Priceline - Luck with 3 rooms?
 

For a family get-together in Chicago, I'm going to need to try to get three rooms (probably a Fri/Sat) in O'Hare or Oakbrook area (first part of October). Has anyone had experience with this? Will 3 rooms (as opposed to 1) lower my chances for success? Thanks!

It depends how busy it is on the dates you want. I would say you have a good chance of getting them in October but give it a try. Maybe book through regular, cancellable channels as a backup in case you can't get anything on Priceline. I was able to get 3 rooms at the Orlando Airport Hyatt last summer when my family went to Disney World. They even gave us 3 rooms beside each other so we didn't have to split up. We got the 3 rooms on Priceline for what it would normally cost for 1 room.

I had no problem getting three rooms this summer in the Westminster area of Denver. I think success on priceline depends more on the location than the number of rooms.

Just give it a try! If you don't get the rooms, then you know. :-) At that point, you could try booking two rooms and booking the third yourself at regular rates or at an adjacent/nearby hotel.

Also keep in mind that you can get great Priceline deals even at the last minute. So booking three rooms at regular rates somewhere where you can cancel 24 hours in advance is a good option. Some hotels might open up more Priceline rooms closer to your stay and you can just keep trying for three rooms right up until you leave.

Note that Priceline has a little-known option to offer you additional nights or rooms on an existing reservation. I think you have to call them and ask for an additional room if you get, say, two rooms. They can say "no" but they will at least entertain a request, I believe. I have never tried this myself.

Andrew

Thanks for all the input - good to know it's a possibility! Off I go.....

Just thought I'd post the results: this evening, I got three rooms, for two nites (10/1-3)at an Embassy Suites in the west suburbs (Oakbrook area) for $45 per/per night - on the first try. Not at all bad, tho of course, I now wonder whether I could have low-balled even more! But it's a hectic week around here with a son's wedding coming up, and I wanted it done...not to go back and try and try again. Thanks again for the encouragement.

Next time, arjay, learn about what are called "free re-bids". Basically, this allows you to lowball and re-bid right away one or more times in some cases. BiddingForTravel.com talks about free re-bids. It doesn't take that much extra time.

It looks like none of us here mentioned BFT to you in this thread! I guess I am tired of mentioning it all the time - just assumed everyone already knows about the site...

But, $45 isn't that bad a deal. Probably saved a bundle, and Embassy Suites are usually excellent.

Andrew

Thanks, Andrew. But I'm a P'line (and BFT) veteran (just never tried for multiple rooms), so I mentally balanced out what seemed a fair price to my pocketbook with "likely to score and not have to spend time fussing around.." The abundance of lodging in the Oakbrook area seems to make it a real bargain for weekend deals (as long as you're not looking for a 'city fix'); we've done well there before.

Considering that the lowest rate for your dates at that hotel at their website is $98/night, you saved a bundle and did very well.

When using Priceline, I focus on what I saved, rather than wonder how much more I could have saved.

Glad to hear it worked out for you, arjay. One time I bid $30 on a hotel that was accepted the first time and I was moaning and groaning that maybe I could have gotten it for less. My husband asked how much I thought I might have gotten it for and I said maybe $28. Even as I was saying it, I could hear how silly it sounded. He then said, "Isn't the time you saved by not having to rebid worth at least $2?"

Arjay got a great deal, but in that case, there were three rooms for two nights each - six nights. Could $5-$10/night have been saved with just an extra five minutes using a free re-bid? Who knows now, but now you're talking about an extra $30+. I've overbid before on Priceline but I am more careful when several nights are involved.

I take my kids and their friends to Chicago for shows a few times a year. We always bid Priceline and we always get three rooms. Only had a problem once. Go for it.

duh, missed arjay's response.