Best Way to Book Hotel in Miami Beach (South Beach: sale, condo)

[MrBoss]

Hello Everyone,

I have a trip to Miami Beach coming up from July 24-28. I would prefer to stay in South Beach and would like to know what's the best way to get an affordable deal. I've read up on a few things like the Priceline bidding (I tried to bid but hadn't read the tricks to successfully do this yet so I have to wait 24 hrs to bid again) and also the Express and Hot Rates through Priceline and Hotwire. I'd like to keep it under $120/nt but I can be a little flexible if necessary. What I would like is a hotel with a clean room, fairly modern, a/c, and wi-fi. Can anyone offer some advise on the best route to go to book a hotel?

[Enigma777]

Originally Posted by MrBoss

Hello Everyone,

I have a trip to Miami Beach coming up from July 24-28. I would prefer to stay in South Beach and would like to know what's the best way to get an affordable deal. I've read up on a few things like the Priceline bidding (I tried to bid but hadn't read the tricks to successfully do this yet so I have to wait 24 hrs to bid again) and also the Express and Hot Rates through Priceline and Hotwire. I'd like to keep it under $120/nt but I can be a little flexible if necessary. What I would like is a hotel with a clean room, fairly modern, a/c, and wi-fi. Can anyone offer some advise on the best route to go to book a hotel?

Expedia. Any hotel you call will usually match their rates if you reserve by phone.

[MrBoss]

Originally Posted by Enigma777

Expedia. Any hotel you call will usually match their rates if you reserve by phone.

If I find a hotel on Expedia in my price range, what would be the advantage of calling the hotel as opposed to booking it through Expedia?

[elchevere]

If your plans are firm, check out sites such as Jetsetter.com, Tablet.com, and Vacationist.com--some great deals right now though these will be non cancellable and no changes permitted. Raleigh on sale for $139 - $162/night right now; Gale Hotel for $149/night from their website directly. $120 can probably be found at lesser hotels, but these are real nice hotels and worth the extra money. There will also be a $15-20 resort fee to most SOBE hotels added on per night plus taxes.

[StarfishKey]

If you use Expedia to find the price, try to get the hotel to honor the online price directly. I had several terrible experiences with Expedia and will never book through them again. Their communication with the hotels is terrible, and I have multiple times showed up to a hotel only for them to tell me it is impossible that the room was advertised for that price, and that they don't even have a room in the hotel with the features I booked for (for instance single queen size bed, non-smoking, with fridge and microwave in room, on first floor). I had to bring up the page I reserved on with Expedia to prove to them that this is what I paid for, and every time I hear a lot of grumbling from behind the counter that Expedia is the worst, next time if I want to reserve with them to call directly, etc. Multiple times I showed up and the hotel did not even have a reservation for me, and was told Expedia never bothered to contact them, even though I had the Expedia confirmation number.

When I book with hotels directly, I often can convince them to give me the same price as I saw online, and I have always ended up with a real reservation for the actual room I wanted, with no trickery or fake rooms or overbooking or fake prices or any of the things that come with Expedia.

Search every travel search engine you can for the best price, check local discount sites and Groupons or bargain club member options for further possible discounts, and then book directly with the hotel. Call again 2 weeks before the trip to confirm everything is exactly the way you wanted it and it's in the system.

[r_k]

Hmm... I have not had any bad experience with Expedia bookings, but your mileage may vary.

For late July, look for deals at travelzoo.com

If booking the deals at Hotwire and Priceline, make sure it's at least 3.5 stars. What passes for 3-star in south beach is usually 2-star elsewhere.

[doggiebus]

Priceline Bidding site is the cheapest way to get the best rate. Sites like Priceline and Hotwire Hotels, Bidding Help, Hotel Lists, Forum or http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com can explain the tricks to re-bidding without waiting for 24-hour cycle thing. If I take a little time, I usually can figure out what hotel I'll most likely win, then I can decide if those hotels are where I want to stay or not.

Pricelines Express Deal and Hotwire will save you money, just not as much a Princeline's bidding side.

[croatbob]

priceline is the cheapest or air bnb

[EUPL]

use air bnb

[Cubanchic]

You would be amazed with the prices on Airbnb but if you haven't used them yet you will need to be verified since you won't have a review yet. For the same prices you get just a hotel room you can get a whole condo, just make sure you get one that has reviews on them.

Airbnb the host and the guest each get a review so if you are lucky enough to get a spot make sure you review the place or host so it would be easier to get a review from the host and make future bookings easier to obtain.

Use the filters for the entire place since there are also listing for a room within a house.