Priceline Hotel: Bidding strategy

[SophiaH]

Hello there!

First of all: thank you very much for your help. I am aware that there are some similar posts but mostly it is all about weekends

[Colfax]

Welcome to the board, SophiaH.

We would like to stay in a nice hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf or Marina (Union Square might be acceptable, as well). We would like to start bidding on 3.5 stars-hotels in both areas.

2* is the highest rating Priceline offers in Marina-Lombard zone. If you want 3.5* or higher that means FW or Union Square, not Lombard.

Yesterday we had a first try (100 dollar/night) and got immediately rejected (is this normal- I thought it takes a while?).

Immediate rejections, within one or two seconds, aren't unusual. More often it takes a little longer, less than 30 seconds. No special meaning should be given to how quickly you're rejected. Sometimes Priceline's servers are busier than others.

When we wanted to raise up the price it said something like: please change at least one condition (even though we increased the price).

In order to bid again you have to change something other than price. Either add a zone, change your dates, or bid a different quality level.

Based on rates for your dates, which are fairly busy, I think $100 is too low for a 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf, and it's probably too low for a 3*.

3.5* Sheraton FW $292

3.5* Hyatt FW $280

3.5* Hilton FW $269

3* Holiday Inn FW $229

You probably need to be bidding more in the $140-160 range for a 3.5*, and maybe a little lower for a 3*. Someone can give a bidding strategy that starts at $100 and goes up to a higher figure in small steps, if you're interested.

You can also bid from $100 to $150 (or whatever other number you choose for your bidding limit) in FW and Union Square together, and that way get the least expensive 3.5* or better that's available in any of those zones.

If you want to keep it under $110 that might mean a 3* in USE or USW; a 2.5* in FW; or Civic Center North or South zones.

Let us know how you want to proceed, or if you have other questions.

Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your puchases and searches.

[Gallus50]

Hi Sophia - Also please do yourself a favor and read FAQs on this board. Being an informed bidder will help you save more $$ and not miss opportunities. Check rack rates for your dates on other sites and also check the calendar of wins for your dates.

Sept/Oct in SF is usually a challenge, as you can tell by the many posts for this time period. Good luck and keep us informed.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages and clicking this PRICELINE link... then reply to this thread and we'll further look at your stay above.

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

Thanks.

[SophiaH]

Thank you very much for your help. I read the instructions for bidding at Priceline and now I understand everything a little bit better.

As I have never been to SF I am not exactly sure which way to go: to add more zones (e.g. Union Square E and W) and stay at 3.5 stars or to big for Fisherman's Wharf only and decrease the rating.

I know that this is actually off-topic but maybe sone SF-experts could help me with this question. We are a young couple and we are looking basically for a nice and rather safe place. It would be good if restaurants, bars etc. are close by...

Thank you

[Gallus50]

Everything is close by in San Francisco. It's not a geographically large city. People walk everywhere and when they don't, public transport is good.

To maximize your chances, I'd use rebids and bid in any area that seems agreeable to you. For many visitors, those areas are USE, USW, FD/Emb, FW and possibly SOMA. I don't care for Civic Center, though the area northern area around Van Ness (HI Golden Gateway) is ok. To me, SOMA has too much nightlife and seems noisy, though many hotels are near Market Street and they're not as loud.

If you are unsuccessful, you may need to come down to 3*. I don't think that is a big difference, personally, and more 3* in SF may offer breakfast, too.

[Colfax]

Echoing Gallus's comments, Fisherman's Wharf and/or Downtown are both good places for a young couple to stay. Whichever area you choose you'll almost certainly be visiting the other and it's easy to travel between the two.

Since these are expensive dates it will be your budget that dictates your hotel options. What is your bidding limit/budget per night for this trip? $100 probably won't be enough for a 4* or 3.5*. Are you willing to go higher? Or are you looking for the nicest hotel available for $100?

[SophiaH]

My budget is limited to $130. Could you be so kind and propose a bidding strategy. I'd proceed as follows:

1. FW and USW (or better USE first?), 4* and $100, if rejected:

2. Add USE, 4* and $100, if rejected:

3. Remove USE and USW, 3.5*, $ 100, if rejected:

4. Add USW, 3.5*, 100$, if rejected:

5. Add USE, 3.5*, 100$, if rejected:

...

Then I'd continue with removing USE and USW and go for 3* in FW or increase the price. In your proposals I read that you always increase the price by 3$ steps. This would mean the 2. step would be: "Add USW, 4* and 103$". Is this the better way? If yes, why?

[Colfax]

Before someone can suggest a bidding strategy we need to be clear on your objective.

I think you're saying you want to bid up to $130 for a 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf, USE, and/or USW zones, but please confirm.

Do you have a favored zone that you want to bid up to $130 there first; then if rejected bid to $130 in the other zone(s)?

Or are you looking for the least expensive 3.5* or higher available in any of the three zones?

The strategy will be different depending on your objective.

If all three zones are acceptable the "Keep it Simple" approach will be to bid from $100 to $130 for 3.5* in the three zones together at once. Let us know if that's what you'd like to try, or something else.

In your proposals I read that you always increase the price by 3$ steps.

Depending on the circumstances we suggest increasing by varying amounts, not always $3. In SF we go up by $5 and $10 a lot but there are no hard and fast rules.

[thereuare]

Please start by reading your messages and clicking this PRICELINE link...

[SophiaH]

Hey there!

Well, basically I’d prefer staying in FW, my boyfriend prefers the rating... so I guess it’ll be something in between. No, in general made the decision: the best hotel in FW or USW (USE would be okay for 3.5*, as well). Si it is more about the rating than the area.

Nevertheless we tried our luck yesterday – without success. I thought it is easy to remember all steps I went bidding, no chance. Next time I will write it down immediately and then I can post it here.

I try to summarize: basically we proceeded as proposed by me previously but with raising the total, up to 140$ for FW and USW 3.5*. No chance. W also tried 130$ for 3* in FW and USW and 120$ for 3.5* in USE. Seems too low.

I know that now we have to go for 3* FW and raise the price maybe up to 140$. But it’s really expensive in October. Didn’t know that before.

I guess I will check the 3* hotels in USE today and see if this is an option, as well.

Any further proposals? Thank you!

[slruud]

Again I'll throw out the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, "available" on Lastminutetravel.com for $116/nite. Public transportation being what it is in the City, it's easy enough to get to US or FW via bus or cable car....with a Muni pass of course.

Another expense to think about is parking if you are going to have a car.

[Colfax]

Summarizing your rejected bids:

3.5* FW/USW $140

3.5* USE $120

3* FW/USE $130

HOTWIRE has a 3* in Fisherman's Wharf for $179 that looks like Holiday Inn. It's possible a 3* PRICELINE bid in $140-160 range in FW might work.

You could also try $130 for 3* in USW. Or $140 for 4* or 3.5* in Embarcadero-Financial. Any of those would be a good deal for these dates.

With your trip still more than two months away it's possible you're bidding too soon, in addition to bidding too low. Your current bid levels, or more likely $10-20 higher, might get accepted in a month, if not now. If you'd like to hold out and keep trying once a week or so you should book a cancellable reservation someplace, just in case PRICELINE and HOTWIRE don't work.

If you're eager to secure something now and you don't want to bid higher than you have or add more zones....then the Holiday Inn for $116 that slruud mentioned looks like a good Plan B.