Priceline Hotel: 3* Ventura Four Points Sheraton

[CUinAZ]

Greetings!

May I first say that there is a wealth of information here and I am very thankful for all of the advice provided.

I'm travelling with Dad next week and he's already booked the Motel 6 in Camarillo for 50.00 a night but I've become a bit spoiled lately staying in Sheraton's and "ritzier" places in Vegas. I've told him that I can get something better for less.

Upon checking ONLY Camarillo, I see a 2* and a 2 1/2*, advice on bidding?

I see some getting the Hyatt in Westlake Village (Thous. Oaks) for under 50.

I'm not sure how far a drive it would be from the Hyatt to my grandmother's

home in Camarillo. (I can easily search that, though).

Question: Where should I start bidding for Camarillo? Should I try for the Hyatt

which I KNOW people have had success with?

Thanks for any advice. :)

[thereuare]

Mapquest puts the two cities (using a centerpoint in each, so your actual distance could be a bit longer) at 12.5 miles and 15 minutes.

I would first determine if that is acceptable to you or not and then determine if the higher star rating (available in Thousand Oaks) is worth anything more to you vs. the extra 15 minutes driving time.

Let us know your thoughs on the star rating/zone situation and we'll suggest a strategy to incorporate those aspects. I will add that Camarillo may be a tough bid based upon some other information i'm seeing.

[CUinAZ]

Thank you for your quick reply.

Staying in Thousand Oaks would be wonderful for me. Sadly, I think Dad would REALLY like to stay in Camarillo.

However, if by bidding the area I am risking a poorly reviewed hotel, I think I could convince him that T.O. is the way to go. (hey, I'm a poet! :) )

What are the potential problems you see with bidding strictly Camarillo?

Thanks again for your help.

I made a successful bid for a Phoenix Airport Hotel (28.00) which I will share on the AZ board. (It was my first win!)

[Guest aldo]

Last summer, I was trying for the 2 1/2* Courtyard in Camarillo, seeing successful bids posted of $46 (our plans changed, so we ended up somewhere else). Don't know if this is still "the magic number", or if that Courtyard still sells to PL, but it might work. The hotel has good reviews, so if you get it, it should be ok. Try Camarillo first if it's closer to Grandma's, since traffic on the 101 can be heavy. There are no free rebids, so you can only keep bidding every 72 hours. Good luck!

[thereuare]

The potential 'problem' is that i think it will take a reasonably high bid to have success... but you can try to start with the $46 mentiond above.

I'm still not clear on your thoughts if you want to bid both zones or not.

[CUinAZ]

Thanks for all of the tips.

I guess I did sound a bit indecisive.

Ideally, Camarillo could be bid alone. I think I would like to see what happens

if I bid ONLY Camarillo. (gotta please travel partners) :)

Does anyone know how many hotels work with PL in that region?

[CUinAZ]

I just read some reviews of the M6 in Camarillo. :) I can not, WILL not stay there.

With this in mind I've decided I'd like to bid the Thousand Oaks zone

along with the Camarillo. I did a quick check on just the Camarillo zone

with a 46 bid and got the message about "small chance". I did not

proceed after that.

My plan is to offer 47.00 for 2 1/2* Camarillo only

if refused, on re-bid increase bid to 48 and add

the 3* Thousand Oaks zone. Not quite sure what to

do after that if the bid is not accepted.

Ideas?

And I thank you so very much. I get a knot in my stomach every time I sit and wait for

the bidding results. :)

[Guest aldo]

Your $48 rebid will be wasted. It probably won't be enough to get a 3* in T.O., and it's probably not enough to make a difference for the 2 1/2* in Camarillo.

What's the max you're willing to spend?

[CUinAZ]

Good question.

I sure hope I can find something at a max of 55-60 per night per room.

I thought I had read that folks were scoring in T.O. for 48.00.

(thinking aloud) Were those hits last year? oooooh, maybe they were.

[CUinAZ]

Am I correct that Ventura is closer to Camarillo than Westlake Village?

Perhaps I should consider trying to score a 3* in Ventura and

build that into my bidding strategy?

[Guest aldo]

Try $49 for 3* in Ventura, if no luck, add Camarillo and bid $55.

Ventura is much more scenic.

[CUinAZ]

Thank you so much for your assistance.

I didn't follow the plan precisely but did end up with the Sheraton in Ventura for 53.00.

The 55.00 for Camarillo alone was rejected so I started over bidding 49.00 for T.O. (based on

the terrific reviews of the Hyatt) rejected. I went up to 52.00 adding Camarillo, knowing

I would be turned down again for Cam, but maybe get T.O.

That was rejected so I added $1.00 and Ventura and won at 53.00.

That may be a few dollars more than I could have booked the Ventura Sheraton, but I'm still pleased with

the outcome.

P.S. Dad's happy with the result too. :)

[CUinAZ]

I started my bidding at 55.00 for 2 1/2* Camarillo alone and was rejected so I started over bidding 49.00 for Thousand Oaks (based on the terrific reviews of the Hyatt). Sadly, rejected. I went up to 52.00 adding Camarillo, knowing I would be turned down again for Cam, but maybe get T.O.

That was rejected so I added $1.00 and Ventura and won at 53.00.

That may be a few dollars more than I could have booked the Ventura Sheraton, but I'm still pleased with

the outcome.

Thank you BetterBidding.com!

p.s. I did use the SavingsBarn.com link.

:)

[thereuare]

Glad you were successful and happy with the results... and saved some money too! :)

Enjoy your stay.

PS- and thanks for using the SB links