If i can figure it out, I may just choose the 3.5* which I think is the Catamaran.
Shouldn't the Catamaran also show "Beachfront" as an amenity, though? The 3.5* listing that I see does not have the beachfront icon, but I think the Catamaran has its own beach area, doesn't it?
Also, Bahia Resort Hotel is beachfront, I believe. Do you think it could be the 4* or does that seem too high a rating for it?
The Hilton in Gaslamp Quarter is quite nice and appears in successful bids within your bidding limits. But it is sold out for your last night (June 7th).... don't know if you are interested in a shorter stay or a second hotel for the last night?
You may already know that Priceline (and Hotwire) include Harbor Island in the Downtown zone, and although close to downtown, you can't just walk out the door to a lot of places like you can from the Gaslamp Hilton or Westin at Horton Plaza. I have stayed at the Sheraton on Harbor Island and it is quite nice, but you might feel like you are staying at the airport there. It seems to be getting quite pricey, also, you might have to go $10 - $20 higher to get it through Priceline.
If you bid Coastal zone, you will have a good chance of getting the Hyatt La Jolla at $49 (as you can see from other post, and I was successful with this hotel twice at that bid level earlier in the year). It is not very near to the La Jolla shops or Cove, but highway access is close and easy if you have a car.
did Priceline combine the La Jolla and the Del Mar areas into "San Diego Coastal"? (and i'm assuming this property is in this "Coastal" zone?)
I believe the new "Coastal" also includes the old Torrey Pines/UTC and Mission Bay zones. The Hyatt La Jolla used to be in the Torrey Pines/UTC zone. It really is not that close to 'downtown' La Jolla or the ocean, but it is a nice property with decent rooms. It has an Olympic-sized pool! There are a couple of nice restaurants on-site.
By the way, parking is expensive at the Hyatt but there is usually lots of free street parking nearby if you don't mind a short walk.
I hate this new combined zone, I think it is too large and the areas are too different. You can't separate out the Mission Bay hotels anymore, and if you want something close to the ocean without trying to bid pricey Coronado, that was a good zone. Sniff, sniff...
Did you happen to write down the amenities that it showed before your purchase ... ?
With the way this is worded, it appears you have to note the amenities BEFORE a purchase. However, I find that I can still view the amenities on a Hotwire purchase AFTER by going to "My Account" and then clicking on "Hotel Purchases." This brings up the purchase and hotel details including all of the original amenity icons.
Also, if you would like more information on Air India, including some detailed descriptions of flights on that airline, go to:
Click on FlyerTalk Miles, then FlyerTalk Trip Reports, and then use the Search function (toward the top right of the screen) to search for Air India.
You will be able to find some first hand accounts of Air India flights!
OK, my very first time actually buying on Hotwire!!!
2.5 *
AmeriSuites Augusta Riverwatch Parkway
1062 Claussen Road
Augusta, GA 30907
(706) 733-4656
Check-in Date: Sat, Apr 3, 2004
Check-out Date: Wed, Apr 7, 2004
Number Of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 4
Price per night: $34.00
Subtotal: $136.00
Total Taxes and Booking Fees: $23.95
Total: $159.95
Amenities:
Suite, Pool, Fitness Center, Complimentary Breakfast, Kitchenette
Amerisuites will be perfect for this! I think it is right down by the RiverWalk area and the Historic District. Golf fans will recognize this date as the Augusta Masters' practice rounds. Stayed at a Comfort Inn last April and some people (not me!) were paying $225/night.
This is so fabulous! I was just casually checking the dates for next year's Masters' and didn't think anything would be available. When this showed up, I just grabbed it, didn't even use the link here - I am so sorry!!!
PS I believe 13% tax, but that may not be useful information.
Their usual rates are about $70/night so this is a great deal at any time!
Didn't even check Priceline! :)
VCE = Venice, Italy
NYC-VCE $143 NW/KL
- Valid Mon - Thurs, transatlantic segments, Outbound departure between Aug 4 - 28.
- Saturday stay required
- This is a web only fare, only available at Travelocity, Expedia and nwa.com
- Booked in Q class
- Comes to about $215+ after taxes (+ - PFCs and other charges depend on routing)
From FlyerTalk
Well, here is the reply from Priceline, and yes, they are now referring to a "variable service fee."
*****************
Dear Sir,
Thank you for taking the time to send us an e-mail. We understand that
you are inquiring about the fees and taxes for hotel reservation.
We do not have the breakdown of the taxes and fees available. Our system calculates the taxes and fees and provides the exact amount the customer will be charged on the contract page for their review prior to
submitting the offer.
The taxes and fees charged on priceline transactions include all applicable taxes paid by priceline.com to the hotel in connection with your travel arraignments as well as a variable service fee. Taxability and the appropriate tax rate vary greatly by location.
That said, hotel rooms are subject to a per night city and state tax,
which vary based on the city you are visiting. We calculate these taxes
and our service fees related to your offer and present a total before
you submit your request so that you can view all possible charges prior to submitting your request. These are the same taxes that apply if you
reserved rooms through a travel agent or directly from the hotels.
