BEAV

My best guess would be Hyatt or Le Meridien.

Omni has been recently upgraded to 4.5 stars, so we can rule that out.

Hilton Financial District usually includes the Spa amenity.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Moderators: Please move this thread to the SF Hotwire forum.

Priceline has split Napa, CA into two separate zones:

Napa Downtown North

4* Marriott

4* Silverado Resort and Spa

3.5* River Terrace Inn

3.5* Embassy Suites (NOTE: This is upgraded from 3* per Priceline retail product)

3* Best Western Premier Ivy

Napa Downtown South

4* Meritage Resort and Spa

4* Vino Bello Resort

2.5* Hawthorne Inn and Suites

2* Wine Valley Lodge

Note: I cannot locate the 2* Travelodge on the Napa hotel list anywhere on the Internet, including the main Travelodge website. There is a Travelodge Napa Valley, however it is in the Fairfield area, not Napa proper.

Bid History:

$100 - received counteroffer of $133

$110

$115 - received counteroffer of $133

$117 - price accepted.

Hyatt Regency

655 Burrard St

Vancouver, BC

Check-In: Sat, Sep 8, 2012

Check-Out: Mon, Sep 10, 2012

Rooms: 2 rooms / 2 nights

Offer Price:

per room, per night US$117.00

Rooms: 2

Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: US$468.00

Taxes & Fees: US$85.52

Total Charged to Card: US$553.52

Bid through the Better Bidding link to PRICELINE.

Wait, so does this negate the earlier mentioned technique to determine if your routing will be non-stop or connecting?

If bidding for domestic itineraries, you can still determine non-stop vs connecting. The "trick" in your initial bid is to low-ball enough that your bid won't be accepted and you receive a counteroffer in return. As you formulate your initial bid, Priceline will require you to agree to be charged the maximum amount of Gov't taxes/airline and agent fees (Priceline being the "agent" in this case)before submitting your bid. At this stage, Priceline's computer hasn't yet searched for an airline (and routing) that will accept your bid, thus their quoting the maximum amount of taxes/fees initially. When the counteroffer arrives, the actual taxes/fees, based on the routing to be assigned, will be broken down and separate the fare from the taxes/fees. At this point, the actual routing has been determined by Priceline's computer unlike when you were formulating your initial bid before submission.

I put this to the test by bidding a one-way flight from SFO to MIA for tomorrow, August 1. During the bid formulation stage, Priceline required me to agree to taxes/fees of $39.85. As expected, my $10 bid (plus $39.85) was rejected. However I received 3 counteroffers as follows:

1. $266.30 if I was willing to fly SFO-FLL (instead of to MIA). The breakdown was $248.05 for the fare and $18.25 in taxes/fees.

2. $307.68 if I was willing to fly SJC-MIA. Breakdown of $278.63 fare and $29.05 taxes/fees

3. $338.71 for SFO-MIA (my initial choice of airports). Breakdown of $278.63 fare and $29.05 taxes/fees.

Notice the taxes/fees in all 3 counteroffers were lower than the $39.85 Priceline initially required me to authorize. (this is the reason you low-ball your initial bid so as to review the counteroffers in order to see the actual taxes/fees) and determine non-stop vs. connecting)

The first counteroffer from SFO-FLL w/$18.25 in taxes/fees indicates a non-stop routing. This breaks down as follows:

$2.50 Sept 11 security fee

$4.50 SFO Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)

$3.80 US Flight Segment tax

$7.45 Priceline transation fee ("Agent" fees).

$18.25 total

The second and third counteroffers w/$29.05 in taxes/fees indicates a connecting itinerary with the following breakdown:

$5.00 Sept 11 security fee ($2.50 per flight segment)

$9.00 PFC ($4.50 SFO and $4.50 at the connecting airport)

$7.60 US Flight Segment tax

$7.45 Priceline transaction fee

$29.05 total

So if we agree the SFO-FLL itinerary will be a one-segment non-stop flight, the irony in this specific scenario is that you'll also know the exact flight you'll be assigned. There are a total of 3 nonstop flights tomorrow between SFO and FLL. A redeye on each Virgin America and JetBlue and one daylight flight on Virgin. In my initial bid, Priceline said I could depart anytime between 6:00am and 10:00pm, however said I would arrive at my destination no later than 12:30am, thus eliminating the chance of being assigned a red-eye. That only leaves one possible flight, the 7:50am nonstop flight on Virgin America. Of course if you're bidding a route that has multiple non-stop flights you won't be able to break it down that close! But this worked for me a few years ago when bidding SFO-MCO (Orlando) when at that time there was only 1 nonstop flight between the two airports. Worked like a charm...

A few things to keep in mind.....

1. Unlike rebidding for hotels, where the number of free rebids are limited by surronding zones and star levels offered, you can enter unlimited airfare bids by entering a different origin city each time. By origin city I don't mean your departure airport. For the SFO-MIA bid, enter any surrouding city/town nearby SFO, such as San Mateo, for example as your origin city. On the next page, Priceline will ask to you select a departure airport (SFO, OAK, SJC). Assuming your initial bid is rejected, go back to the Priceline home page and this time enter Burlingame (another SFO-area town) as your origin city. Priceline will not consider your two bids as duplicates since you entered two different cities as your origin, despite the fact you selected the same airport (SFO) to depart from.

