Priceline Hotel: Need two rooms in LA + better to book early or later?

[HX_Guy]

New to the board...and first time I've ever tried using PRICELINE.

I need two rooms in the Santa Monica / West Hollywood or even around LAX area for 7/24 - 7/30 and I'd like to bid in the $70 range for a 4 star hotel. There's a Sheraton and a Renaissance around there that I've seen people book for around the price. I'm thinking of clicking on Zones 1, 2 & 9.

Couple questions...does it work the same way if you need two rooms? Any differences there?

And, should I bid asap or wait until it's closer to the date I need? When is the best chance to get the best deal?

[thereuare]

New to the board...and first time I've ever tried using PRICELINE.

Welcome to BetterBidding! Please start by reading your messages

I need two rooms in the Santa Monica / West Hollywood or even around LAX area for 7/24 - 7/30 and I'd like to bid in the $70 range for a 4 star hotel.

We can certainly suggest a strategy to try, but at the moment current rates look high for these dates and i'm not so sure that $70 will be enough.

Couple questions...does it work the same way if you need two rooms? Any differences there?

Just select 2rooms when bidding, but keep in mind that your bid price is per room... so if you're looking to pay $70 per nite per room, the bid price you enter is $70... not $140.

And, should I bid asap or wait until it's closer to the date I need? When is the best chance to get the best deal?

See the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ. As noted above, if you were accepted at $70, i don't see there being much risk of this being an overbid, so i'd be comfortable starting to bid now.

Let us know once you're ready to begin bidding and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[HX_Guy]

If there is no advantage to waiting then I guess I'm ready now. I'm hoping I can get something as close to $70 as possible.

Aside from zones 1,2 & 9 I think 7 would be too good right? How's zone 3? I'm not all that familiar with LA jus know I want to be close to Santa Monica plus close to Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Malibu.

[Colfax]

The only LA zone where you stand a chance of winning a 4* for $70 or less is LAX zone. A 4* in Hollywood, Santa Monica-Marina Del Rey, or Beverly Hills-West Hollywood zones will cost $100 at least.

For $70 you might win a 2.5* or 3* in those three non-airport zones.

Do you want to bid up to $70 for a 4* in LAX then? Please affirm and someone will offer a strategy.

Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your purchases.

p.s. Please refer to zones by their names (Hollywood, Santa Monica etc) rather than by their numbers. That saves readers from having to look at a map to understand what areas you're talking about. Thanks!

[HX_Guy]

Honestly I would love to get Brentwood/Westwood or Beverly Hills/West Hollywood for $80, you're saying there's no chance? I mean I could try, nothing to lose right?

How's Culver City? Better than the LAX area? If all else fails, I'll go for LAX for $70.

[thereuare]

If you want to give it a try, at the 4* level in the Los Angeles area you have THREE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* Brentwood and Beverly Hills (and Santa Monica if you are also interested in that zone)...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $80

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.

[HX_Guy]

Ok sounds good.

Looking at the LA map, there are exactly 3 areas that don't offer 4*+ hotels and they are Redondo, Lawndale, and Culver City so I can use those.

Couple quick questions...

Do I need to add another zone that doesn't have 4* or change the zone? For example say I have Brentwood and Hollywood selected and I bid $65 and get rejected. I then add Redondo and try $70 and let's say I get rejected again. Now when I bid $75, do unselect Redondo and add Lawndale or do I leave Redondo selected and add Lawndale? Does it matter either way?

Then say I get to $80 and still no accepted bids and now want to try for LAX, do I need to wait 24 hours to do the whole process again?

[thereuare]

Looking at the LA map...

Please read your messages and use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board each time you access the respective sites.

Now when I bid $75, do unselect Redondo and add Lawndale or do I leave Redondo selected and add Lawndale?

PRICELINE will no allow you to 'uncheck' a zone... so you'll need to leave it 'as is' and add Lawndale. You could close the browser to effectively 'uncheck' all the previously selected zones, but given the comments above regarding your bids being too low, you're bidding in a narrow range and there really is no need to do so.

Then say I get to $80 and still no accepted bids and now want to try for LAX, do I need to wait 24 hours to do the whole process again?

No, in this instance you could close the browser, use a PRICELINE link on the board to re-access PRICELINE, and re-try:

Select 4* LAX...

Bid $55, if rejected add Brentwood...

Bid $60, if rejected add Beverly Hills...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $80

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.

[HX_Guy]

Wow...so really no luck. I went all the way to $95/night and tried all LA areas and still not accepted. I guess maybe I need to look at some 3.5* properties.

Anyone know of some examples of 3.5* properties in Santa Monica, Brentwood or Beverly Hills/West Hollywood?

[thereuare]

See the Priceline Hotel List.

Did you also include the LAX zone yet or are you looking to lower your bidding to 3.5* in your preferred zone(s) before trying for the Airport?

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[HX_Guy]

I did include the LAX zone and went all the way to $95 and it did not accept.

[Colfax]

With your revised $95 limit these are some realistic possibilities:

4* Downtown

3.5* Beverly Hills-West Hollywood

3* Brentwood-Westwood

3* Hollywood

3* Santa Monica-Marina Del Rey

You might win a 3.5* in LAX zone in the $50's-$60's but you'll spend/waste lots of time driving back and forth to the airport every day. Unless budget is your #1 consideration I'd consider the LAX zone a last choice, other than maybe the night before your flight out.

Let us know which option(s) interest you most and someone will suggest a strategy.

Are you interested in trying two different zones...maybe 3 nights in Hollywood and 3 nights in Brentwood or Santa Monica for example? Sometimes splitting your stay improves your chances of acceptance. You could also try for six nights first and then if you're still having trouble split your bid.

