Priceline Hotel: 4* San Francisco (USW) Hilton

[panther]

I am new to bidding on priceline, but have read your info on rebidding and made a first attempt for (initially) USW for 5/21 - 5/26 (two rooms). I was rejected in all bids, and am now considering trying USE instead. Would appreciate any help going forward. Here's my sequence of bids:

1) USW for $85 -- rejected

2) Above + Cathedral Hill for $85 -- rejected (Was this a wasted bid -- no $ increase?)

3) Above + Fish Wharf for $86 -- rejected

4) Above + SFO for $87 -- rejected

5) Above + South San Fran for $88 -- rejected

6) Above + Civic Center for $90 -- rejected

Some questions as a result of this attempt:

>> I tried to maximize the number of rebids by closing my browser between attempts, but still got the "greyed out" areas when I accessed "my trips". Should I have closed the browser and started over in priceline instead of clicking on "my trips"?

>> How long should I wait between rebids?

>> Is a rebid like the above wasted unless the price is increased?

Thanks for any help you can give me! :)

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

-when trying to maximize re-bids access go right to a priceline bidding screen in the new browser... dont' go to your profile/my trips

-you should re-bid immediately upon your previous rejection

-it is a wasted re-bid... you can't win a hotel in the zone you just added (assuming it's a re-bid zone) so it's essentially bidding the same amount for the same zone that you were just rejected

If you'd like help with the USE bidding let us know.

[panther]

Thanks for the response to my questions.

Yes -- I would like any recommendations for the USE bidding. What would you suggest?

A few more questions as well -- how do you know when the 72 hour "waiting period" is over --

must you keep track of this yourself, or are you notified by priceline? Also, will the USE bid

be considered a "rebid" or a new original bid, since I did not bid this area before?

Thanks!

Panther

[thereuare]

Often Priceline emails you a reminder that you can now bid again, but not always. The clock starts from your last bid in the zone, but USE is considered a brand new bidding cycle for you since you have never bid that zone before.

You didn't state your maximum bid, but i went up to $90 with the strategy below based upon your bids in the USW zone. As i see you are aware, you have five re-bid zones available, this is how i would bid...

Select 4* USE...

Bid $68, if rejected add USW (assuming it's still acceptable to you, essentially a free re-bid zone based upon rejections above, but always worth adding if you're still interested)...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone....

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone....

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone....

Bid $82, if rejected add re-bid zone....

Bid $86, if rejected add re-bid zone....

Bid $90

Any additional questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[panther]

Last night I tried a series of bids, as you suggested. My original bid was for $73, and I tried 12 rebids, each increasing a few dollars, up to $100 a night. All were rejected (this was for USE).

Do you think that trying to get 2 rooms for 5 nights is part of the problem? Should I split the stay into two parts -- maybe the two weekend nights, followed by the 3 week nights? Would these be considered "new" original bids, since they would be for different length stays?

I realize that this means I'll most likely get two hotels, and we'll have to move. Not my favorite scenario, but it might be worth it for the room price.

Would appreciate any suggestions. :)

[thereuare]

Prices are the problem... not the fact that you're trying for 2 rooms for 5 nites. Rates jump starting for the 2nd nite of your stay, some are even sold-out (at a few of the properties i checked) so it may also be difficult splitting the bid... although that is certainly a possibility.

Before splitting the bid i would sooner try for the USW zone if that area also works for your needs. I haven't been to the area since i was a child, but i know many bid both zones at the same time and in looking at the areas they appear to be very close in proximity to one anohter (and small zones as well).

If the USW zone is a possibility for you i would recommend giving that a try first, given the fact that rates at some of the USE hotels i checked are out of line with what we typically see accepted.

[TBQ]

The specific challenge here is that the American Orthodontics Association is having their annual convention precisely during your proposed dates. The Marriott is the HQ hotel and many USE/USW hotels are also on the housing list:

[panther]

Many thanks to thereuare for your advice and to TBQ for the info regarding the convention. I was able to change my next request to only 1 room, as our traveling companion will have different arrival and departure dates. Following the latest advice from thereuare, I added USW to my zones, and started with a $100 bid. I succeeded at $102, and got the Hilton in USW. I will review the hotel pointers for this hotel -- I remember reading some earlier. Will also post the $$ details regarding this success in a separate post.

Thanks again for your help!

Panther :)

[panther]

This was my third attempt to secure a room for these dates ( all previous bids up to $100/night were rejected). This time I started at $100 for USE -- rejected -- but the next bid for $102 (USE and USW) was accepted by the Hilton. Was informed by TBQ that these are the exact dates for the American Orthodontic Association convention, so I am glad to get a room, even though these rates are higher than those normally seen for this area through Priceline.

Your Offer Price: $102.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 5

Subtotal: $510.00

Taxes & Service Fees:

$87.68

Total Charges: $597.68

Thanks to theruare and TBQ for their assistance!