switters

Looks like the options have changed again. Now I am seeing: 1. 4* in Midtown Central. $324 with Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center and High-speed internet. 100% Recommended. 2. 4.5* Midtown East. $379 with Fitness, Business, Laundry, High-Speed Internet. 90% Recommended. 3. 4.5* Midtown East $374 with Fitness, Business, Laundry, High-Speed Internet. 90% Recommended. (This appears to be identical to #3 except for the $5 difference in price.) 4. 4* Midtown East for $236 with Pet Friendly, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High-Speed Internet Access, Tennis Nearby, Accessible for Blind, Accessible for Deaf, Accessible Path of Travel, In-Room Accessibility, Accessible Bathroom, Handicapped Parking, Roll-In Shower. 90% Recommended. My guesses: 1. Sheraton NY (because it's the only one listed as Customer Favorite with these amenities). 2. New York Palace? (But it doesn't say Customer Favorite on the sticky page next to NY Palace.) Maybe it's Waldorf Astoria with Laundry added? 3. Same as #3. One or the other? 4. Intercontinental The Barclay? General questions: — Is it generally best to go with the hotel with a higher Customer Recommended percentage and lower star rating, or the other way around? I'm guessing the former, but just curious. — How much does price reveal about what the hotel is? By far the best deal is the 4* Midtown East for $236. Does the lower price indicate anything other than a better deal?

I am also now seeing: - 4.5 star Midtown East $349; Amenities: pet friendly, smoke-free rooms, fitness, restaurant, business, laundry, high speed internet, tennis, spa. I don't see any 4.5* hotels in Midtown East that list "pet-friendly" as an amenity on the sticky list.

I'm seeing a 4.5* Midtown East hotel from 4/17-4/18 on Hotwire. It lists Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service) and High-Speed Internet Access as amenities. It also says "Recommended by 90% of users." Would that be the New York Palace? Then there is a 4* Midtown Central from the same dates also on Hotwire. It lists Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center and High-Speed Internet access. It is recommended by 100% of users. Would that be the Sheraton since it is a "customer favorite"?

Hi, I'm trying to get a hotel for this Thursday night in downtown Sacramento. I've done that before through this forum (using the PRICELINE links, of course) and I've always been able to get a room for less than $100. I've now tried twice for this trip, and have gone as high as $110 with no luck. It's strange because the previous trips were over the weekend, which I would think would be a busier time, and this one is a Thursday night. I guess it's hard to predict what the prices will be. Any tips? Or do I just need to keep raising the price.

Great news. I got the Sheraton Grand for $85/night on my 5th re-bid try. This happens to be the one I preferred of the three 4* hotels downtown, because it's where the seminar I'm attending is located. I did use the PRICELINE links on this site. Thanks as always for your help.

It's a two-night stay: Friday and Saturday (this week).

I've tried twice now for a 4* hotel in downtown Sacramento. There are only three - they Hyatt, Sheraton and Citizen. I have six re-bid zones. I see that three times in the past few months people on this board have gotten one of these hotels for less than $80. I've gone up to $85 in each bidding process, but haven't been successful. My trip is now only 5 days away (checking in on the 10th). Any ideas?

I decided to bid a little bit higher, since the purpose of my trip is very important and I wanted to make sure I got a room in advance. I ended up winning a bid for $110 at the Citizen Hotel. I did use the PRICELINE links from this website. Thanks again for your help.

Do you think it's even worth trying to bid now? You know much more about it than me. I think what I'll do is bid once a week for the next two months, and then step up my efforts as I get closer. So yes, I will start now.

Thanks! The date is August 9th, one night. I'd like to bid no more than $90, since it seems from the few results for 4* hotels in the downtown Sacramento area that this is a reasonable price. I'm very early on this one. In my last bid for San Diego, I tried for several weeks unsuccessfully and ended up getting it about 5 weeks before the travel date. I may be too early now to get my bid accepted.

Thanks for your reply. After using the tools you suggested and doing some more research, it seems that the Sheraton, Hyatt and Citizen are the main 4* hotels in the downtown area. It's also clear from looking at the map a bit more closely that any 4* property in the downtown area would be no more than a few minutes walk or taxi ride from the Convention Center. I'll definitely use the PRICELINE links for purchase.