[HX_Guy]

My priorities are both a nice hotel and price, want to find a nice middle ground for both. I thought maybe I could get a 4* by LAX...are the hotels around LAX that crazy that it's not worth it? Again our main places to visit are Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Malibu..so something central to those but closer to the beach the better.

Don't want to split up the nights...it would be a hassle to repack everything to save a few bucks.

[Colfax]

My priorities are both a nice hotel and price, want to find a nice middle ground for both.

The "most hotel for least money" might be a 3.5* in LAX zone, which you can usually win under $70, maybe under $60. But again, the airport isn't an especially convenient place to stay if you're planning to spend most of your time in Hollywood, Malibu, Bev Hills. The westside commute on 405 can be a nightmare---an hour in bumper to bumper on a bad day. Personally I'd rather stay at a lower rated hotel (but not too low) that's in one of the areas where I most want to spend time.

Since you seem to like Brentwood-Westwood how do you feel about trying for 3* there? (No 3.5* have been reported to the board in Brentwood-Westwood zone.) Or a 3.5* in Bev Hills-West Hollywood?

But if you prefer 3.5* at LAX someone will be happy to give strategy.

3.5* in Manhattan-Redondo zone can be a good deal too, but that's further south of the airport...even farther from the areas you said you want to visit.

[HX_Guy]

The "most hotel for least money" might be a 3.5* in LAX zone, which you can usually win under $70, maybe under $60. But again, the airport isn't an especially convenient place to stay if you're planning to spend most of your time in Hollywood, Malibu, Bev Hills. The westside commute on 405 can be a nightmare---an hour in bumper to bumper on a bad day. Personally I'd rather stay at a lower rated hotel (but not too low) that's in one of the areas where I most want to spend time.

Since you seem to like Brentwood-Westwood how do you feel about trying for 3* there? (No 3.5* have been reported to the board in Brentwood-Westwood zone.) Or a 3.5* in Bev Hills-West Hollywood?

But if you prefer 3.5* at LAX someone will be happy to give strategy.

3.5* in Manhattan-Redondo zone can be a good deal too, but that's further south of the airport...even farther from the areas you said you want to visit.

Went all the way to $95 for for 3.5* Bev-hills-West Hollywood and no luck. Then tried 3* in Brentwood up to $95, still no luck. Maybe there is something going on that week? Doesn't look I can really get what I need. May just have to stay 4 in a room but then we can't go through Priceline because they don't guarantee double beds.

[HX_Guy]

Went all the way to $95 for for 3.5* Bev-hills-West Hollywood and no luck. Then tried 3* in Brentwood up to $95, still no luck. Maybe there is something going on that week? Doesn't look I can really get what I need. May just have to stay 4 in a room but then we can't go through Priceline because they don't guarantee double beds.

Where is it better to stay in a 4*...Downtown or LAX? I can get the Renaissance hotel LAX for $119 (+tax) thru Marriott Friends and Family discount and I can get guaranteed 2 double beds. Can I do better than that for a 4* in Downtown and again, what's the better location?

[Colfax]

You can guarantee two beds on HOTWIRE by searching on 3 adults/0 children.

With two beds guaranteed Hotwire has a 4* at LAX for $180 or a 3.5* at LAX for $96.

You might win two 3.5* rooms at LAX on PRICELINE for $60 or less apiece, and that would about match your $119 Marrriott rate---but you'd have two 3.5* rooms then (two bathrooms, two showers) rather than one 4* room, for the same price.

Myself I like Downtown over the airport but that's a personal choice. In either zone you're looking at long freeway commute times to the westside zones where you plan to spend most of your time.

What about trying to $95 for a 3* in Beverly Hills-West Hollywood? All the reported 3* have good reputation. Farmer's Daughter Hotel has been coming up lately, and that's a very central location to LA's westside attractions and it gets good reviews (better than some higher rated hotels get).

Also take a look at reviews for the Hollywood Heights Hotel on TripAdvisor. If that appeals you might try for a 3* in Hollywood, as HHH is the only known 3* in the zone.

[HX_Guy]

I think I would prefer downtown as well...I know downtown LA isn't the most walkable but it has to be more interesting than staying next to the airport...plus it probably has some places to eat and such within walking distance. I'll look a little bit more into downtown and report back. I appreciate all the help. :)

[Colfax]

Yes, more restaurants and museums and things to do Downtown than at the Airport. And if you stay Downtown you can take Metro trains to Hollywood and Universal Studios.

If 4* doesn't work 3.5* is a good option Downtown too.

Let us know what you come up with.

Please remember to use the board's PRICELINE link.

[HX_Guy]

So I just noticed I keep getting this message at the top after I submit my offers. I have already closed the browser and opened a new one. Is it because I setup an account.

We were not able to process this request since our records indicate you have already made a request for this same trip. Your credit card has not been charged...

[HX_Guy]

Unfortunately, I bid up to $95 for a 4* in downtown and no luck.

I think it's going to be the Renaissance by the airport. My wife really dislikes dingy hotels...and while 3.5* isn't normally dingy, I looked at some of the pictures on TripAdvisor of some of the hotels listed here as 3.5* and some of the pics taken by guests don't look very good...she's especially picky when it comes to the bathrooms. It's not going to be the best sharing a room with another couple for 5 nights but I think it's better than not sharing and having a somewhat dingy room.

[thereuare]

It sounds like you're not using your re-bid zones correctly...

Exactly what bids have you made and at what point do you receive the duplicate bid message?

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

[HX_Guy]

Well that spun out of control quickly...heh. Ended up booking the W Hollywood for $265 per night for a 2 queen room.

[thereuare]

I assume you booked directly with the hotel for that price (and a far cry for the $70 your were originally seeking when you started this thread)

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

[Colfax]

No dingy bathrooms at the W. Have fun!