Either a holiday weekend, or a convention(s) in town. October is a busy month for conventioneers.
Since others have had success with Hilton (not Hyatt, in this case!) I think it's a combination of bad luck on my part, plus maybe the fact that both my claim attempts have been w/Embassy Suites. I say that because Embassy seems to have lots of different room types/configurations. Maybe Hampton Inns don't have as many, explaining bbbb's successes? Just a hunch on my part.....
I don't think it was a question of reputability/legitimacy on the part of the 3rd party site, I think it was merely the difficulty of matching exact room types between them & Hilton. Hilton is very picky, denying a claim for a "king standard" vs "king basic".
Thought I'd report one more successful Hotwire Double-the-Difference claim, and yet another loss with Hilton!
Hotwire:
I needed two rooms in San Francisco. Two of the four Priceline hotels in the USE zone were sold out (Marriott & Grand Hyatt). Hotwire was showing the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero for $104. Since Marriott & Grand Hyatt were sold out, I was confident I would get the same hotel w/Priceline. So I bought the room from Hotwire for $104, then another from Priceline for $68. Applied for Hotwire's D-the-D on the higher priced room. Claim was processed w/Hotwire within 24 hours of submission. Hotwire rocks!
Hilton:
Walnut Creek, CA Embassy Suites. Hotel website displayed "king basic non smoking suite" for $139. AmericaHotelDeals.com quoted $129 for "king standard suite". Reserved the room at Embassy Suite website, then applied for their claim on the quote from 3rd party website. To no surprise, they rejected the claim saying the room being sold at AmericaHotelDeals.com was basically a "run of house" at check-in. Rooms at EmbassySuites.com are specific whereas at many 3rd party sites they are merely "blocks" of rooms and very non-specific as to room type. Because of the non specific room type at the 3rd party site, they deny the claim. But the bottom line to me (and the average consumer) is that a 3rd party site would sell me a king suite room for $129, whereas I would pay $139 at EmbassySuites.com. Cancelled the reservation w/Embassy Suites and booked a conventional weekend web rate across the street at the Renaissance Club Sport! So much for Hilton's low price guarantee! Hilton sucks!
Can you confirm you got this on Hotwire? You mention you got it for $85 on your "first bid". I've never seen this hotel come up this cheap on Hotwire, especially during peak summer season! Was it a Priceline booking?
I don't think we've seen wins as low as $60 during the peak summer season. I think it will take a little more than that.
If I were you, I'd bid in the $65-85 range if your stay is in August. If you're driving to SF, be prepared for parking charges of $30-40 per night at the major Priceline hotels. Hopefully, you won't have a car in tow, as it's much easier to get around downtown SF on foot or by public transportation.
Accepted at the Sheraton - within walking distance of the Embassy Suites.DeltaPurser :)
With Kincaid's restaurant conveniently positioned between the two!
This is an interesting "win" for a number of reasons. First, of course, because of the reason Thereuare stated. Second because it's obvious none of the usual 3* players in this zone (Hyatt, Sheraton, Westin & Doubletree) "hit" between $35 & $60. When the usual hotels don't seem to have Priceline inventory for a given date, it often results in the discovery of a higher priced property. Good to finally confirm this hotel still participates w/Priceline, if even at a substantially higher rate than all the other 3* we see so often in this zone.
It's also interesting that I just bought this property from Hotwire a few days ago for $58. Hotwire is generally always higher than Priceline, but not so in this particular case.
As to any possible upgrade, I agree with bbbb it would be great if it were returned to 4* status w/Priceline. But if I know how Priceline rates hotels, the property can renovate all they want, but until they add the amenities Priceline requires of a 4* hotel, I doubt we'll see it happen.
Congratulations!
And we can all assume conception occured during a Priceline stay, right? :)
I was surprised to see this property come up so low, and especially on a weeknight (Wed).
I've stayed here twice in the past, but at rack rates, before my Priceline & Hotwire days.
Amenity icons are still the same as was previously posted for this hotel.
Suite
Oceanfront
Airport Shuttle
Restaurant(s)
Pool(s)
Fitness Center
Complimentary Breakfast
Kitchenette
Golf Nearby
Laundry Facilities (self-service)
And now a word about parking......
