Hotwire Hotel: Looking for 3* in San Diego

[jiljm]

On HOTWIRE for 7/29-8/1 for 2 adults I found a 3 star Mission Bay Shelter Island for $119 with the following features

Complimentary breakfast

Fitness Center

Pool

Laundry

High speed internet

golf nearby

tennis nearby

any idea which hotel this is?

Has 70% hot wire approval

Has 3* on Trip Advisor

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The property above matches previous reports for the Holiday Inn Express (De Soto Blvd) so that would be my best guess for this one.

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[jiljm]

I would like to bid on a 3* to get a hotel on or near Shelter Island for 7/29-8/1. what is the best strategy to bid? I am willing to pay up $100. I did notice that the Courtyard at Old Town is part of the same bid zone. Being that it is the cheapest of the hotels in that bid zone, would I end up getting that one if I bid?

When is the best time to bid? closer to the date? which day of week?

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread... if you ultimately end up booking thru PRICELINE we'll then move the entire thread to that section of the board.

There is no way to target a hotel in a specific area of the zone, are you comfortable accepting any hotel in the zone at the star rating (or higher) that you select?

As far as when to bid, there is no set rule, but see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Let us know once you decide you're ready to start bidding and we'll take it from there.

[jiljm]

after checking hotwire for the dates 7/29-8/1, I come up with few options for 3* and 4* hotels in the Downtown/harbor, old town and Sea World/mission bay areas. I would like area near water for walking. We will have a car, so parking fee is a consideration.

$142 4* Downtown (this is too high, especially when you add on parking fee and internet fee)

Smoke Free, Airport Shuttle, Fitness Center, Pools, Restaurant, Business Center, high speed internet and Tennis Nearby

$107 3* Mission Valley (I think this is Sheraton Mission Valley)

Smoke free, airport shuttle, fitness center, pool, restaurant, business center,laundry facilities, high speed internet

$96 3* Downtown (any ideas what hotel this is??)

restaurant and Internet

$109 3* Sea World

complimentary breakfast, fitness center, pools, laundry, high speed internet, golf nearby, tennis nearby

(only 70% recommended- this scares me!)

Would I be better off trying priceline? Could I get 4* for under $100?

[thereuare]

Would I be better off trying priceline?

How do you define better?? Is your goal the lowest price for this stay... or taking a guess as whether the hotel is near the water and has low parking fees?

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

[bdsisme]

jiljm, I think my recent Priceline purchase may help you (they're quite similar). See the thread (in the Priceline - Other Cali cities section) that I started, and recently posted my priceline win at ($75 for one night, 7/30, at Holiday Inn on the Bay, a 3* Downtown). I'm also guessing that the Opaque 3* hotel you saw on Hotwire (Downtown) would also be the Holiday Inn on the Bay, but that's just my speculation (because it matched the description for me when I was bidding on PL and looking on Hotwire, and was listed for $95 for one night on Hotwire (opaque)).

Hope that helps!

[jiljm]

jiljm, I think my recent Priceline purchase may help you (they're quite similar). See the thread (in the Priceline - Other Cali cities section) that I started, and recently posted my priceline win at ($75 for one night, 7/30, at Holiday Inn on the Bay, a 3* Downtown). I'm also guessing that the Opaque 3* hotel you saw on Hotwire (Downtown) would also be the Holiday Inn on the Bay, but that's just my speculation (because it matched the description for me when I was bidding on PL and looking on Hotwire, and was listed for $95 for one night on Hotwire (opaque)).

Hope that helps!

thanks, I would be happy if I got the 3* holiday inn on bay for $75. The parking fee is a drag. I checked out your bidding strategy, do you think I could skip some of your steps? I have never done Priceline before.

