Priceline Hotel: 3.5* San Francisco (Fishermans Wharf) Marriott San Francisco Fishermans Wharf

[stevo369]

Any strategy in order to get this hotel. I am looking to stay Thurs July 5th, July 6th, July 7th. I have seen people win this hotel for $85 on Tripadvisor, and $150-$160 on this site. My budget is maxed out at $150 per night, and the Hotel charges approx $200/night normally.

I might start at $85 a night, I prefer the Marriott, but if I get the Sheraton or Hilton at Fish Wharf, I am ok with that too. I will max out at $150/night though.

Thanks,

Steve

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates are date specific and can vary greatly from one day to the next. Here is a priceline win at $160/nite and here is a win at the same hotel at $85/nite (and plenty of others inbetween)

You can't bid on a specific hotel when using PRICELINE, you have to be able to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose. With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to what is being offered based upon the amenities associated with the property, but it's still a 'best guess' and no guarantees you will receive the hotel you're hoping for. As well, HOTWIRE only shows one hotel at each star level per zone, so there is a chance the hotel you're hoping for isn't the one which is offered for your particular dates.

Assuming you're fine with any 3.5* rated property in this zone, when bidding 3.5* you have SIX 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.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 3.5* Fishermans Wharf...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone5...

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* Fishermans Wharf and re-bid zone6...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone5...

Bid $150

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.

[stevo369]

Thanks for the response. My 1st bid of $85 got rejected, I definitely want Fish Wharf area, I will have to read about rebid zones so I do it right.

Steve

[stevo369]

Ok,

I added the rebid zones as you asked, and upped my price by $5 each time, $85, $90, $95, etc. It was all denied through, $110, so obviously I azm bidding too low. WHat is my next strategy. Wait a day, bid higher, etc.

Steve

[thereuare]

Were you able to identify all SIX re-bid zones as you should have been able to bid the entire cycle above (from $85 up to $150) in one session. If not, let us know and we'll break it down further for you.

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

[stevo369]

Yea, your advice was right on, I identified all rebid zones, wrote them down on paper and made sure they were all 3* and lower, since I wanted onl;y 3.5* and the wharf. I started at $85, and went up to $115 I think. My Budget is $125 max per night. Do I wait 24 Hours, do the same thing. Where do I start my opening bid? $90, or higher?

[stevo369]

How do I go up to $150 in one session, I bid all 6 zones that have 3* and lower (starting at $85/night) along with the 3.5* Fish Wharf. My budget is approx $125/night. How can you continue the session as you mentioned above.

[Romelle]

Look really carefully at that pattern thereuare gave you. The steps at $120 and $125 are the basis for getting the additional bids.

If you write down each bid with the correct zones, you will see that each set of zones is different than all the others. The trick is in closing out the browser in the middle and then coming back in with Fisherman's Wharf plus rebid zone 6. 6 hasn't been used before, so when the others are added to it one at a time, each combination is a new one.

But you have to close the browser (sign off) to get Priceline to uncheck the zones you had checked before you can start up the second phase.

The process is sometimes referred to as permutations.

Romelle

[stevo369]

Thanks,

I understand, it's the idea of different combos and making sure the zones are unchechecked. I will try

Thanks

Steve

[stevo369]

I already used zone 6 earlier and did not close out the browser, so I assume I have to wait 24 hrs. Tomorrow morn, Should I start my bidding low, or should I add $5 to my highest rejected bid, which was $115

[Romelle]

You know up to $115 didn't work, so you certainly can just start higher. A reason for starting back at the $85 would be to catch a brand new inexpensive addition to Priceline's inventory, but it is improbable after just one day.

You could use the full pattern thereuare gave you, but just use smaller increments ($4 and $3) to work up to your $150 max.

Or you could use the $5 increments and just do it the basic way adding one free re-bid zone at a time, from $120 to $150.

Do remember to recheck the free rebid zones before you start. There is no warning when they change.

You'll have to wait the full 24 hours from the last thing you did.

Romelle

[stevo369]

Gracias Romelle,

I will do that.

[thereuare]

I already used zone 6 earlier and did not close out the browser...

To clarify, it's not 'Zone 6' that you want to use but 'Your 6th re-bid zone' (as in if you wrote all your re-bid zones down on a piece of paper and numbered them from 1-6... it has nothing to do with the 6th zone in the list of zones found on PRICELINE's website)

Once you have your zones numbered on a piece of paper, simply substitute them in the strategy above.

If you have 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.

[stevo369]

Thanks Guys for all your help and the rebidding process. THe two folks that originally helped me out, thereuare and romelle, thank you so kindly. Someone won the same hotel 3 days ago at almost the same price, I should started around that price, but I tried to nickel and dime it. Either way, Priceline has the Hotel listed at $219 and up, so $149/night is pretty darn good, since this is the property I wanted. I am very grateful, and I did use the PRICELINE link on this site.

Regards,

Steve

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Definitely a terrific result for this Marriott property, and glad you are looking forward to your stay.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.