I've got a trip to Sacramento coming up. I need to be near the Convention Center downtown. I'd like to stay at a 4-star hotel. Is there any way of determining how many 4-star hotels there are in the downtown area? I'd like to find them on the map to see if I'd be okay with the distance of all of them from the Convention Center. Thanks.

Wooohooo! The Hilton San Diego/Del Mar (which was exactly the hotel I was hoping for) just accepted my bid at $55/night from 5/14 - 5/17. Thanks again for your help!

Yeah, plenty of time. This is kind of an experiment more than anything else. I'm willing to go right up to a few days before my travel dates, because I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find a hotel somewhere within a 20 minute driving radius of Del Mar even at the last minute.

Another round of bidding, another round of rejections. Still probably too early.

Just another report. I went through all rebid zones on 3/20 ending up at $70, and my bids were not accepted. I'll try again in a week. I wonder what's happening. I see that many people have gotten 3.5* hotels in Del Mar at $55. I guess it may just be too soon.

Thanks Colfax. I'll keep trying - I've got plenty of time, I think. I'm really hoping to get the Hilton, since I'm doing a weekend seminar there. If I have to I'll go down to 3* and explore other locations, but the Hilton would be ideal. I know I could also get the Marriott at 3.5*, but it seems from this forum and others that the Hilton accepts bids more often.

Reporting back... I used the PRICELINE link from this forum to bid. I went through the strategy suggested by thereuare and I did not get an offer. Maybe I'm bidding too early. Or perhaps there's some event in the Del Mar area around that time? Is there an easy way to find that out?

Thanks. Any tips on how to actually do the re-bidding (related to my question above about using the "back" button or starting over each time)?

Colfax, I believe these are my rebid zones: El Cajon/Santee, Escondido, Kearny Mesa, La Mesa, Miramar, National City, Point Loma, San Ysidro, Sorrento Mesa. That adds up to 9, so I think we're on the same page. Re: re-bidding. What's the best way to go about doing that? The last time I tried I was hitting the back button after being declined to get back to the original bid screen. But that often didn't work. I would get a message that said something like "we're still processing your request". For some reason it wasn't recognizing my new bid with the new city combination. I have access to both Mac and PC, so please let me know what browser/OS combo you use and exactly how you go about re-bidding (i.e. do you use the "back" button once your bid is declined, or do you click on the "hotels" tab and start over?) Thans again for your help. Much appreciated.

Taxes seem to be in the neighborhood of $25, so that would be a max bid price of $85 per night. Seems like that should be easy since I've seen the 3.5* go for $55 regularly on this forum, but when I tried bidding about a week ago (including rebids) I got up to $69 without any luck.

Thanks Yellowdog. My budget is about $200 including taxes and fees. I'd prefer to spend less, of course, but I'm willing to go that high if necessary. I'd appreciate your help with a strategy!

I'd like to start bidding on a 3.5* hotel in Del Mar, CA. My dates are May 14th - 16th. There are two hotels that fit that description: one is the Hilton ($127 lowest rate), the other is the Marriott ($139 lowest rate).. From researching these forums and elsewhere it seems folks get the Hilton more frequently, but I'd be okay with either one and I understand that's how it works. I've seen that a few people on this forum have gotten rates between $55 - $60 for the Hilton. They were bidding much closer to their travel dates, though. I'm wondering if it's better to wait until closer to my travel dates before I start bidding? Am I more likely to get a better price that way? Seems like hotels wouldn't want to give a great deal so far in advance in case they get reservations at a higher price, but as the time approaches they'd be willing to go lower just to fill the rooms. Is that how it works? I could just use some tips on strategy. I have several re-bid zones available to me, including El Cajon/Santee, Escondido, Kearny Mesa, La Mesa, Miramar, National City, Point Loma, San Ysidro, Sorrento Mesa. I'll make sure to use the PRICELINE links from this site. Thanks!

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I know that there is only on 3.5* hotel in Del Mar, CA and that is the Hilton. On PRICELINE, I selected the Del Mar area and then the 3.5* criteria. I'm fairly certain that I'm bidding on the Hilton, but if for some reason I get another hotel close by that would be fine. In any event, the question remains: did I start bidding too early? What should my strategy be here? I see that two previous bids of $55 were accepted, but my $55 bid was declined. Thanks a lot for your help, and I assure you I'll be using the links here to place future bids.

I never ended up taking this trip to Spokane, so don't have anything to report about the car rental cost.