Priceline Hotel: 3* San Antonio (Airport SAT) Holiday Inn Select

[LoneStar]

This market seems very "night specific" as to rates, and I first looked on hotwire to see what might be available. From this board, I noticed that folks had been getting the La Quinta for $35, which would have been perfect for me, but the hotwire listing for what appeared to be that property for that night was $60. Hotwire's 3-star hotels started at $54, so I suspected there was something out there. A lot of folks have gotten the 3-star Doubletree on priceline in the $40s, so that's what I was aiming for.

There are tons of free rebids in San Antonio above the 2 star level, so I started low and moved up. When I didn't get hit at $40 at the 3 star level, I bid as high as $38 for a 2.5 star and (taking a chance) $35 on a 2 star. With no success, I raised my 3 star bid to $42 and got this Holiday Inn Select.

I always feel cheated to get a Holiday Inn Select at the 3 star level, as they seem a step below a typical 3-star property (I don't understand why they're not 2.5 stars), but it will do. The hotel is only a mile from the airport and has a shuttle that runs until 2 am, so it will meet my needs. Like most folks, though, for the same money, I'd rather get a free breakfast at the La Quinta than stay at a "3 star" Holiday Inn.

[thereuare]

... and like the rest of us, for $42 you'll take whatever they give you :)

I'm sure "every pot has a lid", but the Holiday Inn brand should do something drastic to re-vamp their entire line. I think it's too confusing to have so many different brands with Holiday Inn in the title. If they really wanted to differentiage between 'plain' Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Holiday Inn Select they should be the distinctions clear and use different names for each (simlar to how Marriott has: Marriott, Fairfiled, Residence Inn, Courtyard, etc).

I understand them wanting to leverage off of the Holiday Inn brand, but i don't think that the brand continues to carry the recognition/prestige it once did.

Thanks for the post... what is the date of this stay?

[LoneStar]

Whoops -- it's the night of Oct. 5.

I agree with your assessment of Holiday Inns -- at least the "select" ones. I think most travellers have an idea what a "Holiday Inn Express" is -- thanks to that brilliant marketing campaign (where the folks behave like Einsteins because they stayed in a Holiday Inn Express the previous night). Curiously, I've never seen one pop up on priceline, which is a shame, because with the free breakfast, it could be a decent mid-range value.

Holiday Inn has never marketed it's "Select" brand and, frankly, I didn't have a clue what they were before I started occassionally winning them on priceline. They are obviously nicer than traditional Holiday Inns, but not nice enough to be a Crowne Plaza. Since Holiday Inn doesn't have an established "brand" in that category, they become "select."