sirbeamer

@BEAV: Thank you so much for your fantastic advice. I consider myself much more experienced with PRICELINE than most but I am absolutely amazed to learn more tips and tricks all the time. It is always very encouraging to me that there are people like yourself spending time helping people out without expecting anything in return. I will certainly pay it forward! Cheers!

Yes, of course. Update: I booked a cancelable reservation at the Larkspur Hotel (www.larkspurhotels.com) for about $625 with tax. This is intended to serve as an insurance policy so I can continue looking up to the last minute. In the course of booking this hotel, I called and visited a number of hotels in the area. I found that there is a major medical convention in town that seems to be causing capacity issues. A number of hotels were completely booked for 9/21-9/23. (I am looking for (9/20-9/23). In your experience, when hotels are "fully booked," do they still end up posting some cheap last minute rooms to PRICELINE? I know that a lot of people cancel reservations at the last minute. Again, thanks for your continuing help. Best wishes!

Thank you so much for your help! I have now bid all the way up to $195 (pre-tax) using Embarc, FiDi, Union Square E/W. It looks like we're screwed in that regard. I am going to check out the Galleria Park Hotel, if that is still available at that price it could be a good option. We are also now looking into the 3.5 stars at Fisherman's Wharf as they are mostly 4 star brands. Switching hotels or doing the Airport hotels are only available as absolute last straw scenarios. We really need to keep things simple and easy for the in-laws. Again, I really appreciate your response and if you have any more advice based on this I am all ears! Cheers! Edit: I just checked on Galleria Park Hotel through Hotwire and it is gone...

Hello there: My wife's parents are coming in town checking in 9/20 and checking out 9/23. I usually take care of Priceline bidding but she has been doing it thus far on this one. She has NOT been using the betterbidding link, but I filled her in on that today and we will use it going forward. She is looking for a hotel for them that is 4* in any of the following areas: SOMA East Union Square West Union Square Embarcadero/FiDi Using the typical rebidding strategies that I explained to her, she began her bids at about $75 a night and has now reached $155. (In the past, we have had very good luck and have been able to get 4* in these areas for between $80-$100.) Obvious fluctuations are common, but this is far higher than we are used to. Apparently there are some conventions in town, although there are constantly conventions in town so I'm not quite sure what the deal is. We are open to the possibility of going for a 3 or 3 1/2 star, but as locals of SF, we have noticed that there is a great deal of fluctuation in quality from one to another once you drop out of the 4* hotels. We are very concerned about rolling the dice with Priceline and ending up having to put her parents in a noisy or somewhat sketchy hotel. In summary, we cannot split the trip because her parents are old and we know they won't want to move hotels. They do not want to spend much more than we have already bid, so we can maybe got up to $165-$170, and then we will have no choice but to give up on the 4* hotels. I apologize if this comes off as a bit rambling but it is late and I am stressed out. Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

I'm not having any luck at that price. I hit $700 quickly without anything being accepted. Priceline keeps coming back with an offer that is nearly $1300 including taxes. That's far from 40% off. Anyone have any ideas as to where I go from here?

Well, the price on farechase has gone up today. Now it is showing as follows: Continental Airlines: Total: 1 Adults (age 18 to 64) $1,290.00 Additional Taxes/Fees $98.30 Total Price $1,388.30 Please help...I need to get this done today...much appreciated!

Hello there. I am new to this board, and could use some help. I frequently participate in other forums but I'm new here. Here is my question: I frequently use priceline for hotels with great success. I have yet to use it for airfare. However, I am currently planning a last minute trip from San Diego to Amsterdam to visit my girlfriends family. The dates are August 8th through August 19th. The Airports are SAN (san diego) to AMS (amsterdam). Other posibilites, which I would prefer to avoid, include LAX going out, and arriving in brussels or dusseldorf. One connection is ok, but no more than that. The dates are slightly flexible, although again, the dates as entered would be ideal. Other common fare search engines are turning up fares in the range of $1075 to $1250+ taxes included, which is certainly more than I would like to spend. I'm hoping to get it done for more in the $700 range. I understand that I will need to be flexible with my times and be willing to have a layover. That is fine, as long as it isn't more than say, 6 hours or so. I would greatly appreciate your help. Best wishes, Jason