musafir Posted April 11, 2012 Report Posted April 11, 2012 Stumbled upon this site yesterday, and over the past 12 hours, realised how fabulous it is! I have got a fair idea of how to use the Priceline and Hotwire sites and the reference lists are super helpful. However, I have a question. I see folks posting successful deals, though there isn't a lot of mention on unsuccessful. So my question - is it possible for me to get a 4* or better hotel in San Francisco downtown / Union Square / Wharf for the first 2 weeks of May, at an average rate of $150 including taxes?I am new to the place and have no clue about any of these hotels and my only source of information for them has been tripadvisor, which I have generally found reliable, but sometimes misguiding due to generous ratings by some travelers.
thereuare Posted April 11, 2012 Report Posted April 11, 2012 Welcome to BetterBidding!Glad to hear you're finding the information here useful :)What are the actual dates of your stay? Do you need the full 2 weeks or only a subset of dates within a 2 week period?Let us know the specific dates you need and we'll have a look at current rates for your upcoming trip.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 11, 2012 Author Report Posted April 11, 2012 I need the full 2 weeks. To be precise, the dates would be 29th April check-in to 12th May check-out. Thanks for helping with this! I have been using the Priceline search from this site, would love to complete a booking from here if I can get some good pointers :)EDIT: I am looking for double occupancy (2 separate beds preferable, else one King size). I know we can only book by rooms, but some hotels usually do mention the type of room.Another doubt. I do not see any 5* properties in the Priceline Name Your Price section. Is it that they fall under 4.5* or are they not covered under this scheme - I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't considering their normal prices would be way above what's being bid.
thereuare Posted April 11, 2012 Report Posted April 11, 2012 ...is it possible for me to get a 4* or better hotel in San Francisco downtown / Union Square / Wharf...PRICELINE does not currently offer 4* bidding in the Fisherman Wharf zone so this would not be an option if you're only bidding at the 4* level. In terms of 'Downtown' i assume USE and USW-Nob Hill are acceptable? What about Financial District Embarcadero?...at an average rate of $150 including taxes?I'm not sure exactly what this equates to in terms of bid amount, but i i'm doubtful that $150 'all-in' will be enough for a full 2 week stay... a $150 bid amount might have a shot.Please confirm the zone(s) you're willing to accept, by PRICELINE name, as well as what you'd like to use as your maximum BID amount, and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 11, 2012 Author Report Posted April 11, 2012 PRICELINE does not currently offer 4* bidding in the Fisherman Wharf zone so this would not be an option if you're only bidding at the 4* level. In terms of 'Downtown' i assume USE and USW-Nob Hill are acceptable? What about Financial District Embarcadero?These 3 areas will be perfectly fine.I'm not sure exactly what this equates to in terms of bid amount, but i i'm doubtful that $150 'all-in' will be enough for a full 2 week stay... a $150 bid amount might have a shot.By average rate, I meant the bid amount to be $150 including taxes per night. So for a 13 night stay (as in my case), that would be 150 * 13 = 1950 all inclusive. Strictly cannot go above this :)
thereuare Posted April 11, 2012 Report Posted April 11, 2012 By average rate, I meant the bid amount to be $150 including taxes per night.I understood, but while i know a lot about hotels all over, i don't know the tax rate in every location ;). However, i've researched it for you and a maximum bid of $128 would bring you to $1949 'all-in' for this 13 nite stay (of course always observe the total before submitting your bids)When bidding 4* in San Francisco you have SEVEN 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* USE and USW...Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $103, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $108, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* Financial...Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $103, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $108, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* USE, USW and Financial...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $123, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $128Any 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. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 11, 2012 Author Report Posted April 11, 2012 This is awesome! I am heading over to PRICELINE now to try my luck. Can't thank you enough for all this trouble..
thereuare Posted April 11, 2012 Report Posted April 11, 2012 Good luck and let us know how it goes.Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Posted April 12, 2012 I tried this approach quite a few times, but I keep going all the way till 140 (bid amount exclusive of taxes), and still don't get a reservation. I wonder if I am doing something wrong
thereuare Posted April 12, 2012 Report Posted April 12, 2012 I tried this approach quite a few times, but I keep going all the way till 140 (bid amount exclusive of taxes), and still don't get a reservation. I wonder if I am doing something wrongNope, you're not likely doing anything wrong, as noted above:...but i i'm doubtful that $150 'all-in' will be enough for a full 2 week stay... a $150 bid amount might have a shot.Tthese dates are somewhat expensive and it can be difficult to get a full 2 week stay as you need a hotel to have deeply discounted inventory available for each nite of the entire two week span. If a hotel is very busy for even just one nite of the 13 and hasn't offered PRICELINE inventory for that specific nite, then that hotel is not even in the running for the trip.I see you have already bid over your $128 maximum bid, do you have any room to bid higher? Is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Posted April 12, 2012 I don't intend to go higher, but I was trying to see what price would allow me a successful bid. Turns out the rates are high now. I am a bit surprised since folks have got 4* properties in the same area for 130 - 140 as mentioned here, around the same period that I plan to visit. I guess they were the last rooms with those prices. I need to try the split option, though that is something I would like to avoid
thereuare Posted April 12, 2012 Report Posted April 12, 2012 I am a bit surprised since folks have got 4* properties in the same area for 130 - 140 as mentioned here, around the same period...As noted above, rates are date specific, and can vary greatly from one day to the next. While wins for around the same time period at least give a little insight as to what it might take, it's not uncommon to not be able to replicate another user's win when their dates are different than your own... even if the dates differ by only one day. (however, the bigger issue/cause is likely in our next reply)I guess they were the last rooms with those prices.Not likely... more likely it's 1)their dates are different than your own and, 2)their stay was for a few days whereas your trip is for nearly a full 2 weeks.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 15, 2012 Author Report Posted April 15, 2012 Not having had much luck so far in my budget, I was wondering if bidding for a 3.5* on Hotwire would be the next best thing to getting a 4* star.I see a 3.5* in Union Square West for 134 + taxes on hotwire, with following amenities: Boutique Hotel, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-Speed Internet AccessCan someone help me ID this? From the list on the site, there are either Prescott or Serrano. Am I right? PS: I hope it is OK to post this query in this thread though it mentions a Hotwire hotel. If not, please move this to the appropriate section. Thanks!
thereuare Posted April 15, 2012 Report Posted April 15, 2012 Your post is correct in this thread... you can keep all posts for this stay i this same thread.The HOTWIRE property above does match previous reports for both the Prescott and the Serrano, so either of these would be my best guess for this one. Do be aware that as of last report the Prescott is 4* rated by PRICELINE and the Serrano is 3* rated, so it's not always an apples-to-apples comparison to HOTWIRE.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
musafir Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Posted April 26, 2012 I have been scouting for deals for sometime now, but ended up getting a decent deal from hotels.com. However, there was a slight change of plan, and I decided to give priceline a shot, and I got exactly what I thought I would get - thanks to the two awesome lists on HOTWIRE and PRICELINE hotels.The reviews on TA aren't flattering, but then this is just going to be a single day's stay, so I will not repent either way! Thanks to this awesome site, and this is but a small way of showing gratitude (I booked through the PRICELINE link here).
thereuare Posted April 27, 2012 Report Posted April 27, 2012 Congratulations on your success! Glad to see you found something that works well for your plans and that you're pleased with the results. Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding. Enjoy this leg of your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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