BEAV

I've been considering a 1-day car rental for either this coming Wednesday -or- Saturday from either OAK or SFO. While entering prices for all 4 scenarios (2 for OAK and 2 for SFO) the differences in taxes/fees seems quite strange. Having said that, I'm fully aware different airports/municipalities impose varying taxes on rental cars. In each scenario, I was bidding for a full-size car and always $15. OAK 24-hour rental, Wednesday pick-up: Bid price: $15.00 Taxes/fees: $8.79 OAK 24-hour rental, Saturday pick-up: Bid price: $15.00 Taxes/fees: $16.19 SFO 24-hour rental, Wednesday pick-up: Bid price: $15.00 Taxes/fees: $13.43 SFO 24-hour rental, Saturday pick-up: Bid price: $15.00 Taxes/fees: $10.07 So the question is how can the taxes/fees vary at the same airport when the bid/purchase price is the same? Also, taxes/fees appear higher in OAK for a weekend rental vs midweek, while in SFO it's just the opposite. Is it possible local taxes are only applicable certain days of the week?

First off, thank you for posting your winning bid, regardless if you were happy with it or not. Sharing your winning bid price is what BetterBidding is all about. Knowing you won an Economy Car for $25 per day for 13 days can be very valuable information to the community readership here. So again, thank you for sharing! :) Second, I just replied to your post in the other forum. It may shed some light on your situation. But I'll elaborate a little more after reading your post here. I believe your comment of "price wasn't satisfactory" is major part of the confusion here. Priceline's "name your own price" system does not allow for picking up at one location and dropping at another. Because you had entered LAX as the pick-up location and PDX as drop-off, you were taken into Priceline's retail section, which is completely different from "name your own price". Priceline's retail section is just like using any other on-line travel site, such as Expedia, Travelocity"]Travelocity, etc. Did Priceline display a number of different rental car companies for you to choose from, along with various rates for each car category? I can only assume this was the case because of your comment "price wasn't satisfactory". The prices they were displaying included no doubt hefty drop charges, thus your decision not to purchase. Under the "name your own price system" you are not presented with a variety of rates to choose from. I just did a test on Priceline's website and the only way I was able to access their "name your own price" section was to enter the same city as both pick-up and drop-off. I can only assume somewhere throughout the process you did the same (without realizing it, of course) and that's how you wound up in the "name your own price" section. As I said on the other thread, Priceline's website is confusing with regard to their retail vs name your own price sections. It's very easy to see how this happened to you. Since your rental period is still a month away, I'd contact Priceline once again, but this time try via email. Maybe you'll have better luck vs talking with their reps over the phone, which can often be 'challenging', to say the least. Personally, I've had more positive results in conflict resolution via email vs over the phone. Good luck and keep us posted.

I just made the same inquiry entering the same pick-up/drop-off locations as you (LAX & SNA). Since Priceline's "name your own price" system has never allowed one-way rentals, my request for a different drop off location took me to their retail section. When I started over, and entered LAX as both the pick-up and drop-off location, Priceline then gave me the option of retail (choose which rental company I wanted, set price, etc) -or- "name your own price". To me, this makes perfect sense. All of my Priceline auto rentals have been under the "name your own price" system. Once when I picked up the car in SNA, Avis honored my request to drop in LGB without any charges or penalties. On another trip, Alamo refused my request to drop in TPA (pick up city was MCO). Or I should say they would allow drop-off in TPA for a rate of $175! Since my return flight was from TPA, I simply turned in the rental car at MCO, walked to the adjacent counter at Dollar and rented with them for $22 (taxes/fees included) with no drop fee in TPA. IMO, requesting a different drop-off location on a "name your own price" reservation is solely at the discretion of the rental car company. Priceline has no say-so in the matter. I think my experiences proved that point. Agreed, Priceline's website is a bit confusing in this area. But since they don't allow one-way rentals on their "name your own price" product, it's no wonder they take you into the retail area of their website when you enter different cities for pick-up and drop-off in your original request. Priceline's "name your own price" system is getting harder and harder to locate as they obviously try to steer you into their retail section instead.

Congratulations for solving the mystery to what many of us assumed was the Le Meridien. I said it once, and I'll say it again, Le Meridien's Hotwire prices are considerably less than Park Hyatt's were before the conversion. Not sure how long it will last, so now is a real 'buyer's market' for the Le Meridien.

