Three adults, one child, priceline rooms? ever done it?
 

i have used priceline before but only for the two of us.

on this trip we are three female adults and one child.

is it possible to pay for an extra bed most places if you have a third adult? ( i assume the 12 yr. old child would be accepted free).

we will not be in NYC.. but rather at bwi airport hotels , annapolis and maybe d.c.

It's risky to try this, as they only guarantee a room for two people.

We've done 2 adults and a kid by throwing a camping cot in the car...

But unless you want to share a king size (or less) bed with 2 other women, you better bid on 2 rooms.

i of course wasn´t planning on sleeping three to a bed.. but was wondering if we would be allowed to PAY for a rollaway for the additional adult.

will most likely go for two rooms unless i can find other hotels online with a different set-up that turns out cheaper.

thanks..

Priceline specifically states that the rooms are for a max of 2 people; they don't even guarantee that you will have a king bed [or even queen].

Forget about a child, let alone a 3rd adult in the same room. OL does not do a "free child." There are chains that will allow that, but not booked through PL.

It most places, this would be an extreme violation of fire safety code.

Get 2 rooms on PL or a suite setup.

There have been many posts on here regarding this, search to see ideas suggested for inexpensive alternatives.

biddingfortravel.com will help you understand PL.

Deb

My reply was under the belief that you were referring to "Name your Own Price" section of PL.

Bids are double occupancy only and no guarantee is made of 1 double bed or 2 twin beds in Name your own price.

Deb

Well, if you notice, no where in the Priceline agreement does it forbid you from having 3 or 4 in the room - presumably, that policy depends on the individual hotel. Some hotels have a free child policy, some restrict to 2 or 3 in a room, etc.

Here is the exact wording:

" Do you need a room with a specific bed type? Rooms reserved through priceline are guaranteed to accommodate up to 2 adults comfortably. This includes rooms that may have:
#
# 1 double
# 1 king
# 1 queen
# 2 doubles
2 twins

Accommodations for additional guests are not guaranteed. If you require a specific bed type, please contact your hotel directly. All bedding requests are based on hotel availability and are at the discretion of the hotel. A fee may be incurred and is the responsibility of the customer. For specific room type requests (deluxe, suites, etc.) try our Shop and Compare option."

I would go for it IF:

there is ample time before your reservation. if so, call the hotel as soon as you get your confirmation from priceline, tell them you booked online, and request a 2 bed room, or before you do price line, call and make sure there are plenty of that type of room available for your time, if there is, go ahead. this is what I do, and have always gotten it.

When I look up PL terms and conditions on NAme you Price, this comes up:

<i>All Name Your Own Price&reg; hotel reservations are guaranteed for double occupancy (one double bed or two twin beds). Priceline.com requests that our hotel suppliers provide non-smoking rooms. However room assignments are based on hotel availability and are at the hotel's discretion. We cannot guarantee a non-smoking room, nor can we guarantee you will have one bed or two. If you have special requests (such as smoking room, pet accommodations, type of bedding, connecting rooms, view, floor location, etc.), you must call the hotel and verify that special requests can be met after your reservation is confirmed. Priceline.com makes no guarantee that special requests will be met. A hotel reservation cannot be refunded, canceled or modified on the basis that a special request was not (or could not be) met by the hotel. </i>

I think it is the general concensus on here that it is 2 to a room and anything else is taking a risk.

Deb

Priceline does not allow for free children. And in many places 12 is considered an adult.

So - you're asking if you can put 4 people in a room for 2? No - you can't.

You can bid if you want and when you get to the hotel:

They may have a room with only one king size bed - a tight fit for all 4 of you.

Of they may be full - an say 2 people i this room - and you figure out where the other 2 people stay.

They may say 2 people per room - and pay for another room for the other 2 at the going rate.

They may have a room with 2 double beds - but will charge extra for it - who knows how much.

They may let you bring in a roll-away bed for the 12 year old at a modest fee and the other 3 of you figure out the remaining beds.

