Gallus50

Hey Keels - I'm in SF right now, as I often am for work. Fisherman's Wharf is not particularly central. USW and USE are. (Union Square West and Union Square East). If the idea of the Tenderloin bothers you, then you don't want to be in USW, which is right next to it. But I should warn you that SF is known for having sketchy neighborhoods next to nice ones. The Tenderloin is close to Union Square and Nob Hill; Financial District is close to South of Market, which can be kind of icky. The one area I personally do not recommend is Civic Center - I find it worse than the others and there is nothing compelling that makes it nice or appealing. Read all the FAQs and good luck with your bidding.

I'm a little annoyed that I groveled, now. And never even got a response ...

I've stayed at Club Quarters. Rooms are small but design is good. There is coffee and sometimes cookies in the business lounge in the morning. Don't forget to look or ask about them. And location is central, but fairly quiet at night as it's basically the Financial District.

If Maxwell is most likely for a low rate, and others might likely be higher, I'll just stick where I am for now. Reviews on TripAdvisor aren't good, and amenities are sparse. The CSR said I have to respond before the 25th, so I may have a few days to see what happens on BB .... Thanks for all help and advice.

Thereuare: My only real issue with the HIGG is the location. My office, which I visit twice a year, is right on Union Square. I always stay in USE or USW and walk to work. HIGG is a bit far and you go through a slightly sketchy area. That being said, I really like to save money on my accommodations, while appreciating amenities like a fitness center and/or breakfast. If it's your intuition/educated guess that I can't get a similar rate in USE or USW, I'll just deal with it and take the bus or cable car over to Van Ness. If I have to bid high, then add the $25 fee, it probably wouldn't be worth it to me. If I could get 3* or better for under $95, however, I would probably do it. As a side note, the HIGG does get quite favorable reviews on TripAdvisor, Orbitz and Expedia.

Hi Beav: Here is their exact wording: Upon receipt of your approval via e-mail, we will cancel your reservation minus a cancellation fee of $101.39. The refund for the remaining amount will be posted to your credit card account within 10 business days. We will send a separate e-mail with instructions outlining how to submit a new request on our website with the correct information. If you follow the instructions and are successful in booking a new reservation, we will refund the cancel fee minus a flat change fee of $25.00. I'm thinking that they will allow you to bid more than once, but they won't give you most of that of $101 until you are successful. In other words, you have to be successful or you're out the $76.39. Highly motivating, but no guarantee you'll get a really good rate.

After I emailed them, Priceline offered to refund my money, in a complicated way where they keep $101, then I rebid. If I'm successful, they'll refund all except for $25. If I could feel sure I'll get a comparable place and rate in USE or USE f, I'll do it. But there have been so few bids for these dates, I'm not sure what to do..... Any advice?

This was a mistake, pure and simple. Probably an overbid, too. While I thought I was bidding boutique, I glanced up and saw I had hit 3* instead. My fingers kept thinking boutique and I hit the usual re-bid areas. My bid was accepted in Cathedral Hill. Whoops. (Forgot that CH has 3* hotels) Was really only interested in USE and USW. Nonetheless, it's booked now. And I will have the opportunity to take the California cable car as much as I want to get to the office, which will be fun. (One of the few you can actually get on, especially in the summer.) Bidding History BOU- 70, 74, 77, 79, 81 - USW + CH + CC + LS + SSF BOU- 70, 74, 77, 79, 81 - USE + CH + CC + LS + SSF 3* - 84, 85 - USW + USE + CH (Thought I was bidding boutiques. This is where I screwed up) Rack rate appears to be $142 or so. Hotel has fitness, pool and views. It gets pretty good reviews on TripAdvisor, so ces't la vie.

And she's banning people again - namely me! I was just trying to post the information in both sites to help both boards and as many people as I could along the way. I'm sure she banned me for posting here at BB. I sent her an email message asking for an explanation and apologizing. (I was totally transparent - had the same user name for both sites.) She has not responded. After reading most of this thread, I'm not surprised. At this point, I have removed TOBB from my bookmarks bar. Thank you for being the kinder, gentler travel bidding board.