Keep in mind that some hotels charge customers a minimal occupancy tax
that may be applied to your room charge and will be payable to the hotel upon check-out.
We hope this information is helpful to you, and look forward to serving your future travel needs.
Sincerely,
Sunil A.
The priceline.com Customer Service Team
Original Message Follows:
-------------------------
Comments:Hi,
Can you please confirm that the hotel booking fee is still $5.95?
It seems that there are changes in the way in which Priceline calculates a
total purchase price on bids. Has the tax calculation also changed?
Thank you!
Well, I think there was some discussion about the nature of the 'agency' between the hotels and Priceline (and a similar question with airlines), but please don't hold to me all the details - I just have some hazy memories of reading some of this stuff a while back (including the whole thing about tax calc). I could be totally off track.
But I think one of the points made was that travel agencies collect taxes from the end consumer based on the consumer purchase price, not on the pre-arranged hotel rate that the agency might have obtained. Am I imagining this, or does this sound familiar to anyone else???? Is this even the way that travel agencies work?
Are there any lawyers or travel agents in the audience today??? :)
So I did the best thing I could think of, I sent an email to Priceline asking if they still charge a flat-rate of $5.95 for hotel bookings or not!
I should get an answer back right around the time the World Series start, what do you think??? :)
It seems to me that there were considerable consumer complaints about Priceline not showing the complete charges for items that were being bidded on. People complained that they did not see the real totals that they would be charged, because tax and service charge information was not complete before the bid. Of course, if knowledgeable bidders saw the tax rate in advance (and it was still based on what Priceline paid the hotel) then we would always know the lowest bid that would be accepted!
At the same time, I believe some state and local governments were concerned that Priceline did not charge tax appropriately, that is, they did not charge on the total consumer purchase (in the case of hotel bids). And this meant less tax for state and local governments.... Also, I believe travel agencies have to assess tax on the consumer purchase amount, so they felt Priceline had an unfair advantage.
I wonder if Priceline is trying to deal with all these concerns (and also make the bidding process somewhat more opaque) by redoing the way that taxes are calculated, and perhaps in the case of hotels -- charging tax based on our bid amount and not on their purchase price from the hotel???
Also, please see my post on car rental tax calculation in the Car Rentals forum.
thereuare, what do you think of all this?
Priceline has made some changes to the way it reports taxes on car rentals. You now see the total tax and fee breakdown BEFORE you bid. It looks like this (example is Boston):
***********
Here is a breakdown of the maximum taxes, fees, and surcharges that apply to your rental car transaction:
Rental Convention Center ($10.00 per rental) $10.00
Title, Registration and Excise Taxes (3.55%) $2.13
MA Parking Tax ($0.30 per rental) $0.30
Sales Tax (5%) $3.00
Total Taxes, Fees and Surcharges $15.43
These taxes, fees and surcharges are charged to you as a reimbursement of actual taxes, fees and surcharges paid by priceline to the rental car company.
***********
Also, from the FAQ:
What taxes and surcharges will I pay?
If there's one thing in life you can't avoid, it's taxes, and hotel rooms certainly have their share. So in the interest of being up-front, here's a breakdown of the taxes and fees you'll pay when you buy hotel rooms through priceline.com - which, by the way, are the same taxes and fees you would pay if you buy rooms through a travel agent or from the hotels directly:
Standard state and local taxes (which currently average about 12% and will not exceed 20% of your offer price) are not included in your offer price - they will be added to your total cost and charged to the credit card you provide if a participating hotel accepts your offer.
Depending Depending on the city and property you stay in, you may also be charged a "Hotel Occupancy Tax", resort fees, parking charges, room service, etc. as these costs are not included in the price you pay priceline. These charges, if applicable, will be payable to the hotel directly at checkout.
On both U.S. and International hotel offers, priceline adds a standard $5.95 per room charge to the final cost to cover processing costs associated with your offer.
However, Priceline's FAQ still states:
Does priceline charge a fee for hotel offers?
If your priceline hotel offer is accepted, we add a standard $5.95 per room charge to the final cost charged to your credit card to cover processing costs associated with your offer. If your priceline hotel request is not accepted, you pay nothing.
This could be a real mess to deal with!
From the Priceline bidding screen:
"Total charges, including taxes and service fees, are shown on the next page."
Clicking on the 'taxes and service fees' link gives the following description:
**************
Are taxes included in the price I name?
No, the price you name is for the hotel room rate only, exclusive of taxes and service fees. All hotel rooms are, however, subject to city and state taxes, which vary based on the city you are visiting. We will calculate these taxes and our service fees related to your offer and present a total before you submit your request.
Also, depending on the city you select, a local tax or "Hotel Occupancy Tax" may apply. These taxes will be added by your hotel and will be payable upon check-out.
These are the same taxes that apply if you reserved rooms through a travel agent or directly from the hotels.