The rules of Priceline are clear. Are you willing to take the chance of all of the above?. Since you're doing Priceline why not just bid for 2 rooms - and not have any anxiety?

nytraveler - Can you find anywhere on the Priceline web site that &quot;free children&quot; or prohibited? Because I have never been able to find that. I've always assumed it depends on the particular hotel's policy.

Priceline does not &quot;prohibit&quot; children (free or otherwise). Their absence merely means that, as noted above, your PL bid is for a room for two human beings, and anything beyond that is subject to the policies of the specific hotel that you win, and possibly also to restrictions beyond their control, such as occupancy limits due to fire laws. Fire laws are not age-specific; if a room is limited to two people, then the hotel can't accommodate a third one of any age.

On the other hand, I have contacted a PL-won hotel (in DC) directly to ask whether I could add a kid to the two people already going, and they said yes. When we arrived and they saw that it was actually me and two kids, they went out of their way to find us a room that not only had two beds but also room for a rollaway, which appeared in the room moments after we did, and this was after 11 PM.

But you can't go by pleasant anecdotes; for 4 people, I'd bid on two rooms.

I use Priceline very often and it seems to me (I wonder if others have found this) that hotels are getting a little less accommodating with PL rooms than they used to be.

It seems like they generally used to meet requests (when possible) such as 2 beds, quiet location, or whatever, but lately it seems like &quot;special requests&quot; are more often refused.

For instance, I recently requested a room with a door at a Residence Inn (some of their rooms have doors between the living room and the bedroom) and was told that &quot;PL only contracts for the no-door room&quot; (although they are the same price on their web site).

We asked for a quiet room at a Marriott a few weekends ago and were given the hearing impaired room next to the elevator. When I complained (nicely - I didn't really care that much) they told me that was their PL room. LOL

We asked for a room with 2 queen beds at Hampton Inn recently and were told that they only give king beds for PL.

I actually don't care much what I have in a hotel room, as there is usually just 2 of us now, so I am never too insistent, but it's interesting none the less.

wliwl -

Yes - that's correct. Priceline says nothing about free children. It says 2 people. It does;t say the age of the people. And since you don;t know what hotel you're getting you don;t know if they allow free children or not - or what age they consider &quot;children&quot; to be.

The OP may get a hotel that allows free children. Or the OP may get a hotel that doesn't. No guarantees.

To &quot;assume&quot; that a child is free is to make an &quot;ass of u and me&quot;.

i will bid two rooms or hope to find a less expensive quad or suite elsewhere.

thanks for the personal insight.

looking a bit into hotwire and forums, i realized that hotwire allows you to state the number of adults and children thus only offering you the appropriate room/beds.

so i successfully deciphered with www.betterbidding.com´s helpful lists an embassy suites in capitol hill for $105 (plus taxes) including free breakfast for part of our trip.

hope this helps someone else.

Obviously, it is in your best interest to go for two rooms on Priceline. I think, at least this is what has happened in ALL cases for us. We are a family of four, and the only place where I have ever had any trouble getting two beds was at a Renaissance Hotel in Florida (it wasn't even in a tourist area) because of a convention on the premises. They did give us a rollaway even then. In general, if you are staying away from downtown urban areas (i.e. NYC, downtown Boston, San Francisco, Chicago) but are staying at airport hotels you should be ok with one room for 3 or 4.

I realize that is hedging your bets and if you are willing to risk it. It is a much easier risk with two adults and two kids, the floor works well in that case! Good luck Pricelining!

I think the suggestion to priceline a room &amp; then call and talk to them is a good idea. I use priceline a lot for my family of 4, but then again, we're fine sharing a king bed if we have to (my kids are still young) but we prefer 2 beds. I always call and ask and usually they accomodate, but I do know that there are some hotels where they limit the occupancy to only 2 people because of fire laws. And, if they offer you a tiny room with a double bed and no room for a cot, they are meeting their contract obligation with priceline, so then you'd have to get another room...
Always risky with priceline, but we've always been accomodated!