Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Monterey Portola Hotel

[NorCalSuperwife]

First, thank goodness for this board! What a fantastic resource. I have read through all of the FAQ forums and have been keeping up with this specific forum. I have also bid successfully in the past.

On a great tip from here, I checked prices on hotel sites vs. other weekends to check for special events. There is something that's raising the hotel prices in Monterey for the weekend of 9/24-9/26 (though I'm not sure what it is.) I have gone up to $130 for a 4* in Monterey and $130 for a 3* in Carmel with no success.

Am I bidding too early? I'm wondering if I should just book a back-up hotel and hold off on raising my bidding price for a while. Any advice? I'd be happy to post my bidding history if it would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[thereuare]

I have gone up to $130 for a 4* in Monterey and $130 for a 3* in Carmel with no success.

Welcome to BetterBidding... we're glad you found us :)

To clarify the above, did you only bid for a 3* in Carmel and not include Monterey in that bidding?

Please confirm and we'll have a closer look at your details above.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future bidding, searches and purchase.

[NorCalSuperwife]

To clarify the above, did you only bid for a 3* in Carmel and not include Monterey in that bidding?

Please confirm and we'll have a closer look at your details above.

That is correct. I did them as separate bids.

[thereuare]

HOTWIRE has the 3* Hilton Garden Inn in Monterey for $143/nite... and an unidentified 3* in Carmel (with pretty good Tripadvisor reviews but lackluster HOTWIRE reviews... sounds like an old hotel with a good location, imo)... would either of these be of interest?

Both of the above are near your $130 failed bids, but a 4* in Monterey near prices you've been bidding doesn't look like it's in the cards at the moment. Are you willing to bid much higher?

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

[NorCalSuperwife]

Thank you for checking on those Hotwire rates. That is a definite possibility if Priceline doesn't pan out.

Both of the above are near your $130 failed bids, but a 4* in Monterey near prices you've been bidding doesn't look like it's in the cards at the moment. Are you willing to bid much higher?

We might be willing to go a bit higher. I was getting the feeling that maybe not much was available (for a low price) because I'm trying pretty early... but I guess there's just no way to know. I really appreciate your input. I think I'll wait it out for another week and then try PRICELINE one more time before booking with HOTWIRE.

Thank you!

[thereuare]

Keep us updated as to your progress and please remember to start your bidding and/or purchases with the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Let us know if we can be of further help.

[J-R]

There are two 4* properties in MRY. Both properties are showing "no rooms available" on their sites for your WE. Note further that rooms are available the WE before and after ... so my guess is its not too early, but rather that your WE is in high demand.

[NorCalSuperwife]

There are two 4* properties in MRY. Both properties are showing "no rooms available" on their sites for your WE. Note further that rooms are available the WE before and after ... so my guess is its not too early, but rather that your WE is in high demand.

Thank you for taking the time to check it!! We re-arranged our babysitter and have decided to take the trip the WE before. :) Hopefully we'll have better luck now. I'll post a followup when I win the hotel.

[J-R]

The PRICELINE 4* MRY properties are both very nice. The retail prices for the Clement / Marriott are $272 / $249 per night for 9/17-19, so it appears that Marriott would be more likely to accept an appropriate bid. If you search HOTWIRE for your new WE neither property comes up searching for 2 adults; however, searching for 4 adults (2 beds) gives what looks like Clement at $268 ... so HOTWIRE appears to be of no help for those two properties at this time.

The following thread has an example of how you might structure a 4* priceline bidding strategy for MRY properties ... of course your $ figures would have to be adjusted appropriately.

[NorCalSuperwife]

Used the PRICELINE link here to place the following bids:

14Aug2010 6:45PM

Monterey 4* $110, Declined.

Added Carmel $115, Declined.

Added Marina $125, Declined.

Added Pacific Grove $135, Declined.

Monterey 3.5* $95, Accepted!!

I was feeling impatient, so I didn't start as low for the 3.5* as I should have. However, I doubt they would have accepted a bid much lower. We're excited to stay at the Portola Hotel for our anniversary! Thanks to everyone who helped me previously.

[J-R]

$95/night on Fri and Sat doesn't get you far in MRY during the Summer.

Considering that:

1. Hotwire's lowest priced rooms are $89/night for a 2* with 35% customer reco
   
2. Hotwire is not offering Portola rooms except through Hotels.com
   
3. Portola's best retail rate is $216/night
   

I'd say you got a pretty good deal. Enjoy your anniversary WE.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success.

Quite a good deal for this property! Have a wonderful anniversary. :)

Thank you for sharing your win and using the site's PRICELINE link.

Enjoy your stay.