texashighway

In spite of (or because of) this Hotwire property dropping its price to $37, I opted for a 3* on Priceline in SFO. Starting at $42 and inching my way up to $43, and then $44, I hit the jackpot at $45. Here are the details: Holiday Inn Sfo Intl Arpt 275 South Airport Blvd South San Francisco, CA 94080 650-873-3550 Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $45.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $45.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $14.05 (USD) Total Room Cost: $59.05 (USD) Checkin: 9/1/09 As always, I used the PRICELINE link on this forum.

I notice my "topic description" line disappeared. It should read: $49...8/30/09 - 9/1/09

Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access. I fully expected to receive the Pear Tree Inn on the next block but am happy to receive this property. It has the same amenities and is actually rated a tad higher by tripadvisor. Like its neighbor, it hides from HOTWIRE customers the fact that it has a free shuttle. Holiday Inn Express San Antonio-Airport 91 Ne Loop 410, San Antonio, TX, 78216 Hotel Phone:(210) 308-6700 PricePerNight:$49.00 Nights: 2 Rooms:1 Subtotal:$98.00 Tax recovery charges and fees:$24.03 Total price:$122.03 Please add this property to the Texas Hotwire hotel list. As always, I used the HOTWIRE link on this forum.

After further digging, it appears this property may be the Citigarden Hotel SFO, formerly the Good Nite Inn. The amenities match up with the hotel's website and the traveler's ratings/reviews are a close match. Perhaps Hotwire upgraded the recently renamed hotel to a 2.5 *. Some recent reviews are negative, pointing out construction noise and other inconveniences as they undergo renovations. I will regroup and decide what to do in the next couple days or so.

Dates are 9/1/09 - 9/2/09 Amenities: Shuttle, breakfast, pool, restaurant, business center, laundry, internet. Price: $46 Traveler rating: 3.5 out of 5 based on 180+ customer reviews. Last reviewed May 2009. Any ideas?

I started my bids at $40 and planned to increase my bids in $1 increments by adding free rebid zones and then regrouping the next day, if necessary. After my first bid, the response suggested I increase my bid by $12 and resubmit. I knew I was getting close....so I bid $41 and was rejected...then I bid $42 and hit the sweet spot. Needless to say, I am delighted to get this nice property at such a good price, even undercutting previous posted wins here. The details are as follows: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $42.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Room Subtotal: $168.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $37.35 (USD) Total Room Cost: $205.35 (USD) Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest 4303 Hyatt Place Drive San Antonio, TX 78230 210-561 0099 As always, I used the PRICELINE link in this forum!

Needed a last minute hotel booking for tomorrow night in Houston. Bid for a 3* in Houston (Southwest-Sugar Land) starting at $36 increasing in $1 increments using the numerous free rebid zones. Bid accepted at $41 and upgraded to 3.5*. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $41.00 Subtotal: $41.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $14.15 Total Charges*: $55.15 Houston Southwest - Sugar Land 6780 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77074 713-977-7911 The lowest price on Hilton's website is $149! I used the PRICELINE link on this forum.

My best guess for the 2* would be the Rodeway Inn at Six Flags.

I just received this email from Hotwire about my upcoming stay:

Staybridge Suites San Bruno 1350 Huntington Avenue San Bruno, California 94066 (650) 588-0770 Amenities: Suite, shuttle, breakfast, pool, business center, laundry Customer favorite; Tripadvisor rating 4.0 out of 5 based on 20+ customer reviews (Last reviewed September 2008) Hotel rate per night:$53.00 SubTotal:$212.00 TaxesAndFees:$33.93 TotalPrice:$245.93 It certainly wasn't any surprise that I got this property. In fact, I may have gotten it cheaper on Priceline where it is considered a SFO 2.5*; but I was afraid of getting Best Western or an "upgrade" to Holiday Inn. I definitely wanted the Staybridge. I called the property and verified that they only have one and two bedroom suites; there are no studios. They said there are only 3 suites available these nights and they offered to book me one for $169 per night!

