Priceline Hotel: 4* San Francisco (Union Square West - Nob Hill) Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco - Union Square

[laky]

Traveling to SFO, staying there for a night, & then going up to Napa/Sonoma. Have secured Napa/Sonoma lodging but having a hard time with San Francisco for that Monday 6/25. Is there something going on in San Francisco then that is driving up the prices? Have bid up to 150 for 4*USE/USW/FDE/SOMA & 125 for 3.5*those areas + Fisherman's. Perhaps this is too low for San Francisco in June?

[Romelle]

Unfortunately, probably too low for San Francisco for that date. Hotwire's low 4* is a USE at $169. Sorry.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Please click each of these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your post above.

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

Thank you.

[laky]

have clicked on above links. i am unsure of how to use the hotwire price to estimate my bidding on priceline. tips?

[Romelle]

have clicked on above links. i am unsure of how to use the hotwire price to estimate my bidding on priceline. tips?

I'm a member, not a moderator. My personal theory:

Hotwire as a cap or worst case number. You now know you can get a 4* at $169. Or at least did yesterday. The offers can change pretty quickly.

Start bidding maybe 20% lower (when I have lots of time/free rebids ... as you do). It most likely won't work, but if I try it and it fails, I know I haven't left money on the table.

When short on time/bids, maybe 15% lower.

Hotwire tends to be a little higher than Priceline, but there are plenty of cases where it isn't necessarily so. Just one more piece of information.

Hotwire can be a little more generous with stars also, so that needs taken into consideration. Maybe 1/2 a star. So a 3.5* Priceline can be a 4* Hotwire. Again, not necessarily so.

One big advantage of Hotwire is that the experts here can often provide you with a good guess as to what the hotel might be. Before committing. If you supply them with specifics of the offer, including all amenities.

Another big advantage is you can select for specific amenities - free breakfast, pool, whatever.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Have secured Napa/Sonoma lodging but having a hard time with San Francisco for that Monday 6/25.

If your Napa/Sonoma purchase(s) were on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, it would be appreciated if you shared your win(s) with the board so that the information can help others, just as you are trying to use wins reported to the board to assist in your own purchases.

To add to Romelle's post above, remember that PRICELINE and HOTWIRE may also use different star ratings for the same hotel, so you can't always use HOTWIRE's price for a 4* hotel in trying to bid for your 4* hotel on PRICELINE, as the 4* HOTWIRE property may actually be a 3.5* rated property on PRICELINE.

My guess is that you're currently looking at $145-$165 for a 4* hotel, and not much cheaper for a 3.5* (maybe $20 or so less depending upon the 'right price' for a 4* actually is)

One more tip... go to our Priceline Maps and enter San Francisco and in the box (top left) that fills only check the zone(s) you're bidding (you can then see an 'all time' price range for each of the hotels in the box below the one with the zones). Then further filter the results by selecting only June and July (the months closest to your stay) and change the time line to 'next 365 days'... you'll then see the price range for all hotels reported to the board thru PRICELINE for June and July of the upcoming year... all 3.5* and 4* wins have been over $125/nite. Now rates are date specific so your particular dates may be more or less, but at least this gives you a sense that $125 being too low at the moment is not totally out of the ordinary.

If you'd like help with a bidding strategy let us know your current maximum bid at each star level and confirm the zone(s) you're willing to accept, and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[laky]

A few things:

1.) We booked B&Bs in Napa/Sonoma directly with the owners themselves. Sorry I can't share priceline info on these places. I am thinking about bidding for a car & can post that if there's a place for that on this forum.

2.) Thanks for letting me know about the differences in star levels between hotwire & priceline. I will surely keep this in mind.

3.) I did look into the map that thereuare mentioned. It's a really interesting tool.

4.) I tried again today, going up to $160 for 4* in the previously mentioned zones & then again up to $160 for 3.5* with absolutely no success. A brief review of this site shows very few wins needing to go above $160. I will try keep trying but am starting to get a little nervous. I did go to hotwire. There is a 3.5* in USW boutique hotel for $158. I guess this would be a priceline 3*. Should I go ahead and drop down & bid on Travelocity 3*? Oh, & there's a 4.5* of hotwire for $171. Maybe I should just go for that one? I'm a little surprised that my priceline bid of $160 did not catch that one as it was only ~6% under that hotwire price. However, truthfully, I'm not very knowledgeable about how these things really work. Will keep this board posted. Hopefully I'll get to write about success soon!

[Romelle]

For car rentals and posting here, just keep scrolling on down. You'll see it.

That 1/2 star difference is very approximate. And for that matter, Hotwire has hotels Priceline doesn't, and vice versa.

Since you are just driving through and only staying in San Francisco one night, have you considered some of the further out zones in the area? Maybe on the side of town where you arrive all road-weary, or on the departure side for an easier get-away in the morning?

If you post the amenities and other details of a Hotwire hotel in which you might be interested, often the experts here can give you a good guess as to what hotel it might be. That might help your decision making one way or the other.

Romelle

[thereuare]

The HOTWIRE 4.5* property in the USW zone has the following amenities:

4.5-star Hotel in Union Square West - Nob Hill

Indoor Pool

Smoke Free

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

Spa

Room Accessible

Best guess for this property is the The Huntington and Nob Hill Spa, and given the 4.5/5.0 TA rating, and excellent reviews, i would go for this one if your budget allows and the location is good for your needs... it's just a few dollars more than you've already bid and it ensures a very well reviewed property.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[laky]

The Huntington & Nob Hill Spa was no longer available when I went back to Hotwire. However, reporting that I secured Parc 55 Wyndham from June 25-June 26 for $160 via priceline. Thanks for everyone's help!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Hope you're pleased with the results if this property and this property is convenient for your needs.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.