supply the actual dates of your stay.

Oh sorry about not posting the dates - May 6-11.

Alice:<BR>Hmm you're going to have problems, my dear. The ist 2 nts are showing sold out on Hyatts website. And the remaining 3 nts show higher rates that those for some of the dates that winners have gotten at $80

Yeah, Alice, start by checking availability for the nights you need. Base your bid price on that - maybe start at 60% or 50% off. My guess is that you might have problems getting five straight nights. You might have to break it up into three nights. Would you mind staying somewhere else for two other nights, with Priceline or someone else?<BR><BR>Nothing wrong with a free re-bid, as long as you understand it. Pretty simple: say there are only two zones. One has resorts, one doesn't. You bid in the zone you want (with the resorts) and fail. Add the 2nd zone that has no resorts and bid again at a higher price. Because there are no resorts in the 2nd zone, you won't get a resort in the 2nd zone.<BR><BR>Just go through all the zones in your region and see which zones do *not* have resorts. These are your free re-bid zones.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>

Ok, Thanks for the advice everybody. It's actually not a huge deal if we have to reserve through Hyatt, as the Company has already reserved the first 3 nights - we're trying to add the weekend for a little break for us so it wouldn't break the bank or anything.<BR><BR>I just thought it would be a good way for us to try out Priceline for the first time since it seems we'd probably get the hotel we wanted at a great price! I'll keep you updated!

Alice:<BR>Gotcha! My advice then, would be to reserve a refundable reserve throught the hotel' website, and then try Priceline for those 2 nts. If you don't get it now, I would keep monitoring rates, and see if it goes down. Then keep tring on PL. It can't hurt, and if you are paying for the room yourself, any bit of savings can help - It's waay over $200/nt for the dates you need! Not worth that, IMHO.

I just went to check the rate through hyatt.com...the cheapest method going directly through the hotel. For May 6-11, this is the message I get:<BR><BR>The hotel is sold out during your requested travel dates. To select alternate dates at the same hotel or an alternate hotel please Click Here . <BR><BR>To speak with a Hyatt Representative from within the US and Canada, please call 866-349-3607. To view our list of contact numbers available in other countries please Click Here.<BR><BR>Putting in dates individually only 5-9, 5-10 were still available and at $240/night. That is a non-refundable rate.<BR><BR>I hope you have some reservation already?

The Hyatt LVL is surviving on convention business. May even be thriving on it. <BR>The only way you'll get a decent price off PL is if you're going to be there when the place is half empty. The hotel won't bid out rooms when there are plenty of conventioneers around.<BR>And as everyone who travels to LV knows, hotel occupancies fluctuate wildly from one day to the next due to swings in convention attendees. Which means hotel rates and deals change dramatically from one week to the next. And unlike most cities, rates in LV go up on weekends, down on weekdays as a rule.<BR>I've visited the Hyatt LVL 3 times but never stayed there. Grounds are very nice. Public areas very nice. Pool very average. Casino tiny. Atmosphere very relaxing--a pleasant break from the rest of LV.<BR>The Ritz looks really tacky from the outside. Ouch! Who designed that place?