Priceline Hotel: Help to find a hotel in San Francisco

[Edugil]

Hi everyone,

I am from Brazil and will go to San Francisco in April with my wife (we are both 35 y/o). As this will be our first trip to SF I need help to find a good hotel in a good area to visit the city. I will arrive on the 21st of april and will stay until 24th. I expect to spend up to U$ 100, if possible in a 4 or 3.5 star hotel.

I read the FAQ but need help to know waht are the best zones to bid and what would be the start bid.

Any suggestion?

Best regards,

Eduardo

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Union Square East and Union Square West at the two main 'Downtown' areas... Fishermans Wharf is popular too but it's more "touristy".

Your budget may be enough for a 4* hotel, would you want to try for a 4* first up to your limit OR is your goal the least expensive 3.5* or better for this stay? (NOTE: at less than 4* some USW properties may be in the 'terderloin' of the zone which has a bit more homeless/pandhandlers, which is bothersome to some people)

Let us know which zone(s) you'd like to try first and if want to first bid up to your limit for a 4* before trying for a 3.5*, we'll then suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (please click each of these links before replying)

[Edugil]

Thanks,

Both Union Square East and Fisherman Warf would be fine for. I don`t mind to stay in a tourist area, as I will be a tourist. I just want to a area where I can reach the tourist places easily, because I will use public transportation. If I can avoid to be in a more dangerous or less attracive area, I really prefer.

I don`t mind to try a 3.5* hotel, as long as this will save more than U$30 a day(around $60). If not, I prefer to spend $100 in a 4* hotel.

Considering these (and your information) I think the best option for me would be a 3.5* in USE or Fisherman Warf, for less than U$70 and, if I don`t get anything to try a 4* for up to U$100.

Agree?

How should I put this into a strategy at priceline?

Best regards and again many thanks.

Eduardo

[thereuare]

One things to consider before bidding (and others more likely to the area than i am feel free to chime in) that while although Fisherman's Whart if touristy, it doesn't have direct access to BART (the train system)... but it does have cablecar access (which can take you to a BART station). Generally speaking San Francisco is know to have pretty good mass transit, so you should look into whether most of the place you want to go, see, and do are accessible via BART, cablecar, or both.

Please confirm your zones and we'll take it from there, taking into consideration your 3.5* vs. 4* desires.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[austin_res]

You may also want to look into Embarcadero - Financial District zone. It is close to Union Square and has easy access to public transportation options. The 4* hotels in this zone all get good reviews.

[Edugil]

So maybe I should consider in ths order of preference: USE, Embarcadero, Fisherman Warf.

[WindyCityHokie]

I have made several trips to San Francisco recently, and stayed in the Financial District/Embarcadero area each time. You should really enjoy any 4* hotel in this area, and the access to public transportation is excellent from this area. Walking distance to Union Square is another advantage. $100 for a 4* hotel in Embarcadero district is reasonable, however I have spent just over $100 ($105 and $110) and still felt I received a great deal for the money.

[thereuare]

So maybe I should consider in ths order of preference: USE, Embarcadero, Fisherman Warf.

It depends if you're willing to pay more to stay in one zone vs. the other(s).

Another option is to group the zones, so that you're bidding:

First: the least expensive hotel in either the USE or Embarcadero zone, if that is rejected...

Second: use lower bids and try for the Fisherman's Wharf zone

To the above you'll also need to add your 'star rating filters' and determine whether to start at 4* or 3.5*, and if that is rejected in the first round, do you then want to try for the same zone at the other star rating... or try for the same star rating in the other zone(s). (hope you follow that, but if not we'll ask more questions once you decide upon your preferences and supply an actual bidding strategy)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Edugil]

I think the best option for me would be to try a 4* in USE and embarcdero, and then add Fisherman warf, then add 3.5* until I get some good deal.

Best regards,

[thereuare]

So to confirm, first step is to try for a 4* hotel in the USE or Embarcadero zone with a maximum bid of $100? Assuming this is correct:

At the 4* level in San Francisco you have SEVEN re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* USE...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Embarcadero...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* USE and Embarcadero...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

Any questions feel free to ask.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Edugil]

Hi,

Can you help me in an strategy (an re bid zones) for a 4* hotel in USE, Embarcadero, Fisherman Warf, in this order of preference, up to $120.

I just tried $90 in zones USE, USW, Embarcadero and Fisherman Wharf, without success.

Many thanks,

Eduardo

[thereuare]

PRICELINE does not currently offer 4* bidding in the Fishermans Wharf zone.

Did you try the previous strategy above? If so, when the was the last time you bid? (and confirm that you have not yet included USW in your bidding)

Also, you should know how to confirm your re-bid zones on your own as they should be checked before every bidding cycle to make sure that nothing has changed since last checked (or since somebody last told you what they were). If you're still confused after reading Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, try the following:

Start with the following...

1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter San Francisco and your dates, and click "GO".

2) List each zone that is offered in this region.

3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest star rating offered in the zone is by selecting the first zone i the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time you take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.

4) post your findings and we'll take it from there

If you don't follow the above just post back and we'll break it down further.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Edugil]

Hi I ended up using booking.com as my bids didn`t find a good value.

 

Anyway, many thanks for the help.

 

Eduardo

[thereuare]

I suspect that you paid a bit more than what you were bidding and/or had to settle for a lower rated hotel?

Please check for and use the links in our Support Page for your hotel direct purchases... or use our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com (where the 'retail' listings from PRICELINE likely have the same pricing and inventory as booking.com)

Hope you enjoyed your stay.