Why Use Priceline To Book Your Disney World Hotel?
Priceline offers some of the lowest hotel prices available in Disney World and elsewhere. They are able to offer low prices because they do not reveal the name of you hotel until after you make your reservation. (Don’t worry. In the section below, we discuss a simple way to help figure out what hotel you might get.) Hotels love Priceline because they get to sell off excess rooms that would go otherwise vacant, while not diminishing their brand or angering customers who paid higher prices.
Priceline’s Name Your Own Price works on a bidding system. You simply name the price you are willing to pay and you find out if it is accepted. Therefore, it is always recommended that you check prices on other sites before bidding. Sites like Hotwire, TravelPony, BetterBidding and others are always good to check out to figure out how much comparable rooms are going for. Then use these prices as the basis for your bidding. For instance, if you see 4-star hotels going for around $100 per night on Hotwire, I would recommend starting your Priceline bidding at about $60. The work your way up to a maximum of $90 using a loophole that lets you rebid on Priceline instantly.
Orlando travellers using Priceline to find a cheap Disney World accommodation are in luck. There is plenty of competition and lots of vacancies, so you can always find a great deal on Priceline hotels near Disney World as long as you are flexible on the location.
Revealing Your Disney World Priceline Hotel
Vacationers often shy away from Priceline because of the fact that you do not know what hotel you might get until after you book. This is probably a good thing if you have specific requirements and therefore need to know the name of your hotel before bidding. However, those bidding for travel can often reveal their hotel before booking with these 2 helpful resources:
- Priceline Discussion Forum: A tip for better bidding on Priceline is quite simply to ask other travellers what hotel they recently received on Priceline. Hundred of actual Priceline customers post their winning bids (including hotel name) on the Priceline Discussion Forum. While there is no guarantee you will get the same hotel, its a good gauge for what hotels are available.
- Orlando Hotel List: This is a collection of hotels in Orlando that are known to be on Priceline as reported by Priceline customers. While you might get a different hotel, travellers love the list because it removes much of the risk and gives you confidence in the caliber and location of hotels.
The Priceline Orlando Hotel List: Use this as a better bidding tool for revealing your Disney World accommodation.
If you are looking for a Priceline hotel near Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, both of the above resources are highly recommended.
Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” Hotels Are Non-Refundable
Although Priceline’s hotel prices are difficult to beat, it is extremely important to be aware of some of the policies when booking your hotel. The biggest complaint that HotelDealsRevealed hears about Priceline is that their hotels are non-refundable. Only in very rare circumstances will you be able to get a refund on Priceline. Its best to avoid Priceline if you think your travel plans might change for any reason.
Other Priceline Pitfalls to Avoid: When you book a hotel on Priceline, the room is only guaranteed to accommodate a maximum of 2 guests. While most hotels will accommodate more, some hotels will charge extra and others will simply not have a room that accommodates more than 2 guests. This is a tough decision if you are travelling with 3 or more. I personally have taken the change many times. Only once have my kids had to sleep on the floor. (It wasn’t all that bad: we asked for extra blankets and pillows, and they slept in a really cool fort for the night). Personally, unless the savings were very significant (e.g. 30% or more over Hotwire rates), I probably would not risk it for a long stay with 3 or more guests.
Another caveat about Priceline hotels is that you typically do not know what amenities the hotel you get might offer. If a particular amenity is a must-have, use their Express Deals service or an alternative booking engine like Hotwire. Amenities like free wifi, parking, shuttle service, and swimming pools are vital for many travellers.
Additional Help For Booking Priceline Hotels Near Disney World
If you are looking for a Priceline hotel near Disney World, the Priceline Forum is a good place to start. In fact, here is a list of recent Priceline winning bids in Orlando. The Orlando Priceline hotel list is another great resource. It contains a collection of hotels won on Priceline in recent months.
I also recommend Hotwire as an alternative to Priceline. Here are some advantages that Hotwire has over Priceline for hotels near Orlando:
- Occupancy: On Hotwire, you can specify up to 4 guests per room (although you can squeeze in more for larger rooms or suites). For my family, we usually use Hotwire for this very reason.
- Amenities: Because Hotwire lists the hotel amenities when you book, you do not need to worry about whether the hotel has a swimming pool, parking, wifi, shuttle bus to they Disney World resort, etc. In fact, on a recent trip to Orlando, I booked a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen on Hotwire for 2 weeks for under $100 per night.
For Priceline hotels near Disney World, its difficult to do better than Priceline’s rock bottom prices. For novice Priceline customers, I highly recommend spending a bit of time learning how Priceline works, how to rebid instantly, and some of their policies before booking.