Priceline Hotel: Bidding strategy needed: 9/23 - 9/27

[atltravel]

Newbie here. I did click on the PRICELINE from this website though.

I'm trying to get a 4* hotel in SF for 9/23 - 9/27. I'd rather not go more than $130 / night but can if necessary. I'd also like to stick with a 4* hotel. (Am I being unreasonable?)

My preferences are:

1. SOMA - Moscone Center

2. Union Square East (USE)

3. Union Square West (USW)

I've tried the following but rejected for all:

Day 1:

SOMA: $95

SOMA + USE: $105

SOMA + USE + USW: $111

Day 2:

SOMA: $118

SOMA + USE: $119

SOMA + USE + USW: $120

Thanks in advance. This is a great site.

[wackojacko]

Don't forget you can use re-bid zones that don't have a 4* to increase the number of bids you can make each day.

For example these zones don't have a 4* and therefore if you add them 1 at a time and re-bid you can not win a hotel in those areas:

• Civic Center South - Hayes Valley
  
• Fisherman's Wharf
  
• Japan Town - Civic Center North
  
• Marina - Lombard Street
  
• SFO North - San Bruno
  
• South San Francisco
  

I did a check on Hotwire for your dates and a 4* is going for $200+, so $130 might be hard to get. I'm no expert but I would suspect that $160-$170 would be more possible.

[Romelle]

One has to watch out for not only 4* when looking for rebid zones, but also anything higher. If you are bidding 4* and you use a zone with only 3* and 5* hotels, Priceline can still give it to you as an "upgrade" to the 5* offering.

There aren't a lot of zones like that, but always good idea to be careful. The Resort star level is particularly sneaky, since it is listed at the bottom of the star level list, and but acts like a 4 1/2*. No 5*s or Resorts in San Francisco, but just for future reference.

And always a good idea to re-check the free rebid zones just before bidding. Zones change surprisingly often - different hotels, different boundaries, etc.

Romelle

[thereuare]

atltravel,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You should know/learn how to determine your re-bid zones on your own as they should be checked before every bidding cycle to make sure that nothing has changed. A month from now you (or another user) could use the zones without checking and one of the hotels above could now have 4* properties and you could end up in a zone you didn't intend. If you're not familiar with re-bidding see this thread: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask any questions you may have. If you read the previous link and are confused just post back and we'll break it down further for you.

At the moment i think rates are going to be beyond your $130 limit, you using your SIX re-bid zones you could try:

Select 4* Civic Center, FW, JT, Marina, SFO North and South SF...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[atltravel]

Thanks for all the help with this. It's been awhile since I've used Priceline. I complete forgot about using re-bid zones that don't have the star rating I want. It's becoming a game of logic and chance for me now.

My bidding has made it to $165 / night with no success. The question I have now is should I continue to up my bidding or should I hold off since I have several months before my trip. Current rates are from $232 - $469 with 1/2 the hotels being less than $300/night. I would consider anything $190 or below a decent deal but I still want to get the best rate possible.

[richelleh]

I'm looking at the same times and got up to$189 without a bite.

I used all the re-bid tricks but was trying for Financial District.

I found Grand Hyatt for $149/night on LMT. Haven't booked it though. Have you tried LMT?

[iceboi]

Whats LMT?

[atltravel]

It took me awhile to figure it out. It's lastminutetravel.com

[richelleh]

Yep, lastminutetravel.com

If you check out the hotel photos you can normally see enough to figure out what the hotel is...sometimes they even have a pic of the name.

I was given advice to book a hotel in the area I want that can be canceled up to the time of the trip without penalty, but then try priceline closer to the date of the trip.

[iceboi]

I would go with Priceline first and if all else fails do the LMT.. I'm reading lots of horror stories on how the hotel is either cancelled or they lost your reservations...

[Gallus50]

Your can easily make a definite ID on LMT using the method outlined by Beav in Run of House. You can also choose (pretend) to buy and optional activity and it tells you the name on the next page.

I have not heard about LMT bookings being cancelled. You do want to only look at "Available" hotels. The ones "On Request" are a question mark and rarely seem to come through.

In times of high demand, LMT can be a better option than HW or PL.

[Colfax]

My bidding has made it to $165 / night with no success. The question I have now is should I continue to up my bidding or should I hold off since I have several months before my trip. Current rates are from $232 - $469 with 1/2 the hotels being less than $300/night. I would consider anything $190 or below a decent deal but I still want to get the best rate possible.

Rates for those dates are pretty high. On Orbitz there's a few 4* in $250-300, but most are $300+.

You might win something now if you bid higher than $165, but you also could win something for less than $165 if you wait. Many hotels don't give Priceline inventory four months in advance, so you improve the pool of possibilities by waiting. If prices were low I'd say wait before you go higher than $150 or so. But since they're high there's an argument for getting something now, in case things sell out. No one can predict if prices will go up or down between now and September.

Personally I'd keep bidding up to $150 or so every several days, and bump up the limit as the time gets closer or if it looks like hotels are starting to sell out. There's lots of availability now, just at high prices.

You're the best judge though of how relative important is: securing something now vs. potential savings from waiting.

Maybe $170 will do it?

[Colfax]

You do want to only look at "Available" hotels. The ones "On Request" are a question mark and rarely seem to come through.

Hi, Gallus! I've used LastMinuteTravel twice. Both times I did "On Request" reservations and they came through so it works at least sometimes. The wait time, up to a day, is a nuisance if it's close to trip time but for a trip four months away there's some time. Sometimes LMT has hotels that don't come up on PL or HW. Overall I've been satisfied.

[slruud]

I would go with Priceline first and if all else fails do the LMT.. I'm reading lots of horror stories on how the hotel is either cancelled or they lost your reservations...

Not sure who you are hearing those horror stories from, but I for one have been quite pleased with my LMT stays in the past couple of years, with no reservation being canceled or lost. As a matter of fact, I'm currently staying at the Ames Hotel in Boston via LMT. I occasionally use Priceline, but increasingly use Hotwire and LMT to target the specific hotel I want. I'm willing to pay a few more $ to get the hotel I want, and not so delusional that I can get a hotel priced on Priceline for $300 for $65. Good luck with whater you do.

SteveR

[atltravel]

I've made it all the way to $193 + $7.5 in priceline bonus cash ($200.5 total) and still no luck! UGH.

[Colfax]

Did you bid to $200 ($193 + 7) in all four Downtown zones? (USE, USW, Embarcadero, SOMA)

Is 3.5* in USE an option?

[thereuare]

I've made it all the way to $193 + $7.5 in priceline bonus cash ($200.5 total)...

NOTE: you can still use our PRICELINE link along with your bonus money as follows:

1) click our link to PRICELINE and let the page fully load

2) at the top of the page go to MY PROFILE >> MY REWARDS

3) use the bonus money link found in the MY REWARDS section of your profile (and not the link in any emails sent to you)

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

Thanks.