Unlike the airport Sheraton, Hyatt, Doubletree & Marriott, this property does not charge a nightly parking fee.
The two times I've stayed here in the past (as well as this upcoming stay) were for pre-night flights from SFO. Both times I paid rack rates, however not park-and-fly package rates (which they offer). Each time I have left my car in their lot for the duration of my trip. My previous trip was for 18 nights. In each case I've let the front desk clerk know I would be leaving my car. It's never been a problem, even though I haven't purchased their park-and-fly package. Their park-and-fly packages are only about $20 over their room-only rates. This leads me to believe the park-and-fly packages are for marketing purposes only, and simply a chance to make some additional revenue. But in reality, since they don't charge for parking on a nightly basis, parking for an extended period of time doesn't seem to be an issue for them, despite the fact I haven't purchased a park-and-fly package. At least this has been my experience. I'll report back after this upcoming stay.
Incidentally, I had this same experience with the Embassy Suites NORTH SFO zone this past January. I purchased a room at rack rate, however left my car in their lot for 12 nights. When I checked in, the clerk said the limit was 10 nights, however when I returned 12 days later, I got into my car and that was that. Again, no need to purchase their park-and-fly package.
I've been shopping for hotel park-and-fly packages for this upcoming trip the past few weeks and was almost ready to book Sheraton's package for $149!
Purchased through the link to SavingsBarn.com
Is there a 3* property you won that you're not happy with?
No, I haven't bid anything yet.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Red Lion in Modesto, CA. I know it's a 3-star property, but I was looking at the hotel's website and noticed the restaurant is closed Sunday nights.
If I'm not mistaken, aren't most Courtyard by Marriott properties rated 2.5 stars? I always assumed the reason so was because their restaurants aren't full service (BLD 7 days a week).
I guess Priceline give themselves an out by inserting that magic word "most". :)
In viewing the website of a hotel that is rated 3* by Priceline, I've discovered the property's restaurant is not open for dinner service on Sunday nights. The restaurant is open for breakfast & lunch 7 days a week, however.
I'm curious if Priceline requires a property to serve 3 meals a day, 7 days a week in order to maintain a 3* rating.
Has anyone noticed Hotwire has changed the way they display hotels?
Properties are now displayed by price (lowest to highest). Previously, hotels were displayed by quality rating (highest to lowest).
The thing to be careful of, however, is if your search includes more than one zone. Previously, Hotwire would display all the hotels in one zone, followed by all properties in the next zone. Now that all hotels are displayed solely by price, they are no longer sorted by zone.
Example:
$50 Zone A
$55 Zone B
$60 Zone A
$65 Zone C
$70 Zone C
$75 Zone A
Looks like Hotwire's up to Priceline's trick of consolidating zones! Yes, the Convention Center zone is now combined with Union Square East. As long as Hotwire keeps the Embarcadero zone separate from USE, they will still be ahead of Priceline in the SF zone game.
I did a search of Priceline's vacation package (LAX-SFO 7/23-7/25). The Galleria is one of the hotels displayed and is still listed as Boutique category.
What would we ever do without the vacation packages to solve these mysteries! :)
Have you bid this area before? It's been theorized that some hotels in this area have been imposing multi-nite stay requirements... your post add more data for research!
I don't know if it has any bearing on Priceline bidding or not, but I've noticed on Expedia some of the Hyatt properties (Grand & Fisherman's Wharf in this case) will not accept single night bookings. I ran into this today on Expedia when looking for rooms for both 7/23 & 7/24.
Received an email notification from Yahoo Travel today alerting me to a fare sale w/USAir. SF-Ft Lauderdale Round Trip $104 (plus taxes). I have set up my preferences to alert me whenever the fare drops below $250 for these same city pairs. I'm not sure how far into the future the fare is valid, however I was able to price out flights for January 2005 at the $104 rate at USAir's website. Fare is generally available seven days a week, with some holiday blackouts. With taxes, total fare comes out to around $140-145, depending on number of connections, etc.
