Priceline Hotel: 2* Napa-Sonoma (Napa) Travelodge Napa Valley

[smartcookie]

I'm trying to bid on a hotel in Upper Valley as I'm going to a wedding on 8/14/10 in St Helena. I know this is a new area on PRICELINE, so I thought my bidding may be helpful to others.

The only hotels available for bidding are 2 or 2.5*. I don't really care which it is as we're not planning to spend much time in the room. We're just trying to get any room for as little as possible.

I bid $75 and $90 today and both were rejected. I'll keep trying over the next few weeks as we're willing to pay up to $150 including taxes before we're ready to start trying the lower Napa area.

I'm using the PRICELINE links from this site for all my bids.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the data points. Rates in this area are high for this date and a solo Saturday nite in the summer may be a tough call, but keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.

Good luck and thanks for using the PRICELINE links on the board for your bidding. :)

[Colfax]

HOTWIRE has is a 2.5* in Calistoga-St Helena for $162.

A Hotwire 2.5* could be a 2* or 2.5* on Priceline.

Good luck!

[smartcookie]

I tried bidding $100 and $125 today. Both were rejected.

I think we're going to try bidding on Central Napa area. Hopefully, we can get the Marriott that gets lots of wins here it seems. It's only a 20 minute drive from St Helena where the wedding is located.

[smartcookie]

I'm trying to win a hotel in Napa or Upper Napa Valley. Unfortunately, I'm only going for 1 night for a wedding and retail prices are pretty high ($299 for the Napa Marriott) that night on Sat 8/14/10.

I tried bidding $100, $110, and $125 today and all were rejected.

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

Does the wedding party have a group/block rate at a hotel in the area?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[smartcookie]

Sorry, I was bidding for the 3.5* instead of 2-2.5* in the central Napa area, so thought I had to start a new thread.

No, the wedding is small. Everyone's booking hotels separately. They all have 2-night minimums and the least expensive is $159+taxes.

I see a 2.5* Napa hotel on Hotwire for $142.

[Colfax]

The 2.5* hotel hasn't been ID'ed but the TA rating is 3/5, not so good.

A single Saturday night in Napa is a tough PRICELINE bid, especially in summer. You might win this closer to your stay, still 3+ months away, but you can't count on it.

All HOTWIRE has now in Napa is a 2.5* for $144 and a 2* for $129. If Hotwire doesn't have anything higher rated (like the Marriott) then PRICELINE may not have that now either, at any price.

If Napa Marriott is $299 I think $150 might be a realistic bid now. That's high but still 50% off.

Good luck!

[smartcookie]

Just tried it again today and then spent 45 minutes on the phone with PRICELINE due to the result.

I tried:

$130 for 3.5* in Napa was rejected, but received a counteroffer for $217.

$110-120 for 2.5* in Napa rejected

$100 for 2* in Napa rejected

And finally.....$125 for 2* in Napa and Upper Napa...ending up winning the Travelodge Napa Valley, which has very iffy reviews and a rate of $127+ tax=$142 on most retail sites compared to $148 total cost of the $125 bid. I really should have tried $110 first it seems.

I called and got their Price Guarantee, i.e. a refund of $20. So now, I'm paying $128 for it including taxes, which is at least somewhat reasonable (i.e. $110 bid or so).

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win... at least it's settled, and although you had to invoke their best rate guaratee, it looks like you're 'ok' with the results.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.