Priceline Hotel: Bid Strategy for 4* USW or USE (10/29-11/4)

[katodisc]

Hi,

I have used this website several times and just want to say thanks for all the help you've given me over the years.

I am planning a trip to San Francisco for Oct. 29 - Nov. 4 (Sat-Fri). I used your PRICELINE link to start bidding on a 4* hotel in Union Square East or Union Square West, beginning at $70 and going up to $105 by adding the six re-bid zones.

I got advertised quotes (Best Rate Guaranteed) from the Priceline website for the days of my stay for each of the hotels in the zones:

USE

Grand Hyatt - $314/night

Westin St. Francis - $295/night

Taj Campton Place - Not listed, but $492/night on hotel website :)

USW

Clift Hotel - $314/night

Hilton SF - $259/night

Hotel Monaco - $280/night

Hotel Nikko - $355/night

Intercontinental - $234/night

JW Marriott - $299/night

Prescott Hotel - $257/night

Parc 55 Wyndham - $189/night

Ranaissance - $269/night

I see from recent history that the Parc 55 Wyndham is a fairly routine winner, and there was one winner who said he got it $75/night when it was listed for $170 on the hotel's website. Right now, the Parc 55 website has my dates listed for $170/night, although I bid up to $105 without a win. :)

Questions

Does this seem like an expensive/average/cheap week for San Francisco?

Should I wait a little longer before locking in a rate?

Given the going rates, what would be a good price for this particular week?

Note: There is a convention that week (Schwab Impact - 5,000 attendees, est. 3,500 rooms). Is this a significant impact on hotel room rates?

Thanks for your help, and I'll keep you posted.

[AaronJB]

Regular rates are high for these dates at this point. If there are events/conventions beyond the 5K convention than that may cause rates to stay elevated or go higher as dates get closer (the 5K convention alone may have a bit of an effect on rates, but not to the degree you're seeing.)

What is your desired max budget for these dates? I definitely wouldn't go too high too quickly and instead just keep trying up to a "ceiling" under your budget for the time being. If a month or two passes and you still have not gotten accepted at that "ceiling", then you can move up the ceiling.

Overall, at this point my guess is that this is simply too far in advance, but if there are other events going on on these dates, rates could stay higher.

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

[katodisc]

Thanks for your quick and well-considered reply. I really don't have a ceiling so much as I just like to think I'm getting a good deal. I wouldn't want to pay more than $150/night, if I could help it.

I went back to the Parc 55 website and saw that they have a 30% discount for stays of 5 days or more. Since I am staying 6 days, this deal will average out to about $130/night, before taxes. Since this can be cancelled without penalty up until the day of stay, I went ahead and reserved.

Now that I have a back up, I can take my time, as you advised, without all the pressure.

Thanks