What taxes am I charged for?
The tax charge on priceline.com hotel transactions includes all applicable taxes paid by priceline.com to the hotel in connection with your travel arrangements. Taxability and the appropriate tax rate vary greatly by location.
What are the service fees?
These fees cover the costs incurred by priceline.com in servicing your travel reservation.
**************
It seems to me that the local tax or 'hotel occupancy tax' used to be included in the Priceline taxes. I don't think it was separated out before, was it?
If my dates are firm and I am sure there aren't going to be any changes I book asap. I have a vacation coming up in November and I have already booked my hotels through priceline. I guess you could say I have control issues :)
I don't think you have control issues, not at all! It is just a different style!
It varies for most of us, we have the trips we know we are going to take, no matter what. Then we have some discretionary ones, that are more dependent on overall cost, usually. And our careful planning usually makes sure that these are a success.
But sometimes we have room for a last-minute trip, and that may be the most delicious of all!
I'm not sure I fully understand the question, but I can tell you that in my experience, the deals I get through Priceline are far and above anything I could have got through any other means, including marrying/adopting and/or cloning/begging the hotel manager/owner and/or concierge/deskclerk!
And even Priceline sells trip cancellation insurance for $5 per room per night! But check out your credit card or your Automobile Association, which may offer some protection already, included in fees you ALREADY pay.
I think you have to ask yourself, what is it about this trip you are afraid of?
Is it of sudden illness or injury? If so, then trip cancellation will probably cover it for a minimum ratio of cost/security!
Is it that you just are not sure you want to go at all??? If so, is this just based upon the total cost? If so, then work out what would be the 'magic' number and just don't bid above that. You have lots of time, so you can keep trying. So, start any time, because once your goals are clearly in sight, you know what you want.
But no one can give you that magic number, because it is based on you and your dreams and desires and circumstances. :)
I think it is fine, but I see now that I can simply click on "Priceline" on the Car Rental page. I guess I didn't scroll down before.... So it is fine to me either way, but I think some people might like to know that they can use the PRICELINE link for car rentals and airfare, also. So I think it is good to have the current link there on the first page.
By the way, Priceline now allows bidding for downtown or off-airport locations of some cities, including:
Priceline's Off-Airport Rental Car Cities:
Another way to get to a product other than Hotels is to leave everything blank and click the "Start Savings" button.
OK, I will do it this way for car rentals. I have actually had pretty good luck with Priceline on car rentals, although sometimes I can get a better deal going directly through the car companies.
Is this link just for hotels? What about car rentals or airfare or travel packages through Priceline? :)
From Analise:
First off, this hotel does not warrant the 3 star rating----maybe in its past life but not now. The lobby was clogged with cigarette smoke as were the hallways.
Boston has just gone non-smoking! No smoking in any public buildings, including bars, I believe. Good news for us non (or even former) smokers. I know it makes it inconvenient for smokers, but it really makes the air (and the furnishings) a lot cleaner.
I heard from others that this hotel did not deserve its rating. Actually, I only bid 4* in Boston and avoided 3* because I did not want to get this hotel. Most cities, I would be happy with either level.
I am happy to hear that they tried to make your stay better by giving you a better room, though.
Hey, you're right 99.99% of the time, so that is still a pretty good record!
I was going to mention that I also try to post some information on the hotel's rates when I post a bid. I always check to see what the hotel's conventional rates are when I am bidding via Priceline, and if I pass that information on to others, they have an even better idea of whether a previous bid amount will still work for their dates. By comparing the hotel rates for their dates with mine, they can get an idea about availability, demand and seasonal rate fluctuations. And that informs the decision about whether the 'best bid' amount will likely work or not.
Does that make any sense? Please feel free to reword it!
:)
Also, did you see my question about Priceline counteroffers?
thereuare, I am not sure about your math on this one. I think Analise is saying the total tax for two nights was $7.00 and the tax rate was 7%.
Therefore, $7.00/.07 = 100 divided by 2 nights = $50 per night actual cost.
Am I missing something?
I'm really an unofficial Maineiac.
That's cute, I have never heard that before! (But then I'm kind of a West Coast person....)
Smart move to reject the counteroffer, Analise! Your instincts served you right on this one!
We are planning some travel through New England in a few months so are definitely trying to figure out where to stay and how much to bid. Thank you for posting! Do you mind letting us know what the taxes were on this one, by any chance?
It would be nice to see a review of the hotel after your stay, if you have time. :)
PS, for thereuare, have you ever seen any valid explanation for how Priceline decides to offer counteroffers or not???
San Diego 4* Help Please
in Hotwire Hotels - California (all other cities)
Posted
thereuare, I think you are right and I am wrong. I just don't remember clearly enough what that area is like. I phoned the Catamaran (couldn't stand not knowing!!!) and they say the waterfront or beach area is just across the street. I don't know how Hotwire categorizes beachfront but I don't suppose they would include something on the other side of the street.
EGUSC, I am not being much help at all, am I? Sorry! :)