Priceline Hotel: Didn't get hotel - Will bid again today and need help with strategy

[Orcrone]

I need a hotel for one night on 10/10 in San Pedro, CA prior to a cruise. I saw one member bid $75 a night for a 2 nite stay starting 10/19 for a 3.5* hotel and his bid was accepted. The bid was just placed several days ago. So I bid the same $75 and the bid was not accepted. I added a zone with no 3.5* or higher hotels, increased the bid to $80 and was refused. My wife then did the same thing going as high as $88 but no luck.

 

Before trying again later today I was hoping for some suggestions for bidding.

 

Thanks!

[Romelle]

Rates can be very date specific, and the night before cruises tends to be especially popular.  On Priceline's retail side the 3.5* Crowne Plaza is $189 for your date.  There weren't any San Pedro Priceline Express offers at any star level.  

 

You've used the only correct free re-bid zone properly.  

 

You could book a cancelable back-up and keep bidding at your current level to see if a last minute deal occurs.  

 

Other than that, your only options are to raise your bid at the 3.5* level or consider a lower star level.  

 

 

 

Romelle

[Orcrone]

Thanks for your advice. I guess we'll just keep  upping the price and hopefully get lucky. I know there are some nice 3.5* hotels available but I'll want to research lower star ratings before committing.

[AaronJB]

You can see the hotels that have been reported to the board here: Priceline Hotel List California.

What would be your desired budget per night? Are you seeing any listings of interest within your desired budget on Hot.wire?

 

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

[thereuare]

A few additional suggestions:

1) use our sister site Pre Cruise Hotels which will show you hotels (and rates for your dates) for hotels near the San Pedro pier (as well as some additional infomration)

2) if you're driving to the pier can you stay the nite before in a nearby area and drive a bit further to the pier the following day? (if flying in and relying on taxis this is a less feasible option)

3) if you are going to wait, sign up for alerts with our new RateDrop service which will notify you any time rates drop based upon the criteria you stipulate

One of the issues (which ties into Romelle's comments above) is that there just aren't a lot of 3.5* hotels in this zone, so there are few hotels available to accept your bid, and those which are available, star at $199/nite for your dates, making your current bidding less than half of prevailing rates.

What is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

Keep us updates on your progress and let us know how we can be of further help along the way.

Good luck!

[Romelle]

One of the web sites I use quite a bit - rome2rio.com - says a taxi from Port of Long Beach to Port of Los Angeles (San Pedro) is about $19.  

 

Like any site with general information, I don't completely rely on it but it usually gives me a good general idea.  

 

If the deal in the Port of Long Beach were within maybe at least $30 less, that might be an option for you?

 

Romelle

[Orcrone]

I upped my bid but kept getting turned down. Eventually it got to the point where I was able to book a decent hotel in San Pedro through an OTA at a price below what I was bidding with PRICELINE.

[thereuare]

Thank you for closing this thread with your decision.

 

Please remember to follow-up your threads with your wins/decisions as you make them (even if you don't ultimately use PRICELINE / HOTWIRE, cancel the trip, book direct, etc) as this help keep the board better organized and more useful for everyone... as well as being a courtesy to anyone who took the time to help with your travel plans.

 

When the 'opaque' services don't work for your need, please book thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com.