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Priceline Hotel: Looking for 4*, 8/6-8/8, first time bidder


jishman
By jishman,
in

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First time Priceline bidder here. Looking at 4 stars in San Fran, in 8/6 out 8/8. USE probably preferred after doing some research, although USW, SOMA-Mascone also considered since a recent bidder won the Intercontinental which seems to get good reviews.

Ideally looking to keep the price around $130 or under each night. Recommendations for how to proceed/people's favorite hotels in these areas greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Welcome to BetterBidding!

To clarify... did you first want to try the USE zone up to your limit and then consider the other zones if that is rejected OR are you looking for the least expensive 4* hotel in any of the zones you've listed?

Let us know and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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OK, tried four rebid zones while going for USW, then a fifth adding USE, all rejected. Added $5 each time, last rejected bid was $120. Am I right to assume that I should just wait 24 hours and then try again with USW, starting at $120, and add the zones each bid again in increments of $5 ?

Also, is the Marina/Lomardo Street a non-4 star zone? This is a bit unclear in the hotel list...thanks for the help! Seems like a tough weekend to score a great deal here vs. other weekends.

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If i'm understading your bidding correctly, you could use a better strategy...

OK, tried four rebid zones while going for USW, then a fifth adding USE, all rejected.
You don't want to add a 'live' zone to the end of your bidding like that... if a 4* hotel was available in the USE for $100, you would have overbid for it since your first bid at that star level was $120. If you let us know your preferences in terms of zones, stars, price, etc we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.
Also, is the Marina/Lomardo Street a non-4 star zone? This is a bit unclear in the hotel list...
DON'T use the hotel lists to determine your re-bid zones... only use the technique explained in this Priceline Re-Bidding Explained thread. Feel free to ask any questions that you have and always doublecheck your re-bid zones before each bidding cycle to make sure that nothing has changed since you last checked.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (and read your messages)

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Thanks for the reply. Wondering if in most people's experience you have better luck bidding closer to the date of travel. I'm just over two weeks out at this point. Would love to snag a 4* in either USW or USE for $120 or less -- but considering this weekend seems pretty busy, I'm certainly willing to up my bid and max out at $150 a night if that's what it takes. Thanks for all the advice...

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There is no way to know whether or not prices will fall closer to the stay. Some people have had success waiting until the last minute, while others have waited until the last minute and found that prices have ramped higher (possibly due to a busy season, convention, event or other factor.) With about two weeks left and that these dates appear to be busy, I'd definitely keep actively trying to lock something in.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

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Which star rating and zones are you currently willing to accept? Given you added USE to the end of your bidding strategy on the last round of bidding, are you willing to pay more for some zone(s) vs. others?

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

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Yeah, I'd probably go up to $150/night for either USE or USW -- both four star options seem comparable going off of reviews, and that location is pretty ideal for where I want to be. Going to hold off on another round of rebidding tomorrow. Thanks for the responses -- I'll refine my bidding strategy for this next go round.

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Hi Jishman,

We will be traveling to SF that same weekend. We always bid Embarcadero. Would you consider bidding the Embarcadero? It's a lovely area. We always bid and win the Hyatt Regency. Most of the time in the 80-95 dollar range. The highest we've ever paid is $120 during the holidays. If you want to be near Union Square, the Bart line is out the door and across the street. It's 2 stops away, around $1.25 or so to get there. On Saturday mornings, there is a fabulous Farmers Market at the Ferry Building across the street. There are artists selling their crafts in the area outside before you cross the street to the Ferry Building. The atmosphere is so much more relaxed and much cleaner than Union Square in my experience. Just a thought.

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Emb is a fine suggestion, mrsmegawatt. Prices are high on HOTWIRE at that time, though, so he may not get a price quite as good as those you've received.

There are some 3* on HW that are in the low $100s and last minutetravel.com has some decent prices on 4*. But I guess we'll see what happens when jishman comes back from camping.

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Hi jishman - When prices are high and availability is low, PRICELINE is not always fun. It really is a fabulous system and you can save a lot of money. But we've all had times when we've bid and bid and nothing worked. You picked a busy weekend and that is what is making it so tough.

I'd suggest research on HOTWIRE and Travelocity Secret Hotels to see if there's much out there. You may need to loosen up your star and zone parameters in order to get a bid accepted in your price range, IMHO.

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Before bidding too much higher you could consider this...

Go to Expedia (please use this link) where the Hilton Union Square is available for $189/nite and appears to be cancellable up until 6pm the day before arrival (doublecheck terms yourself)... use coupon code 10SPRING for $10 off, bringing your rate down to $179/nite which for $20/nite gives you the ability to continue to try priceline in the 10 days ahead for a better deal.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (or our Expedia link if you book the above as a back-up)

Does this work for your plans?

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Good tips everyone -- but for now I'm bowing out. I had made an original Expedia reservation at The Majestic in Japantown months ago for ~$90/night. The hope was to get into a nicer hotel in a better area for only $20-$50 a night more thru Priceline, but these prices have pushed me out. I'll keep checking and see if rates drop closer to the date. Again, thanks to those who posted for the advice.

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