2. Again, unlike hotel counteroffers that appear sporadically, almost any rejected airline bid will produce a counteroffer. Let's just say I've never not received a counteroffer on any air fare bid. In the event no airline has any NYOP inventory available on your routing and travel date, Priceline will respond with retail purchase options.

3. This time like hotel counteroffers, Priceline will generally accept less than the counteroffer amount in air fare bids.

Just stumbled onto it a few days ago. It was a long time coming......

Is the Hotel Triton a 3* or a 3.5*?

On Hotwire or Priceline? Each site could possibly rate them differently.

Priceline now accepts bids for one-way NYOP airline travel.

I don't think the part of taxes/fees is still valid as it appears that Priceline's NYOP feature now includes taxes and fees. If I bid $500 for ZHR to MSP, the total price is $500, including airline taxes & fees.

Taxes/fees are included on international NYOP bids, however they are still added to your bid price on domestic tickets. Also, Priceline quotes the maximum taxes/fees for your itinerary when you submit a bid. If your bid is accepted, often times the taxes and fees will wind up being less than they originally quoted in your bid submission if the itinerary is nonstop, travels through airports with less or no PFC fees, etc.

Amenities:

Fitness Center

Restaurant

Business Center

Hi-Speed Internet

Tennis Nearby

Booked this for a friend who travels to NYC during this same time period annually. Have never got as good a price as this so far in advance. November is always difficult in the Big Apple. Glad to have this done and overwith NOW.

Purchased through BetterBidding link to HOTWIRE.

Thanks for posting. I've been wondering when we'd see someone post their experience with the new Priceline Express product. And congrats on guessing this was your favorite hotel! I'm looking forward to trying out this new service myself.

Priceline Los Angeles (Burbank-Glendale zone) change:

Burbank Aiport Marriott upgraded to 3.5 stars per Priceline retail and vacation package products.

Priceline Oakland/East Bay (Concord-Lafayette zone) change:

The 2.5* Red Lion Concord (previously 3* Holiday Inn) is now Clarion Concord and retains 2.5* rating in both Priceline retail and vacation package products.

Priceline San Francisco:

The Hilton Financial District (Embarcadero zone) has been upgraded back to 4 stars per Priceline retail and vacatin package products.

3.5 Marriott Napa Valley (Napa zone) is upgraded to 4 stars in Priceline retail and vacation package products.

Thanks for the reminder... done! :)

It actually wasn't supposed to be a reminder - I just hit the wrong button trying to get used to the new site!!!

The post was supposed to report an upgrade of the Pleasanton Marriott (3 to 3.5 stars per Priceline Vacation Package). This is for Oakland/East Bay Pleasanton zone. Thanks!

Sir Francis Drake hotel (San Francisco - USE zone) is upgraded 3.5 to 4 stars in Priceline vacation and retail products.

Sir Francis Drake hotel (San Francisco - USE zone) is upgraded 3.5 to 4 stars in Priceline vacation and retail products.

Congrats on the upgrade and keep up the terrific work. Look forward to getting used to the new digs....

Suggest this thread be moved to the Priceline California forum for the benefit of others looking for Oakland/East Bay wins using the Priceline/Hotwire Calendar of Wins feature. Thanks!

Embassy Suites Walnut Creek (Oakland/East Bay - Lafayette/Concord/Walnut Creek) has been upgraded to 3.5 stars in both Priceline retail and vacation package products.

Initial bid of $80 produced counteroffer to add $29 ($109). Using the theory Priceline will generally accept roughly half of their counteroffer I felt I would be successful somewhere around $95. I used several rebids between $80 and $95 and was ultimately successful at $97.

The Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Int'l Airport (YVR)

3099 Corvette Way, Richmond, BC V6X 4K3

Check-In: Sat, Sep 17, 2011

Check-Out: Mon, Sep 19, 2011

Offer Price:

per room, per night US$97.00

Rooms: 1

Nights: 2

Room Subtotal: US$194.00

Taxes & Fees: US$39.22

Total US$233.22

Bid placed through the BetterBidding link to PRICELINE.

Yes, the property has a smoke free room icon. Since smoking is banned in California hotels, I guess I assumed all hotels had the same icon. Sorry for the confusion. Sheraton then?

Are you sure of that?

A lot of IHG brand hotels (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Candlewood Suites, etc) still display both smoking and non-smoking rooms in their reservation displays at California properties. Also Embassy Suites (Hilton brand).

Note to moderators:

This thread belongs in Priceline California (other cities) forum.

Thanks...

Does your trip require airfare? If it does, you might look at Priceline Vacations which combines air & hotel, and, best of all, you select your own hotel vs. the opaque hotel-only "name your own price" bidding method. In some instances, the hotel portion of the package is priced the same, or slightly above, the low "name your own price" rates under the bidding system.

What is your vacation destination?

3* Mar Monte hotel in Santa Barbara is now Hyatt Santa Barbara. Priceline retail and Priceline vacations is currently retaining the 3* rating with the conversion to Hyatt.