rmistry

Booked last minute. Got the Hyatt Regency Downtown, which I love. Gotta take the gf to a hotel sometimes, even though I live here. Price elsewhere is $125 a night. pretty happy with what they gave me since it's my favorite hotel here. Started bidding at $50 and went up by a few dollars each time. They kept saying to raise by $14, then $15 to try again, but I ignored that and kept on going with my bidding strategy. Ended up getting it for $5 less than what they were asking...didn't get much, but I got a little :)

Been Bidding since Dec. 20/2009 (or maybe before that). Have been looking at USE and Financial District. Have denied bids of up to $120 for USE. Went back down to $80 and went up by $5 increments and added SOMA. Reached $100 and got accepted finally for Hotel Palomar in SOMA. Seems a little high, but it's NYE and the night after that are very expensive. Other sites showed Avg. Nightly rates for $192, so for what I got it at, I'm pretty happy. PLUS...I have an Entertainment Card which I got $10 off per night!! So I really only bid $90. Which is more than a 50% savings. Everyone should get one if you're staying for 3 or more nights...as the Entertainment Book costs $25 at Barnes and Noble and you would be saving $10 a night (up to 10 nights max).

I haven't posted my trip yet...but I had the same trouble. I threw in SOMA and went back down to about 80 a night...then steadily went up to $100 and got Hotel Palomar in SOMA. Nightly rates there are $192 on other sites. I've been looking for new years dates for a while...let me know if you need help finding a deal.