Lorelei03 Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 I posted to this site under hotwire and folks suggested I could do better with priceline, so I read the strategy post you all directed me towards and gave it a shot (unsuccessfully) today as below. All bids were for a 4*USE $65added Cathedral Hill for $75added Fman's Wharf for $85added USW for $90added cca for $91added ssf for $92added sfo for $93I'm wondering what would happen if I added boutiques to my search - not raising the price but including them as possibilities. How can I see what boutique hotels are in what areas of sf?Thanks!! Link to comment
shammes53 Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 You could check out the Priceline Hotel List for California and you could also go to Expedia or Travelocity and search for hotels paying close attention to the Boutique hotels. You can also look at recent winning bids for Boutique hotels San Francisco Priceline BidsDon't forget to go to Trip Advisor San Francisco and look at hotel reviews for San Francisco. Good Luck! Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Thanks! I checked out the boutique hotels I could identify from the sources you mentioned and liked them (Villa Florence, Habor Court, Galleria Park, Serrano), but thought I would lower my bids for this lower group of properties. So I tried unsuccessfully with a boutique select for the same dates - 9/9-9/15USE at $60added Cathedral Hilladded Fshman's Wharfadded USW at $61I wonder if - after my 72 hours are up - I should go higher? I was really hoping for under $100 for the 4*, though... Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 21, 2005 Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 I don't think your Boutique bids were high enough to give yourself a fighting chance.Let us know what it is you really want (4* vs. Boutique) and which zone(s) are acceptable to you... we'll then suggest how to proceed.PS- have you done anything regarding your beginning SAN FRANCISCO STAY? (please follow-up that post accordingly) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
slruud Posted August 21, 2005 Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 Real happy that I bid boutique last june for 9/15-9/17 and got the Galleria Park for $75/nite. Just checked current rates and average is $180/nite. Even if I get just a double bed, I would rather save the $$$$. More $$$ for martinis at Top of the Mark and lunch/dinner at Tadich Grill.Web site says no availability for original posters dates 9/9-9/15.SteveR Link to comment
slruud Posted August 21, 2005 Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 Just checked again, and for OP's dates now have rates @ $160+/nite. Have seen that before...no availability and then availability. Villa Florence shows $249/nite. Seems quite high to get a reasonable bid accepted.SteveR Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Thanks for all the advice so far - I know I'll get there!I'd prefer a 4* because I would like to have a gym, but would be happy with boutique as well (especially if it could save me a few bucks!).In terms of location, I would like something close to where I'll be hanging out during my stay - which is absolutely very diverse as I'm trying to make my husband fall in love with SF and I want to cover all bases! So, USE will probably be best, but also USW, Cathedral Hill, and Fisherman's Wharf. (I'm not yet firm on the dates for the beginning portion of my trip and so am waiting till I know what I'm doing to post a followup) Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 So what would be your maximum bid at the 4* level and your maximum bid at the Boutique level? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 I think max for a boutique would be $75 and max for a 4* would be $95.Though I'm beginning to think that perhaps I should go to a 3* and try for $70-$75 max there. Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 I just checked hotwire and found a $100 rate for a 4* in USW (with restaurant, pool, fitness and business centers). This was rated a "best value"Also found $75 for a 3* in the civic center Also found two decent boutique quotes (each rated 3*) - $74 for a boutique in USW (ratd a "best value".$83 for a boutique in USE (with fitness and business center and restaurant).Not sure what this means to my strategy, though. Any ideas? Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 With this close to being able to bid again i wouldn't lower to a 3* just yet (when can you bid again?)There are big rate changes for different parts of your stay, is SPLITTING YOUR BID an option? Seems like this would be a good scenario for it so that your husband can easily see and 'feel' different parts of the city. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
DunkinDonut Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Just my 2 cents... I would definitely try splitting the week up. Probably Fri and sat.(or sun) as one stay and Sun-Wed(thurs) as another. Definitely lowball the latter half of the stay as the weekdays are always less booked. Shoot for ~$100 on the fri-sat(sun.) and around ~$85(maybe less) for the latter half. Start bidding lower than what I suggest, but I'd expect to pay in that range. (start at $75 and use $10 increments? Some ppl have gotten $75 for 4* for those dates. Just a matter of timing I think)Keep the 4*!! I edited somewhat, but the rates seem high that week. Hopefully you get a good rate! good luck! Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Thanks for all the help!Yes, splitting my bid is definately an option. So I'll try 9/8-9/11 and then 9/11-9/15.My last question before I embark on this next round is about timing. I would like to give it one more shot at a solid stay for all dates. That will mean that the next time I can rebid using this split strategy will be Sunday or Monday. Would that be cutting it too close? Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 I actually think the beginning part of your stay will be the easier dates (if i recall your dates correctly)... but i'll take a closer look again after you answer the following:When are you eligible to bid again for the complete stay? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Just got a note from priceline - I am eligible to bid again now Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Before a bidding strategy, did you want us to first look at the Hotwire hotels above? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Thanks - that'd be great! Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Couldn't find matches for either (not too much to go on), but this is how i would proceed on priceline, where you have 4 re-bids at both the 4* and the Boutique levels....Select 4* USE...Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $90, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previoulsy.Select 4* USW...Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $90, if rejected add USE and...Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previoulsy.Select Boutique USE...Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previoulsy.Select Boutique USW...Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previoulsy.If the above is rejected i would then repeat the process for the dates 9/9/-9/11 (and for those dates i suspect you will find something in the first round of bidding for 4* USE)Once you change the dates priceline views your request as an entirely new bid, so you don't need to wait out the 72 hours once you change your dates (ie- each set of dates has it's own '72 hour clock')Let us know if you have any questions.Good Luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Lorelei03 Posted August 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Success (partial)! I won at $99 for the Omni (USE) from 9/9 - 9/12! I followed advice for the full stay below, but could only place one set of bids for the 4* and one set of bids for the boutique. I bid up to $98 on 4* and $75 on boutique.Then I began reducing my stay by one night and won at three nights!Now I have to find a place for the 9/12-9/15 portion of my stay. So far no luck. I have bid a number of combinations - started at $100 for a 4*, $80 for a boutique and ending at $65 for 4*, boutique, or 3*. Sigh.(all on savingsbarn link) Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 29, 2005 Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 Glad you got it partially taken care of.If you weren't able to use more than one bidding cycle at each star level above i suspect you included USW in your original round of bidding... USW isn't a re-bid zone since it includes 4* properties.Thanks for using the SB links to begin your bids.Have a great stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountAlready have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now