Priceline Hotel: 3.5 or 4* Los Angeles (Santa Monica) or (LAX)

[Genga]

Hi there,

First time poster, and have to say what a great site.

I am in the process of planning a bidding strategy for a 1 night stay in either LAX or Santa Monica on 6th Dec 2011, while effectively on a layover. We arrive into LAX at 12.30pm (6th Dec) and leave the following night at 8.30pm (7th Dec). We would like to spend the afternoon and following day in Santa Monica, and I am tossing up whether to actually stay in Santa Monica or around LAX.

Points of importance for us:

Budget - Ideally up to $100 including taxes

Check out time - Does anyone have experience of hotels in these areas allowing a 24hr stay? I did read about one in a review online but can't for the life of me remember which hotel it was and on what site! Because of our late flight the next day it would be great to have access to the room as long as possible to shower etc. Failing a 24hr stay, are any of the Priceline/Hotwire hotels known for extending check outs easily and free of charge?

Also, we are approx three weeks out from the stay at the moment, is now a good time to bid?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Check out time - Does anyone have experience of hotels in these areas allowing a 24hr stay? I did read about one in a review online but can't for the life of me remember which hotel it was and on what site! Because of our late flight the next day it would be great to have access to the room as long as possible to shower etc. Failing a 24hr stay, are any of the Priceline/Hotwire hotels known for extending check outs easily and free of charge?

I don't know of any hotels which offer a 24 hour stay (and with standard check-in times of 3pm and check-out times of 11am/noon, most hotels don't expect guests to use a hotel for a full 24 hours), but if this is something you're interested in you should try to negotiate a rate directly with the hotel. However, with most hotels in this area costing more than $100+ on a direct purchase, i don't think you'll likely find anything within your budget.

You can sometimes get a late check-out at no charge, but this is typically only 2pm, and if you want to stay later until ~6pm-8pm you can sometimes pay half of the daily rate, but this would be based upon the hotel's rate and not the PRICELINE / HOTWIRE rate you played.

Also, keep in mind that the PRICELINE zone is "Santa Monica-Marina Del Rey" and you can receive a hotel anywhere within the shaded boundaries of the zone... not specifically only Santa Monica, so make sure you're comfortable with a hotel anywhere within the zone.

Budget - Ideally up to $100 including taxes

What is this in terms of bid amount?

Also, we are approx three weeks out from the stay at the moment, is now a good time to bid?

See the related 'Bid Early or Late' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Based upon the above let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[Genga]

Thanks very much for your reply.

Our ideal budget would be max $100 including taxes as final bid.. so I guess starting bids at around $50 going up to final bid of $80? Obviously more chance of getting an LAX at these prices than something in Santa Monica.

I think we will just make do with the standard check in and out times, maybe try our luck requesting a late check out when we arrive. We could always store our luggage at the hotel after we check out right? I have done it many times before only in the US once and not sure if it would be a security issue or something along those lines?

I read through the FAQ's - thanks for directing me to those, sorry I didn't read through them earlier. I think I will start trying some lower bids now while I've got some time up my sleeve. I wanted to have a look at Easyclick Travel for a back up option, but the links in the FAQ page are not working.

I will continue to use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the page for my searches.

Thanks again and I will let you know how I go

[thereuare]

...so I guess starting bids at around $50 going up to final bid of $80? Obviously more chance of getting an LAX at these prices than something in Santa Monica.

If price is the ultimate driving factor you could bid both zones and let PRICELINE award you whichever zone has the least expense price at the star level you choose.

If you need help with a bidding strategy let us know.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.