Hotwire claims they will accommodate the appropriate number of guests in each room, based on the total number of guests provided and the number of rooms requested (as opposed to Priceline which only guarantees double occupancy). Now I understand that with double occupancy, Hotwire doesn't care if the other occupant is my daughter, sibling, or grandmother. So in the future, should I exaggerate the number of occupants? For example, if I want two beds, should I say there are four occupants...(for example, two adults and two children) in order to get the two beds I want? Appreciate your advice.

Actually, I had to pay an extra $10 plus 1.68 tax for a room with two beds. Even though it states clearly that my reservation is for one adult and one child, Hotwire Customer Service finds it perfectly acceptable to assign a man and his teenage daughter to a room with only one bed. Since rooms with two beds were obviously available, it just looks like a shakedown from Hojo to get an extra $10 from me. :)

This is a brand new property so please check my review

I stayed at this 2.5* property 1/14/09-1/16/09. This is a new property having just opened a month ago. So the staff are enthusiastic and tireless in trying to get off to a good start. Starting from the shuttle ride from the airport, the driver was very courteous and informative. He even refused my tip but I don't know if that is hotel policy. If you don't want to drive, there is a city bus stop where you can catch bus #9 to downtown San Antonio. It seems every time I turned around, somone was asking how I liked my room, the hotel, etc. The lobby is very large and open containing a coffee bar, lounge, and business center. The offerings of the $9.50 breakfast buffet looked rather anemic so I passed on it and ate the delicious buffet next door at the Courtyard by Marriott. There is a well-equipped fitness room and a tiny indoor pool and spa. When you enter the room, the first thing you see is a curved coffee bar cabinet containing the coffeemaker, refrigerator, and microwave. No, there is not a full kitchen here. There is a room divider separating the living room area from the bedroom area. In the suite are a sofabed, easy chair, large computer desk, and two flat screen tvs. This hotel looks very sleek, modern, and high-tech. The regular price of $89 is a bargain and the $40 priceline price I paid is a steal!

I hope you found my review helpful though I see you won't be staying until June. I am curious why you bid so far in advance.

My stay is complete and my review has been submitted! My Hotel Review

I stayed at this hotel on 1/13/2009 winning a Priceline bid of $40. I was concerned with a disclaimer on the hotel's website: The entire structure is framed in scaffolding. The front desk clerk told me the hotel is undergoing a complete renovation from top to bottom, room by room. She said presently the 7th through 12th floors were being worked on so she put me on the 2nd floor. The view outside my room was not pretty; dirt and construction debris were everywhere. But I did not hear any noise at all from the renovation, only the normal airport noise. In fact, it appeared to be an off-day; the only workers I saw were a paint crew lounging around. Maybe that's why the renovation is scheduled to take a full year! This property is in serious need of the renovation. The room looked tattered and worn. Inexplicably, there is no in-room coffee available during the renovation period but free coffee to-go is available in the restaurant. The wireless internet in the room was unreliable. However, the shuttle service appears very reliable, running every 15 minutes. The shuttle is shared with the Westin and La Quinta. A couple of aggressive panhandlers tried to hustle me in the McDonald's parking lot in front of the hotel. You probably wouldn't want to wander aimlessly in this area late at night. I didn't sample the restaurant or other amenities so I can't comment on them. In spite of the inconveniences, I thought it was ok for my one-nighter at forty bucks. You just need to have a sense of adventure whenever you bid on an LAX 2.5* hotel!

I tried to undercut the previous poster by bidding at $38 and then $39 before winning at $40. It looks like your first try was right on the money, Randi66! On the hotel's website, I see the lowest price is $104. My only concern is a disclaimer indicating they are undergoing major renovation and to expect "loud noise, scaffolding, dust, etc. 9am

After fishing for a one star using NW, Downtown, Stone Oak, SAT, and Medical Center, I bailed out at $28 and regrouped the next day. I decided to look for a 2* in NW and since there are no 2* rebid zones, I fiddled with the dates. After increasing an initial $29 bid at one dollar increments, I got the $32 win. Cost per night $32 Subtotal $96 Taxes/Fees $24.30 Total $120.30 Please add this to the Priceline hotel List!

