Priceline Hotel: 3* or Above in San Francisco Downtown

[cwl6750084]

This would be my first time to San Francisco. I wonder if anyone can kindly suggest a bidding strategy (I prefer area that would be comparable to Water Tower Place / North Michigan Avenue in Chicago). What would be a fair starting bid price? My travel dates is 13 to 16 August.

Thanks.

[Gallus50]

Hey CWL - Perhaps you could do a bit of research/reading and figure out what you're looking for.

The site has a calendar search function - you can look in SF around the days you're traveling and see what others have been getting. You can also use the general search at the top of the page for the city. Search SF and you'll get a list of posts of what people have won and in what zones.

BTW - I'm not sure if you'd consider Nob Hill or Union Square to be more like Michigan Ave, but it's probably one or the other. US has more shopping; Nob Hill has lots of hotels and residences. Nob Hill is fancier.

[cwl6750084]

Thanks for replying. I had been reading for different neighbourhood. I guess I did not make my point clear, is there any areas other than Civic Centre would be considered sketchy/dangerous/unsafe, especially in the evening. That was indeed what I meant by Michigan Avenue/Water Tower Place, unlike the Loop, which pretty much a ghost town filled with houseless people after business hour. I have not seen much discussion on this, evening safety is of big concern as we do not drive and have heard that downtowns in US cities can be very dangerous (probably because of misperception) in the evening and sections of Chicago do give me that feel.

By the way, would USD 100 be a reasonable starting bid price for a 3* hotel in Nob Hill or Union Square?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[thereuare]

Union Square East is probably the most frequently bid zone, followed by (in no particular order) USW, Embarcadero and Fishermans Wharf. At less then 4* the USW can be a 'problem' for some as you risk landing in or close to the Tenderoin which has a fair number of homeless, if you find that to be problematic. Embarcadero has good mass transit access and Fishermans Wharf is touristy.

The above is what i've summarized from recent posts asking the same/similar question, but somebody more local to the area than i am can correct, clarify or add to my comments above. Once you decide upon the zone(s) you're willing to accept we'll be able to suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchases... and your searches too!. Please click this PRICELINE link before replying.

[cwl6750084]

Thank you very much for reply. My travel dates are 14 through 16 August (3 nights). I wonder if you could advice a bidding strategies to Embarcadero, would a starting bid of USD 125 for 4 stars and USD 80 for 3 stars be reasonable. (Do you know if hotels in Union Square East or Fishermans Wharf are of similar rates or not?) Thanks.

[thereuare]

Would those be your starting bids or your maximum bids? You're probably in the right ballpark at the 4* level... perhaps a little low for a 3.5*/3* property.

Do you only want to bid the Embarcadero zone first... or want to combine with other zone(s), letting the one with the lowest price accept your bid?

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

[cwl6750084]

The price quoted were supposed to be the starting bids. I would like to combine zone(s) in order to get the lowest price. What would be a reasonable 3.5* starting bids. Can you advise a strategy for bidding? (I never bidded for downtown hotels before.)

[cwl6750084]

I have one additional question, if I am booking for multiple days, should I bid them one by one, or put in the whole range all at once?

[thereuare]

Usually you would want to bid them together or you run the risk of landing a different hotel for each nite that you bid individually. However, there are somce circumstances where you would want to bid individually, most notably if there is a MAJOR rate change over the course of your stay. See this thread for more info: SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID

Did you want to start bidding for a 4* hotel in the Embarcadero area for your complete stay? Is this the only zone you'd like to consider at this time?

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

[cwl6750084]

It seems I am not getting anything at all. Yes, I would like to start with the Embarcadero area hotel, either 4* or 3.5* would be fine for me. I would consider USE and also Fisherman Wharf also, if that would help reducing the cost. Do you suggesting me to bid on the weekend nights and weekday nights separately?

[thereuare]

It seems I am not getting anything at all.

Have you tried bidding?? What star rating, zones and price did you bid?

Yes, I would like to start with the Embarcadero area hotel, either 4* or 3.5* would be fine for me. I would consider USE and also Fisherman Wharf also, if that would help reducing the cost.

The more zones you ad the more hotels are available to accept your offer price, so adding zones could certainly help... did you want to bid all zones first or just Embarcadero?

You'd prefer a lower priced 3.5* vs. a higher priced 4*, correct?

Do you suggesting me to bid on the weekend nights and weekday nights separately?

Let us know all the info above so we can focus and research on the correct parameters and advise accordingly.

[cwl6750084]

Yes, I tried USE, USW, Financial District and Wharf for 3* and above with starting bid of USD 95. I prefer a lower priced 3.5*. Currently, I need to have a hotel on 14/15 Aug and 16/17 Aug. I shall be in Sacramento on 15/16 Aug and don't need a hotel. Any helps are appreciated.

[thereuare]

We'll use different threads for each of your stay... we'll use this thread for your first San Francisco stay of 8/14... please feel free to start a NEW TOPIC for your 8/16 stay, as well as for your stay in Sacramento if you need a hotel for that leg of your trip too.

For 8/14, rates are quite high at the moment. I'm not sure what is happening in the area, but a sub-$100 bid doesn't seem likely in the zones that you have selected... what is the best rate you're able to find at an acceptable hotel thru traditional booking channels for this nite?

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