Priceline Hotel: 3.5* San Francisco (Fishermans Wharf) San Francisco Marriott Fishermans Wharf

[projectmaximus]

Hi all!

 

Completely new to BB (awesome resource it looks like!!) but essentially a seasoned veteran of PL. Since I am rather clueless when it comes to SF, I thought I'd ask for advice. 

 

I'm looking to book 2 rooms for 8/31-9/3. Seeing a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf for $135. Before I go thru the process of NYOP rebids, I thought I'd find out if this price range is really good, not really special, or something in between. Is it worth going after so far in advance or should I wait til the travel dates are closer? I generally don't do the pay upfront reservations so far in advance...

 

Oh yeah, and one more twist. One of the rooms needs to have 2 beds so the chance of a single king wouldnt be a great thing. 

 

Anyway, any advice is appreciated! TIA!!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

Bidding (NYOP) is usually the least expensive way to book, but given that you need one of the rooms to have 2 beds, i would sooner recommend PRICELINE EXPRESS or HOTWIRE.  While both of these options will be slightly more than 'naming your own price', some PRICELINE EXPRESS and HOTWIRE offers allow you to choose the room type:
PRICELINE EXPRESS = look for the 'Bed Choice' option and see if any options are for a room with 2 beds

HOTWIRE = after clicking the listing some offers will show BOOK NOW under the room rate, others will have a SELECT ROOM drop down menu under the price which will allow you to chose a room with two beds

 

Given the above, do you want to take the room configuration risk in exchange for a lower price OR do you need (vs. a want) a room with 2 beds and are willing to pay a few dollars more for it?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[projectmaximus]

Thanks, there!! Well, it is probably just a want because a King Bed would be alright IF we can request/pay for a crib. Room #1 = any configuration, Room #2 = either 2 queens or 1 king + crib.

[thereuare]

14 minutes ago, projectmaximus said:

Room #2 = either 2 queens or 1 king + crib

 

... and what if it's 1 Queen? (or something even smaller??)

All that is guaranteed with PRICELINE bidding is a room that can accommodate double occupancy.

 

If you were heading to a family-friendly area such as Orlando where rooms are typically larger and hotels are built to accommodate families (ie- the majority of rooms have two beds), the risks are a bit higher when heading to a large city where rooms are typically smaller, many cater to the needs of solo business travelers, and have a higher percentage of rooms with only one bed (of varying sizes)

 

For the 2nd room are there two adults + one infant OR is there more than that?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, what would be your desired max bid per night? Is FW the only acceptable zone?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[projectmaximus]

Thanks for the followup guys! Sorry, I generally write way too much so I was trying to be as concise and simple as possible in my questioning. 

It's 2 adults, 1 4 yo, and 1 infant. I did see some hotels with double beds in SF but I guess I am just used to always getting 2 queens or 1 king anytime I bid LOL. 

 

Any zone that is quasi-touristy or fairly accessible to touristy stuff will be acceptable. The 3 days in question are strictly vacation and we're not super familiar with SF so we plan to do the usual tourist stuff. 

 

The most pressing advice I am seeking is whether $135 (pre-tax) for 3.5* in FW is a great deal or should I wait. 

And re: the beds situation...is it possible that a NYOP would yield a single, double bed? I think that it would be impossible to make that work. But a single queen + crib would probably be fine. As would two double beds + crib. 

 

Thanks again!!!

[thereuare]

21 hours ago, projectmaximus said:

is it possible that a NYOP would yield a single, double bed?

As 'industry standard' is that one double bed would accommodate double occupancy, yes, it is possible.  Fortunately most hotels are not build these days with one single bed in the room, but it is certainly a possibly (especially outside of North America where single/double beds are more common, as well as with older hotels in large cities where rooms are typically smaller and they build with one bed in order to save on real estate space)

 

It's been difficult to answer your question about $135 being a good price as we were not quite sure which booking options would be possible for you (still not certain), so let's take a different approach / discussion (confirm all dates on the landing pages):

 

3.5* Fisherman Wharf hotel for $135/nite with Restaurant, Free Internet

--> best guess for this property would be the San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf, which if correct is selling at 'retail' for over $250/ntie, so YES, this would be a very good deal (and you have to decide if this is worth the occupancy risk / bedding issues you could encounter)

 

4* Union Square West for $169/nite with Indoor or Outdoor Pool, Pets Allowed, Business Center, Fitness Center

==> best guess here would be the Hilton San Francisco which costs a little more, but is higher rated, and more importantly for your situation allows you pick a room with 2 Beds as one of the options.

 

Both of these zone are considered centrally located (with the Fisherman's Wharf zone considered to be a bit more touristy and the USW zone considered to be a bit more 'downtown') and should work for your needs, imo.  Searching HOTWIRE  for 2rooms/4adults/1child yields pricing that is higher than the above, so i think the question(s) are:
1) do either/ both of these offers work for your needs

2) if so, and assuming you don't favor one property vs. the other, is #1 worth the occupancy risk or do you just want to make sure there are no occupancy issues and pay a little more via option #2

 

Let us know your thoughts (or how it goes if you take one of the options above) and we'll take it from there.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Hope we answered all of your question(s).

[projectmaximus]

Thanks again for the thorough explanation! I took a glance at the list of 3.5* in FW and it seems of the four hotels listed, none show any guest rooms with smaller than one single, queen sized bed. It seems worth the risk then, right? Or is the hotel list not comprehensive/just an educated guess?

[thereuare]

See the comments at the top of the Priceline Hotel List... the hotel lists only contain hotels that have been reported to the board.