I think it's the Omni you're seeing for July 4. In the thread Thereuare referenced above, I claimed that the Park Hyatt is no longer designated as a "Customer Favorite". If you look at Hotwire for July 3, you'll see the same amenities, but no Customer Favorite designation. It's my belief Hotwire is selling the Park Hyatt for July 3 and the Omni for July 4. If true, this would eliminate the confusion between the two since they're no longer both Customer Favorite hotels.
4* bids up to $60 in downtown Boston were rejected. Checked several reviews for the downtown Boston 3* star properties and decided not to bid 3* in that zone. Decided to go into Cambridge instead.
Bids of $45 $50 & $55 rejected. Accepted at $59.
Marriott Cambridge
Two Cambridge Center
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
Check-In Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2004
Check-Out Date: Fri, Jul 9, 2004
Your Offer Price: $59.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 3
Subtotal: $177.00
Taxes & Service Fees:
$30.65
Total Charges: $207.65
3-star bids up to $60 were all rejected.
With no free rebids, I started a new bid for 2-star at $40. Received a counteroffer to add $12. Accepted the counter at $52. Could have waited 72 hours to rebid again to undercut counteroffer, but needed to get on with other more pressing matters!
Tage Inn
Manchester - Londonderry
2280 Brown Avenue
Manchester, New Hampshire 03103
Check-In Date: Fri, Jul 9, 2004
Check-Out Date: Sat, Jul 10, 2004
Your Offer Price: $52.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $52.00
Taxes & Service Fees:
$11.12
Total Charges: $63.12
If memory serves me correctly, Hotwire used to combine both Palo Alto & Mountain View (CA) into one zone. Now they are two separate zones.
James,
Will you be flying into SFO for your December stay? If so, have you priced Hotwire (or Priceline's) vacation packages? If you purchase air/hotel together, you actually choose the hotel you want.
I priced Hotwire packages from LAX (just for fun) to SFO for your December dates. Interestingly, the package price is $235 cheaper per person for the Park Hyatt vs the Omni! If you're flying to SF, it might be worth your while to check it out.....
Today's 4.5 customer comments for your December dates mention a nicely "renovated" hotel. Once again, that's the Omni, as they converted it from a former office building. Not so with the more modern Park Hyatt!
James,
If you found Customer Comments about balconies for the 4.5 star hotel, then that leaves me completely stumped!
I'm glad you have until December. It may take that long to solve this mystery. I'll keep investigating.....
James,
Are the customer comments you're reading about balconies connected with the 4.5 star or 4 star?
You should not see any balcony comments with the 4.5 star property!
The 4 star hotel is the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, which has balconies.
James,
Since Hotwire removed the "Customer Favorite" designation from the Park Hyatt, the mystery between these two hotels is now over. If the hotel displays as a "Customer Favorite" you'll know it's the Omni. If it doesn't, you'll know it's the Park Hyatt. Although the Park Hyatt has towncar service, the Omni's website lists "luxury car transportation within downtown." When I pull up your dates, two of the three customer comments refer to the great steaks in the hotel's restaurant. The Omni's restaurant is called "Bob's Steak & Chop House!" As much as I know you want the Park Hyatt for your December dates, the Omni is clearly the hotel that Hotwire is currently selling!
As to rate changes, I suspect the reason the Park Hyatt is displaying low rates for the July dates I checked is because this is over the long July 4th weekend. The Park Hyatt is primarily a business hotel. You often find the best deals on Hotwire for this hotel on weekends and holidays. Your December dates encompass both a Thursday & Sunday night, which is no doubt driving the price upward. As an experiment, check the prices for December 17 & 18 (Fri & Sat nights) and see if they're lower.
Don't stress about trying to figure out which hotel Hotwire is displaying. The mystery has been taken away by Hotwire no longer classifying the Park Hyatt as a Customer Favorite.
Good luck!
Hotel "Best rate guarantee" programs
in Off Topic: Run of House
Posted
Hotwire's Double the Difference terms and conditions say nothing about rooms booked via Priceline, but people often question it, assuming Hotwire has some sort of exclusion.
Before I purchased the lower priced room on Priceline, I emailed Hotwire to make sure a claim could be filed against a room booked on Priceline. They quickly replied that it was fine.
This is the way to go when you need to book two rooms, and your circumstance guarantees you're targeting the same hotel with both Hotwire & Priceline purchases.