zbenye

According to thereuare (and I believe he is correct), PL averages the nightly rates over the length of stay. So theoretically you might have gotten all three nights together for a bid of $42. If that actually worked out, you would have saved $4.43 due to the varying fee: 1 nt * $44 = $44 + $12.37 = $56.37 2 nt * $40 = $80 + $17.02 = $97.02 Total for 3 nights: $153.39 Whereas: 3 nt * $42 = $126 + $22.96 = $148.96 It is always cheaper to book nights together than separately, so it is worth trying to bid a bit higher before splitting bids.

Opal Hotel 1050 Van Ness San Francisco, California 94109 Check-in: Sun, May 6, 2007 at 3:00 PM Check-out: Wed, May 9, 2007 at 12:00 PM 1 room(s) @ $58.00 per night x 3 nights $174.00 Taxes and Fees: $27.23 Hotel Subtotal: $201.23 Amenities as already shown on the hotel list. Priceline had nothing for 2* up to $53 in CC, CH; up to $45 in SFO, SSF. $99 on Expedia. $142 on the hotel's website.

A standard Courtyard, you've seen one - you've seen them all. This one is located steps away from the Great Mall in Milpitas and within walking distance of a light-rail station. Check in was quick and friendly, as was checkout. The room had two double beds, an armchair; a large dresser; a small closet; iron and board; coffee maker. Everything was clean and in reasonable condition. Night-time was quiet unless you wanted to turn on the A/C, which was an old noisy wall-mounted device. I dislike Courtyard's down blankets as these are often too warm. Free parking, 800 calls, wired Internet, newspaper. The hotel has a restaurant for breakfast (not free) but it didn't seem to open for lunch or dinner. Maybe they operate it only on weekdays. No additional taxes/fees charged.

Check-In Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Check-Out Date: Friday, May 4, 2007 Hotel Name: Hotel Whitcomb 1231 Market Street San Francisco, California 94103 Your Offer Price: $50.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $150.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $30.42 Total Charges: $180.42 $49 for 2* rejected in USE, CC, CH

Opal Hotel 1050 Van Ness San Francisco, California 94109 Check-in: Sun, Apr 29, 2007 at 3:00 PM Check-out: Tue, May 1, 2007 at 12:00 PM 1 room(s) @ $48.00 per night x 2 nights $96.00 Taxes and Fees: $18.16 Hotel Subtotal: $114.16 This rate was available only for the two nights. Trying for 4/29 - 5/4, the rate jumped up to $57. Priceline had nothing at this price in CH, CC. $64 on Expedia.

Check-In Date: Friday, April 27, 2007 Check-Out Date: Sunday, April 29, 2007 Hotel Name: Courtyard By Marriott Milpitas 1480 Falcon Drive Milpitas, California 95035 Your Offer Price: $35.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $70.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $15.72 Total Charges: $85.72 2.5* $40 bid rejected in Sunnyvale 3* $40 bid rejected in Milpitas I never got a 2.5* hotel in Milpitas, it has always been either a 2* or a 3*, but I placed a $35 bid out of boredom and ... surprise! I like Courtyards enough, I like the location of this one, I like the weather forecast for this weekend. $99 on Expedia $94 on marriott.com after AAA discount

Check-In Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Check-Out Date: Friday, April 27, 2007 Hotel Name: Homewood Suites By Hilton

Homewood Suites by Hilton-SFO/North 2000 Shoreline Court Brisbane, California 94005 Check-in: Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 3:00 PM Check-out: Tue, Apr 24, 2007 at 12:00 PM 1 room(s) @ $49.00 per night x 4 nights $196.00 Taxes and Fees: $26.41 Hotel Subtotal: $222.41 Amenities: Suite, Shuttle, Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool, Business Center, Laundry, Internet Priceline had nothing for 2* up to $55 in CC, CH or up to $45 in SSF.

Hotel Whitcomb 1231 Market Street San Francisco, California 94103 Check-in: Sun, Apr 15, 2007 at 3:00 PM Check-out: Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 12:00 PM 1 room(s) @ $58.00 per night x 5 nights $290.00 Taxes and Fees: $42.61 Hotel Subtotal: $332.61 Amenities: Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center. Priceline had nothing for this price in CC, CH. PL also had nothing in SFO for $45, not even 2*. PL is losing business to HOTWIRE it seems. Wonder why hotels appear to be giving better rates to HW lately?

Well, we all met at breakfast: WzDancer, GIRLEGIRL7101, and a gentleman who did not know about BB and who thought he had a good deal at $60 on Hotwire :) - he now knows better and will soon join us on this board I'm sure. Nice hotel, good location, fine party.