Don't look at the probability of being banned as a negative thing, but rather a blessing that you'll no longer be participating with a company who treats it's customers so horribly.

If this is truly the Le Meridien, which I'd bet my bottom dollar it is, I think $142 is a very good price for a hotel of this calibur. At first I figured you were probably staying on a Friday & Saturday night, which would explain the reasonable price since this hotel is in the financial district. But I see it is for a Monday & Tuesday night, which makes this an even better deal, IMO. The past few months when this hotel was still a Park Hyatt, midweek prices on Hotwire were typically in the high $200's.

While I'm not sure what to suggest as a bid amount, I'm not too surprised a bid of $95 was rejected, given the fact it's a holiday weekend and you're looking to stay in a popular tourist area. Another possible problem with a one-night only Sunday check-in is the fact many properties may have a 2 or 3 night minimum since it's a holiday weekend. I checked Hotwire, and they have nothing at all to offer in their Napa zone for May 28, which would be indicitave of high hotel occupancy. Lastly, Silverado's website indicates only one and two-bedroom suites available for May 28, with standard rooms sold out. With that in mind, it's pretty unlikely Silverado is giving inventory to Priceline to sell. Good luck with this, however if you're looking for bargains, this may not be the weekend to find them in the wine country!

The "room class to room class" issue is something I've always wondered about when I've filed for DTD. Perhaps I've just been lucky, but the issue has never come up in my experiences (which are many) and I've never been denied a DTD claim. Personally, I think Hotwire is pretty liberal on this issue with regards to DTD, because there is no way for the customer to know what type room their buying, let alone which hotel.

Zbenye, The thread below helps explain the minimum accepted bid amount per star level by Priceline. Minimum bids per star level Also, the post below is another example similar to this award at the Hyatt Regency. Had the poster not dropped down to 3* on their first rebid, he/she would not have been awarded the 4* Atlantis for $27. Atlantis Reno One more post where Thereuare and lowballer offer interesting comments about 4 star hotels setting rates less than Priceline's $40 minimum. 4* hotels setting Priceline rates lower than $40

Priceline has established guidelines for minimum bid amounts they will accept for each star level. Off hand, I don't know what they are for 1, 2 & 2.5 star, but it's $25 for 3 star, $40 for 4 star and $55 for resort. This is buried somewhere on Priceline's website. When I have a little more time, I'll look around for it and post for you. That is not to say a specific hotel isn't free to establish their Priceline rates lower than the above amounts, as in this case with the Hyatt Regency. In your example above, Priceline would have allowed you to follow through with the bid process, however returned with a rejected response. The only way to be assigned a hotel for less than Priceline's minimum amount is to bid a lower quality level and get upgraded. Since the OP didn't mention this, I'm hoping he/she will return and confirm they were bidding the 3 star category.

Since Priceline won't accept anything lower than $40 when bidding 4-stars, can you confirm you were bidding the 3-star category, and then upgraded to 4 stars?

I suppose anything is possible, however I'd be surprised a luxury product as Le Meridien would be sold on Hotwire. I researched a number of different date options, and in many cases the 4.5 was coming up cheaper than the 4 star Hyatt Regency Embarcadero or Omni. That never happened when the 4.5 was the Park Hyatt. I guess the mystery won't be solved until someone buys the 4.5 property and reports it's identity.

The San Francisco Park Hyatt has been rebranded Le Meridien (Starwood property). SF Park Hyatt now Le Meridien (Starwood) As mentioned in the post above, Hotwire is still selling a 4.5 property in the Embarcadero zone (I did a search for July 2-4). Since the Park Hyatt was the only known 4.5 in the zone, I was hopefull Hotwire had upgraded the Omni from 4 to 4.5 stars. But a search of Hotwire's vacation package for the same dates still rates both Omni and Hyatt Regency Embarcadero as 4 stars. So it remains a mystery what Hotwire is selling as 4.5 stars in this zone since there are no other real contenders that could possibly qualify as 4.5 stars (aside from Omni being upgraded).