 

As well, keep in mind that when you bid 3.5* it is the minimum that you are willing to accept, and PRICELINE will always look to upgrade you to a higher rated hotel if possible, so you would also need to make sure that any of the hotels that are higher rated than 3.5* in the zones you're bidding are also acceptable.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

[Romelle]

6 hours ago, thereuare said:

See the comments at the top of the Priceline Hotel List... the hotel lists only contain hotels that have been reported to the board.

 

I'm a member, not a board official, but I can personally vouch for the fact that one can get as-yet-unreported hotels.  It has happened to me quite a few times over the years.  Pleasant surprises, but surprises nonetheless.  Those lists are only as good as member reporting.  

 

In fact, if you happen to have details on any of your previous "seasoned veteran" Priceline wins .... ?   Every scrap of info is appreciated by the next bidders.

 

Romelle

[projectmaximus]

6 hours ago, thereuare said:

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

I think the bed risk is worth it. If we get stuck with one double bed we can figure out how to get an air mattress or something...otherwise hopefully it's 2 double beds or 1 queen bed. What I am curious about is whether $135 pretax is a great deal not for that specific hotel value, but for any 3* or better in the touristy areas. I think we'd ideally want the cheapest that meets that minimum desirability. Normally when I book pay upfront hotels I'm no more than 2 weeks out from the trip, so this would be a bit unusual for me. Thanks!

 

2 hours ago, Romelle said:

In fact, if you happen to have details on any of your previous "seasoned veteran" Priceline wins .... ?   Every scrap of info is appreciated by the next bidders.

Sounds good. I will try to update some of my previous wins...not sure how far back I want to go but including express I should have around two dozen or so. 

 

 

[thereuare]

7 minutes ago, projectmaximus said:

I think we'd ideally want the cheapest that meets that minimum desirability.

Why not list all acceptable zones, start your bidding low and slowly (and strategically) increase your bids up to your maximum bid, having PRICELINE assign you the one that is willing to accept the lowest bid price.

 

Generally speaking the following are considered to be convenient for the typical tourist (with any caveats listed next to each):

USE

USW - includes the 'tenderloin' district which has a bit of homelessness.  This can be bothersome to some who aren't used to see homelessness in their own hometowns, but i have not heard of any actual 'harm' or confrontations, just the general asking for spare change.

Fisherman's Wharf - touristy, which could be a pro or a con depending upon your perspective

Financial District - is often looked to as a less expensive alternative to the other 3 zones above when prices in the areas above are high, but is just a bit less convenient to the 'touristy' areas (given low / acceptable rates in the 3 zones above i'm not sure i would include this zone given your needs, but it's ultimately your decision)

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

If you'd like help with a bidding strategy please confirm your acceptable zones (and if you'd like to go with a $135 maximum bid) and we'll advise accordingly.

[projectmaximus]

Thanks! Sure, let's say all 4 are acceptable zones...in fact financial district is particularly nice cause we'd like being close to chinatown. But wouldn't traditional rebidding strategy be tougher since we're only looking for 3* or better? Anyway, I will await your wise suggestions (no sarcasm). I'm not surprised by your obvious knowledge of navigating PL, but I find it amazing that you can give such solid advice on city neighborhoods as well!! 

[thereuare]

Thanks for the compliments.

 

I would suggest bidding as follows:

 

When bidding 3* in San Francisco you have ONE 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 3* USE...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* USW...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* FW...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* Financial...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

 

Select 3* USE and USW...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $113, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* FW and Financial...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $113, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

 

Select 3* USE and FW...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $118, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* USW and Financial...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $118, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

 

Select 3* USE and Financial...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $123, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* USW and FW...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $123, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

 

Select 3* USE, USW, FW...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $128, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

Select 3* USE, USW, Financial...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $128, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE..

 

Select 3* USE, USW, FW, Financial...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $133

 

If the above is rejected, you can then take the previously discussed 3.5* Fisherman Wharf hotel (always confirm your dates on the landing page) for $135/nite

 

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Romelle]

Again, as a member not a board official, I can really recommend that MAPS and HOTELS.com tool.  Thereuare put links in several of his posts and it also can be accessed  via "Research Tools" up in the header.  When one puts in a central point (city name or even address), a radius (so many miles out) and dates, it returns a map marked with all hotels within that radius.  Then one can filter by star level, price and other things.  By clicking on a specific hotel, lots more detail is supplied.  One of my favorites is "Walk Score" which rates a hotel based on being able to walk to interesting and good things - restaurants, coffee shops, etc.   It does take a little fiddling to get comfortable with it, but I'm sure you will purely love it then.

[projectmaximus]

free wifi, pets allowed, fitness center

 

[projectmaximus]

Thanks everyone for all the comments!

 

I got the Fisherman's Wharf 3.5* (free wifi, pets allowed, fitness center) which indeed was the Marriott. I got it using the PRICELINE EXPRESS because my rebid attempts up to $126 failed and by $127 I was already exceeding the total cost of the express deal. Used an extra discount i received via email this morning to tag an extra 10% off express deals. Very serendipitous. 

 

FYI, total cost for 2 rooms/3 nights was $906

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Hope you're pleased with the hotel and deal you received and are looking forward to your trip... looks like a good rate for the summer!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[projectmaximus]

11 hours ago, projectmaximus said:

Thanks everyone for all the comments!

 

I got the Fisherman's Wharf 3.5* (free wifi, pets allowed, fitness center) which indeed was the Marriott. I got it using the PRICELINE EXPRESS because my rebid attempts up to $126 failed and by $127 I was already exceeding the total cost of the express deal. Used an extra discount i received via email this morning to tag an extra 10% off express deals. Very serendipitous. 

 

FYI, total cost for 2 rooms/3 nights was $906

 

 

[AaronJB]

The discount code was a one time use only. 

 

Thanks though, and hope you enjoy your stay.

 

For the future please book through our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate bookings.