Pick-Up/Drop-Off: San Francisco Intl Rental Car Company: Hertz Car Class: Economy (unlimited mileage) Pick-Up Date: Friday, April 13, 2007 Pick-Up Time: 7:00 PM Drop-Off Date: Sunday, April 15, 2007 Drop-Off Time: 7:00 PM Your Offer Price: $7.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 2 days Subtotal: $14.00 Taxes and Fees: $24.62 Total Charges: $38.62 Accepted on first attempt. Infuriatingly high taxes/fees. $45.41 on Hotwire $70.35 on hertz.com

Unconfirmed, matched to Packages: San Jose, CA (Sunnyvale) 3* Country Inn and Suites Sunnyvale Hotel features: Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby

Check-In Date: Friday, April 13, 2007 Check-Out Date: Sunday, April 15, 2007 Hotel Name: Country Inn And Suites Sunnyvale 1300 Chesapeake Terrace Sunnyvale, California 94089 Your Offer Price: $43.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $86.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $17.76 Total Charges: $103.76 A $42 bid was rejected. $60 on Hotwire. $89 on the hotel's website. I might see WzDancer in the breakfast room!

I need to be in Cupertino this Saturday evening. When I saw your post I decided to start my summer routine early and spend the entire weekend in the south bay. Placed an identical bid to yours, and it was rejected with an $11 counteroffer. An attempt at $40 failed as well. :)

I too have used the Extend Your Stay option several times, and I'd say that I got the additional nights on about 50% of the attempts.

You are right, of course, these are still all excellent deals. My perspective is obviously different than everybody else's because I compare hotel rates to rent, whereas a normal person compares a PL/HW rate to a published hotel rate. I could probably rent an apartment for what I'm paying PL/HW these days, and the only reason I'm holding off is that I'll be abroad for three weeks in July and don't want to pay rent for that period. And then I'll want to spend August weekends in San Jose, so there's another excuse...

1. Direct from Fox's website (but first found the rate on sidestep). 2. The rate was for Economy. Of course they were out of such and I got a PT Cruiser.

Check-In Date: Sunday, April 1, 2007 Check-Out Date: Monday, April 2, 2007 Hotel Name: Residence Inn Manhattan Beach 1700 North Sepulveda Boulevard Manhattan Beach, California 90266 Your Offer Price: $46.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $46.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $13.83 Total Charges: $59.83

Last time I rented from Fox (last month) I paid $49 after taxes for 3 days. On Priceline I sometimes get a car at LAX for $10, and the total with taxes/fees for 3 days is just over $40. So I consider Fox a pretty good deal for a cancelable res. Of course they don't always have such low rates. Grab'em when they do. You always have to check all places before every bid/purchase.

I spent all of January at the Opal through PL, albeit with three consecutive bids. Regretfully it is not so much that Hotwire has become more competitive, but rather that deals on Priceline are becoming more scarce.

The game is not as easy or as fun as it used to be. This Residence Inn has been playing hard to get lately. For my recent stays here, I bid weeks in advance and failed, but eventually succeeded just a couple of days prior to a stay. This weekend even that didn't work. I tried for Friday-Monday (3/30/07-4/2/07) and got nothing even on 3/30 itself. I event tried any one of those nights separately. After spending Friday and Saturday nights elsewhere with points, I tried PL again this morning just for fun. Don'tcha know - got the Residence Inn for tonight (Sunday) for the regular price of $46. Just checked in an hour ago and the desk guy confirmed that they were full the last two nights and pretty full tonight. So, just to let you know that you might not be able to rely on PL to consistently provide you with accommodations. As for rental cars, I usually find deals from Fox and Thrifty that beat PL and are cancelable.

Opal Hotel 1050 Van Ness San Francisco, California 94109 1 room(s) @ $55.00 per night x 11 nights $605.00 Taxes and Fees: $84.51 Total Cost: $689.51 Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Laundry Priceline had nothing up to $55 for 2* in CC, CH.

The Amex Starwood card is proving to be by far the best card I've ever had, and I've been using it as my primary since getting it a couple of months ago. The 10,000 bonus points I received for getting the card saved me this weekend. I don't know what's happening in Los Angeles, but Priceline couldn't get me a hotel for up to $60 anywhere -- not even 2*. So I cashed in the 10,000 points for three nights at the LAX Four Points, which to me is worth about $180. I charge at least $2000 a month, which means a free weekend night at a Four Points every 45 days, 8 nights a year. That's just fantastic. In comparison, I've had 18000 points with Hilton for a few years now, and have not yet had an opportunity to use: even one night requires more than that! The Marriott Visa is second best, since I can get a free night at TownPlace Suites for 5500 points in Milpitas CA.

Hyatt shares shuttle with Marriott, not with Sheraton. But Sheraton does indeed have a shuttle. It doesn't run as frequently as Hyatt/Marriott's, so you might want to call from the courtesy phone at the pickup area to let them know you're there and find out when the shuttle would be coming by.

Thank you for posting this. I got this hotel several times last year, but in the last couple of months my bids there up to $50 were rejected. Good to see that the hotel is still participating with Priceline. Actually a lower rate than what I ever got there ($40).