Priceline Hotel: Santa Barbara 2

[tigers]

We are traveling to Santa Barbara in mid July (gone before the annual Fiesta special event). Our estimated arrival date is July 9 for six nights, but it's still possible that we may not arrive until the 10th (since weekend rates in SBA are higher).

We saw on Priceline a listing for a 2

[thereuare]

It appears the zone boundaries in this area may have changed recently and i've updated the Priceline Hotel List to reflect the Ramada Limited as being in the Goleta zone.

Currently both the Holiday Inn and Ramada Limited are 2.5* rated by PRICELINE... i'm not sure what 2* properties may be in this zone.

Let us know once your dates are firm and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[tigers]

Thanks for the response, thereuare. Barring a serious flight delay, we've finalized the itinerary, arriving in Santa Barbara on July 9th, and staying for 6 nights.

I haven't put in my bid in the Goleta zone yet. I was waiting to see if anyone had some more information about the Holiday Inn possibly dropping to a two star property.

The very lowest price I found, trying various discount codes, sales, etc. was about $155/day (averaged-some dates higher or lower) at the Ramada in Goleta. Hotwire has the Holiday Inn at $165 when the property's name is identified, and at $142 when the name is not revealed (but it fits the description for the Holiday Inn).

Based on this data, when would you suggest serious bidding, and in what price range (with the lowest retail prices noted above)? It would be simple to bid around $140 and get accepted, but times are tough in my household, and I'm hoping to do better.

Also, if anyone has feedback on whether they have the Ramada or the H.I. as a 2 &1/2 star in the Goleta zone (if you remember, we prefer the Ramada, but, of course, we bid by zone and not specific property), or any other updated info about the Santa Barbara zone, or the Goleta zone, by all means your advice is most welcome! :) :)

PS. We could also bid for a 3 star in the Santa Barbara zone. We stayed at the Mar Monte back when it was the Raddison or the Sheraton and we liked it. I'm presuming that since it is across from the beach, and is a 3 star, it will cost a fair amount more than a Ramada or Holiday Inn off the highway and several miles from the ocean.

[Colfax]

I haven't put in my bid in the Goleta zone yet. I was waiting to see if anyone had some more information about the Holiday Inn possibly dropping to a two star property

You can verify on your own any hotel's current Priceline rating using Priceline's retail product. Search the retail product for any random date, then filter the results on "Holiday Inn" and/or "Ramada". The star rating you see is the same in the retail and NYOP products. Holiday Inn and Ramada are both 2.5 as of now.

Also, if anyone has feedback on whether they have the Ramada or the H.I. as a 2 &1/2 star in the Goleta zone (if you remember, we prefer the Ramada, but, of course, we bid by zone and not specific property), or any other updated info about the Santa Barbara zone, or the Goleta zone, by all means your advice is most welcome!

Do you know about the QuickSearch box at the top of the homepage? If you search on "Goleta" there you'll see all the Goleta wins and Ramada vs HI in relative frequency.

Santa Barbara's a really tough Priceline bid. The hotels there just don't seem to give Priceline much, and especially in summer. Discounts tend not to be deep either. Maybe a 2.5* in Goleta will be easier than Santa Barbara proper, but you shouldn't expect the level of discounting on Priceline in this area that you get in other cities.

You've got one rebid zone for 2.5* in Goleta, which is Lompoc. Lompoc only goes to 2*. My suggestion is try $70 for 2.5* in Goleta. $70 is half off the best retail you've found. If rejected add Lompoc and bid $80. If rejected wait 24 hours and try $90 and $100. That's about as high as I'd bid with six weeks to go. (Before every bidding session you should verify on your own that Lompoc still only goes to 2*. Ratings can change at any time.)

What do you think?

[LonghornTX]

Historically, the 2 star hotel in Goleta has been the Extended Stay America, but I haven't seen it mentioned lately. Hope this helps.

[Colfax]

Thanks for that info, LonghornTX. I don't see Extended Stay America in the Santa Barbara Hotel List, so it's never been reported as a win here. If you've won the ESA in the past please post your win as a separate thread with the dates and price and ESA will be added to the Santa Barbara Hotel List. You can still view the details of past Priceline trips under the "MY TRIPS" tab near the top of PRICELINE's homepage.