[bdsisme]

I'm sure that some of the advanced members here (Colfax, Thereuare) can help you on a bidding strategy; it depends on how many zones you are willing to accept (I was OK with Downtown/harbor island, coastal, and mission valley -- but mission valley may not be acceptable to you and you very well might win a hotel there, cuz it's generally cheaper than the other two). If you are OK with spending $75 (and don't want to bother to try to get it for less), you could just bid on 3* on Priceline and choose only the Downtown region, and bid $75 (note that I tried $70 and it did not work, so the "true price" must have been very close to $75). Keep in mind, however, that you might not get it for the same deal -- I was only bidding on Friday night (may be cheaper than the weekend), and I made my purchase 36 hours ago (prices may have risen).

[thereuare]

jiljm,

If you let us know the zone(s) you're willing to accept, your minimum star level, and your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[jiljm]

Here are my criteria:

zones- San Diego coastal, Downtown-harbor and Point Loma Shelter Island-Old town

Minimum 3* level

maximum bid $100

[thereuare]

At the 3* level you have THREE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 3* Coastal...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $48, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Downtown...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $48, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Point Loma...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $48, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Coastal and Downtown...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Coastal and Point Loma...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* Coastal and Downtown and Point Loma...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68

I'd start with the above, if rejected just post back and we'll revise to try again in 24 hours. Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[jiljm]

Thank you for your help. This is my first time trying PRICELINE. question- If coastal is my least favorite, would I change the order in which I bid? Or could I first try just bidding downtown and point loma? Then if not successful go back to what you have above?

what do you mean by "add re-bid zone". is that a zone that does not have 3* hotel?

is that Rancho Santa Fe and Chula Vista?

sorry I am a newbie.

[thereuare]

If coastal is my least favorite, would I change the order in which I bid?

Do you not want to bid Coastal at all, do you want to only bid after trying the other two zones up to your limit, or is price ultimately the most important factor and the least expensive 3* or better in any of the three zones is what you're seeking?

what do you mean by "add re-bid zone". is that a zone that does not have 3* hotel?

is that Rancho Santa Fe and Chula Vista?

Yes and no... a re-bid zones is a zone which only contains star levels lower than 3* (so if there are no 3* hotels but there are 4* hotels, it is NOT a re-bid zones). As well, Rancho Santa Fe does have 3* hotels... so that is not a re-bid zones. Did you read (at least the first post) of Priceline Re-Bidding Explained?

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

[bdsisme]

Sorry to butt in, but I think he may be confused because there appears to only be 1 re-bid zone rather than the 3 zones you suggest (at least according to the Priceline hotel post on this site).

[jiljm]

I went back to Priceline and for rebid zone I can only come up with one rebid zone of chula vista that has no 3* and higher hotels. So I am confused by your bidding strategy of having three re-bid zone.

I would like to try downtown and point loma first up to my limit for 3*.

[thereuare]

List each PRICELINE zone in this area and the highest star rating available in each.

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

[jiljm]

List each PRICELINE zone in this area and the highest star rating available in each.

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

I did a list and only came up with Chula Vista as a re-bid zone.

The highest star rating for:

Downtown 5*

Mission Bay-Sea World 4*

La Jolla 4*

Mission Valley 3 1/2*

North County coastal 4*

North County Inland 3 1/2 *

Rancho Santa Fe 5*

Chula Vista 2 1/2 *

East County 3*.

[slruud]

jiljm,

You must be using the Priceline hotel lists from this site rather than checking each zone on Priceline. There ARE 3 rebid zones for 3* bidding in San Diego. It is important to understand this concept, not only for this particular bid, but for the future also.

Good luck.

[jiljm]

I went to PRICELINE website and selected "list view" did list of each zone and found the highest star rating hotel for each zone. But now I finally figured it out and found the 3 rebid zones. The zones in the "list view" are different than the zones for Name your own Price.

I came up with San Ysidro, nationalcity/chula vista and Escondido as the three rebid zones.

I still may stick with HOTWIRE. all this rebid stuff is too much work.

[thereuare]

Yes, those are your three re-bid zones. If you decide to bid PRICELINE you should check them again (you can just click all three and see the highest level offered in these three zones) to confirm that nothing has changed. You'll see the re-bid process gets easier the more you do it... but whoever said it was easy saving money! :)

Let us know what you decide to do and how it goes or if we can be of further help along the way.

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