Started bidding at $38, bid up to $44 at $2 increments using rebid zones. Cost per room $44 Subtotal $88 Tax/Fees $22.83 Total $110.83 I was bidding for a 2.5* and got upgraded to a *3. Incidently, the Priceline hotel list shows this as a 2.5*. Please update it to show this is now a 3* property. Anyway, for a 3* near the Riverwalk, I think I got a pretty good deal!

Amenities: Breakfast, Fitness, Pool, Business, Laundry, Internet Price per room: $33.00 Taxes/Fees $12.35 Total $45.35 After adding in the fees, it is actually $4 cheaper to book on Hojo's own website! Anyway, please add this to the Hotwire hotel list.

Started at $36, rebid $38 and then $40 using rebid zones. Price per night $40 Subtotal $80 Taxes/Fees $21.36 Total $101.36 This new property, which has two plasma tvs in each room, looks like a steal at 40 bucks! Please add it to your priceline hotel list. I'm doing some hotel hopping in San Antonio using both opaque and other providers. As always, I use the support page links on this forum.

First bid of $25 for 8/3/2008 - 8/7/2008 was rejected. Changed dates: 8/3/2008 - 8/6/2008. Re-bid of $27 was accepted. Used PRICELINE link. Added 8/6/2008 - 8/7/2008 at same price. Red Carpet Inn & Suites Hammonton 700 South White Horse Pike Hammonton, New Jersey 08037 609-704-1000 Booking Date: 7/13/2008 Offer Price: $27.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $108.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $30.42 Total Charges: $138.42 Room has free high-speed wireless internet, 32" tv w/75 channels, free newspaper, small fridge and microwave. 25 miles NW of Atlantic City but in its own bid zone. A one story, newly renovoted motel...a clean, safer alternate to AC budget hotels in a nice Italian-American community.

I stayed at the Radisson at Sierra Point in San Francisco (South) on 7/24/2008 - 7/25/2008. My win has already been posted in the San Francisco forum. After my win, I went to Radisson's home page and noticed they offer online check-in up to seven days prior to arrival. It also said that "it doesn't matter how you book your reservation you can use the online check-in." Still, a little leery of receiving the Priceline "treatment", I called Radisson central reservations to confirm that I could use this service. The representative said unfortunately, he had no access to my reservation since I had booked through Priceline and that I should call the hotel directly. I did that and the hotel representative told me that special requests by Priceline customers are not honored and that I would be assigned a room based on availability at time of arrival. Not satisfied with this answer, I sent an email to Priceline and received a reply that said We demand the same service for our customers as any travel agency and we are truly sorry to hear of your experience.We have documented your experience and a Customer Service manager will review your concern and provide feedback to the travel partner team. Priceline also provided me with $50 add on bonus money ($10 a night for up to a 5 night stay) for a future stay. Anyway, I did check-in online, printed out my pass, and after arriving on a morning flight from China, was given my room key at 10 am! And I did have a nice stay. So the tip I want to provide is don't accept second-class Priceline "treatment". It is in Priceline's best interest to ensure that their travel partners abide by their contractual obligations. So give Priceline a chance! And when they do help, send them a follow-up thank you message and continue to give them your business (through betterbidding.com, of course).

Although the reservation is prepaid, the hotel may still require a credit card at check in to cover incidentals. This is from PRICELINE's Terms and Conditions: Depending on the city and property you stay in, you may also be charged resort fees or other incidental fees, such as parking charges. These charges, if applicable, will be payable by you to the hotel directly at checkout. When you check in, a credit card or, in the hotel's discretion, a debit card will be required to secure these charges and any incidental fees (phone calls, room service, movie rentals, etc.) that you may incur during your stay. You may want to contact the hotel directly after winning your bid for their exact policy.