Rates should end up pretty low at that time, but you may have to be patient. In all likelihood, you won't have to go over $100. It's still very early to be bidding for December, though.

Though I'll be in SF for 5 nights total, I decided to split my bid to keep the costs down. I'm glad I did. Prices for 4* have been so high, I wasn't even bidding for one. I was actually bidding for 3* for the above dates and was upgraded to the Hyatt. I couldn't have been more surprised - shocked, really - when I landed it for $93, since most 4* hotels in August have been going for above $100 - often above $125. Bidding history was: 3* USW, CC, LS - 80, 85, 88 3* USE, CC, LS - 80,85,88 3* USE & USW, 90 They asked me to up my bid $22, but I declined. 3* USE & USW, CC 92 Rejected, but just to mess with them, I tried 3* USE & USW, CC, LS $93 Accepted and upgraded to 4*. Whoo-hoo! When they asked if I wanted to extend my stay, PRICELINE came up with a rate of $271. Not surprisingly, I passed. Rack rate from the Hyatt website appears to be about $215, so not a bad deal. Will now cancel 3 of my 5 nights at Serrano ($109 per night) and try to bid for the other two. Used the BB PRICELINE link. Thanks, all.

When I said it might be the Extended Stay Deluxe, I should have said ESA Deluxe Oakland AIRPORT/Alameda. So I'm responsible, too. Thanks though. Appreciate all the help and will use the BetterBidding links from now on.

Well, it was the Extended Stay Deluxe Oakland Airport/Alameda. Darn. Not too excited, as they don't have a shuttle and I will have to cab it to airport, which is 1.5 miles away. With the cost of cab ($9), it's a wash between this and my cancel-able rez at the Quality Inn. This place seems harder to get to. Maybe I can get a $10 HOTWIRE rebate which will ease the pain .... If moderator (thereuare) wants to change my heading on this, feel free. Thanks anyway.

Thanks, Colfax. If there's a chance it's the Days Inn, I'm going to go for it. Even if they don't have a shuttle, they do have fitness. And the next closest rate I'm coming up with is $67.99 at the Quality Inn. I leave so early, it's probably worth it. Will let you know once it's booked ....

Orbitz is having a 20% off sale. If you keep bidding and you have no success, you might want to look at booking through them. You would also have more control over where and what you get. There's still time for PRICELINE, though, and you'll pay a penalty if you cancel with Orbitz. So keep your chin up and keep trying.

There is an Extended Stay Deluxe Oakland/Alameda that doesn't seem to have shuttle service. But I can't find that they have a fitness room anywhere. This is why I'm so stumped. Days Inn also has breakfast. There doesn't seem to be a Super 8 or that sort of thing. I would PRICELINE the stay, but they don't have an Oakland Airport zone, just all of Oakland. And my flight is so early, I want to stay right at the airport. Not sure what to do. Thanks for your suggestions, though.....

Hi All - I'm going to SF for business and need to fly out early from Oakland Airport on 8/28. There is a 2* hotel with the following amenities: Fitness, Laundry and Internet. The price is $49 a night. I'm going crazy trying to identify the place. There doesn't appear to be a shuttle, which is strange for an airport hotel. Can anyone help? Thanks.

Technically, this is the Hyatt Place Innsbrook - it used to be the Amerisuites. Has been upgraded and renovated with flat screen TVs in each room. The decor looks cool. Amenities listed were breakfast, pool, fitness, business center and internet. Since there will be four of us, I decided HOTWIRE might be better than PRICELINE to assure enough beds. Used a $10 coupon from Entertainment Book to bring rate down to $54 a night. Reviews on TripAdvisor are a bit sketchy, so I hope they get their act together by October. Rack rate appears to be about $99, so a pretty good rate for a suite-type room.