Today's San Francisco Chronicle is reporting the Pan Pacific San Francisco has been sold and will imediately be rebranded a JW Marriott property. Pan Pacific now JW Marriott I did a search on Travelocity"]Travelocity for a date next week, and sure enough, the hotel is already coming up as JW Marriott. EDIT BY THEREURE: and here it is on the Marriott website: JW Marriott San Francisco

As a newbie, it's normal to feel uneasy about including in your bid a zone you have no desire to stay in. If you're looking for a 3 star hotel in Fisherman's Wharf, you can add any zone to your bid that doesn't have 3 star hotels and you'll be fine. Trust me, it's a tried and true method that's repeated 1000's of times every day! Just do a little exercise at Priceline and check off each zone separately to see the highest level of hotel in that particular zone. Any zone that goes only as high as 2.5 stars is *safe* to include in your bid for a 3 star hotel in Fisherman's Wharf.

I'm a Bay Area local, and personally, would avoid Civic Center area. This is the area of SF known as the "Tenderloin".

Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you had bid $80 for 4 star, then $83 for 3 star. My Mistake. "Opague" is another way to reference Priceline hotels, meaning the identity of the property isn't revealed until after the purchase is made. Conventional, or traditional pricing is where you select a specific property at their current posted rates. In the case referenced, Hilton didn't accept my bid of $150 via Priceline one day when their traditional rate was $350. But when they lowered to $299, they accepted my Priceline bid of $110 the following day. Hence thereuare's reference to lower traditional pricing translating into lower accepted Priceline rates. Hope that helps.

Two things ... 1. To address your question of whether bidding $75 after being rejected at $80 the previous day makes sense or not, click the link to the thread below: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=23421& 2. Today you bid $80 for 4 star and $83 for 3 star. While you're not breaking any laws, it's best not to lower your quality level while raising your bid price simultaneously. It can cause you to overbid for the lower quality property. Just something to remember for your future bidding. Good luck, I hope you'll be successfull before too long. Don't get discouraged! I was nervous, too, about the whole free rebid thing when I was a newbie. But it looks like you understand the concept, so go with it and enjoy the experience!

The add-a-night feature, although great, apparently isn't an across-the-board thing. A friend of mine just tried to add a night to an existing 3 night stay in London. The option to add the extra night didn't appear on his original confirmation page, so he called Priceline to inquire. He was told if the option to add extra nights isn't displayed on the confirmation page, then you can't do it. By his experience, I can only assume not all hotels participate in the add-a-night feature. Or perhaps it's only available in the U.S. ???

What a difference a day makes .... I had bid this zone unsuccessfully for $150 just 36 hours ago. Then today, noticed this hotel had lowered it's conventional rate to $299 (was $350 a couple of days ago). First bid of $110 accepted. Hilton Times Square Midtown West 234 West 42nd Street New York, New York 10036 Check-In Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Check-Out Date: Friday, April 28, 2006 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $220.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $44.44 Total Charges: $264.44 Bid via the link to Savings Barn. :)

Bump for Thereuare. New hotel for your list. :)

Note to Thereuare: Amenities listed above differ from those on the Hotwire hotel list.

Congratulations on your winning bid. This is a new Hilton property, having been formerly a Holiday Inn. The hotel closed at some time back last year for renovations and "transformation" into a Hilton property. As to high parking rates, $42 is pretty much the hotel standard in SF, unfortunately. Is your trip such that you'll need daily access to your auto while in town? If it isn't, I'd seriously consider not bringing an auto into the city, only to have it sit in a garage for 5 days racking up a $200+ in parking fees. Enjoy your time in SF!

New hotel for your list. Pruneyard Plaza 1995 S Bascom Campbell, CA Amenities: Boutique Complimentary Breakfast Pool Fitness Hi-Speed Internet Business PruneYard Plaza Purchased via the link from Savings Barn. :)

Although $125 is still good in a city such as San Francisco during a high occupancy period, I usually explore other options when I'm rejected at the $100 mark (or above) w/Priceline. For instance, Hotwire is selling what is probably the 4-star Hotel Monaco or Prescott for $103 during your dates. I'm a local and would personally rate both Monaco & Prescott as comparable to Pan Pacific. Also, I'm finding Travelzoo to be a terrific resource whenever Priceline or Hotwire don't cut it. In your case Pan Pacific is one of Travelzoo's feature hotels this week.