Priceline Hotel: Bidding Help - Hotel Circle 8/10/06 to 8/12/06

[Neelee]

The last time I bid in this area was two years ago. Low and behold, I'm going back for the same event two years later. Seems the star ratings for Priceline have changed for this area in two years.

This was my bid in 2004 -

1) Bid $57 on Mission Valley 3* >> PL countered at $17 >> rejected

2) Discovered my check out date was wrong!! So I changed the date from 8/27 to 8/24 and upped to $62 >>> rejected

3) Selected Carlsbad (only 2.5*) left at 62 >>> rejected

4) Selected Miramar (only 2*) >>> accepted

I got the Doubletree on Hazard! Nice place although the $10 parking fee is crazy. Yet it has the mall, restaurants and grocery store within walking distance.

Looks like, according to PL site Carlsbad now has a 3*

So, here I am asking the experienced for advise again. Here's what I see playing out since I need to stay in a particular area, just like a computer programming language.

Check In - 8/10/2006

Check Out - 8/12/2006

#Rooms - 4

Need to be in Hotel Circle area.

1. Bid Mission Valley 3* @ $45
   
2. If rejected add Miramar (only 2*) @ $43
   
3. If rejected add Sorrento Mesa (only 2.5*) @ $45
   

Miramar and Sorrento Mesa are the only two zones with only up to 2.5 rating. I hope PL is only awarding at the requested star level.

If all above rejected, start again in 72 hours with $47?

I have never tried Hotwire, however, I did look at their site for the same dates and the prices for the same area are upwards of $100. Hotel websites I checked Raddison, Marriott, & Doubletree all posting over $130 per room, including EasyClickTravel.com. I need Hotel Circle because its close to the Town and Country Resort where the event is taking place. Our group rate is $129/nite, plus $15/day parking.

I'll also need advise on Disneyland, since we're headed there after this event. But I'll post that in the appropriate forum.

Thank you all in advance for your advise!

:)

[bbbb]

Will you have a car for this stay? There is a chance that you could get the Holiday Inn Mission Valley Stadium. Even on a lesser bid then 3* you could be upgraded.

[Neelee]

Yes, we will have a car. We'll be driving down from Orange County, then driving back on Saturday evening. I'll have to look at the distance again on that Holiday Inn/Mission Stadium. As I recall from my previous visit, it was quite a ways away and not much around there to do.

I'd be willing to start my bids lower. Any recommendations?

[GM Mike]

I don't understand your bidding strategy. You're adding re-bid zones and lowering or keeping your bid the same? How does that help?

[Neelee]

I guess that's why I'm asking for help from the board members.

However, you're right. I should just decrease my bid because of the lower zones.

Need to be in Hotel Circle area.

1. Bid Mission Valley 3* @ $45

2. If rejected add Miramar (only 2*) @ $43

3. If rejected add Sorrento Mesa (only 2.5*) @ $43

My apologies. I'm not as seasoned at this at everyone else. :) I was trying to base this on my previous win two years ago.

Do you have any suggestions for a successful bid in the Hotel Circle(Mission Valley) area?

[thereuare]

The concept of re-bidding is adding a zone that you couldn't win (because it only contains hotels with lower star ratings than you are bidding). If you bid $45 and are rejected, and then add a re-bid zone and bid $43, it should be as if you are only bidding the original zone. So essentially you're saying "will you take $45, no?... well how about $43?" (which doesn't make much sense)

I would first read thru Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and try to get a better understanding of the concept. There is a good visual about 7-8 posts down in that thread which may also help you to better understand it. Feel free to ask questions if there is anything that you don't understand.

Once you have read thru the above, let us know your maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[Neelee]

Thank you!

OK, I got it now. Again, I'm sorry for my confusion. I don't "Priceline" on a regular basis. I wish I could.

I re-read the FAQ and re-bidding link as well as reviewed my previous win. I understand my free rebid zones to be . Miramar (only up to 2*) and Sorrento Mesa (only up to 2.5*).

My goal is to win a bid in Mission Valley (Hotel Circle area) for a 3* hotel. Maximum bid would be $65. I need four rooms for the event we're attending.

Thank you in advance for assisting!

[thereuare]

Rates are high for these dates, except at the Handlery, so i the following may not be successful at first, but due to the time before your stay i would try the following first:

Select 3* Mission Valley...

Bid $43, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $45, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 3* Mission Valley and re-bid zone2...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $55.

If the above doesn't work we'll revise the strategy in for you to try again in 72 hours.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[Neelee]

:)

Bummer, I bid exactly as you suggested, but both times they were rejected. Used the link from Savingsbarn.com

Mission Valley 3* - $43

Added Zone 1 (Miramar 2*) - upped to $45

rejected

Closed my browser session (cleared cookies, history and temp files)

Opened Savingsbarn.com

Started with Mission Valley and Zone 2 (Sorrento/Mesa 2.5*) at $50

rejected

Added Zone 1 (Miramar 2*) at $55

rejected

Also experienced an oddity on the rebids which caused me to hit the [back] button (on the browser) several times. After I entered my rebid info, the confirmation page only showed 1 room under my name instead of the original 4 rooms and names I started out with. Before starting my rebid, I needed to make sure I was bidding for 4 rooms/names. The P/L number remained the same.

So, looks like Tuesday is my next opportunity to bid. In the meantime, I'll try my Wenatchee and Disneyland bids.

Thank you, Thereuare, for all your help and suggestions!!

[Neelee]

Thereuare - do you have any other suggestions for bidding this area?

Thank you!

[thereuare]

Select 3* Mission Valley...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 3* Mission Valley and re-bid zone2...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $65.

This will take you up to your stated maximum bid.

[Neelee]

:)

Just now tried the above...all rejected

Phooey!

Also had that same "glitch" where my 4 rooms changed to 1 room after the first rebid. Ended up starting all over again after hitting the [bACK] and [REFRESH] keys didn't work.

I checked Travelaxe. Seems most rooms in that area are upwards of $125 for 3*. I'll try to find a backup hotel just in case.

Now the 72 hour wait and try again. I'm open to other suggestions.

Thank you again!

[bbbb]

This is high season in SD but you still have 5 months until your stay and I would not over bid this early. I think PL just does not have a lot of availability yet. You have plenty of time and I would not start bidding any higher then you already have. They could get availability at any time causing you to over bid if you raise too much.

[Neelee]

bbbb - thank you for your advice. Do you suggest I keep trying every 72 hours or wait a month or so and try again? I understand I have a few months, however considering its summertime and a popular time to visit SAN, I'm leary about waiting until the last minute. With that being said, I have read a few posts whose bids were successful just a week or two before their planned visit.

I do plan to find somewhere close to the Town and Country Resort on Hotel Circle where the event will be held - just as a backup. The event coordinators tell me the best price they have for our group at the T&C is $109. That's a lot to pay considering I'll only have enough time to sleep in the room (maybe)

Thank you for your assistance.

[bbbb]

If you have the time I would check the board every day for a win that includes your dates. I would also bid every 72 hrs.

[Neelee]

Just a note to let everyone know that I have been bidding every 72 hours since my last post without any success. Yes, I am using the bidding strategy posted by Thereuare and I'm not going to give up.

In the meantime, I advised my travel party ( I need 4 rooms) to reserve their rooms at the Town & Country Resort in Mission Valley, where the tournament is, "just in case". The least amount we will pay is $109 per room. Still alot by my standards, having been spoiled by previous wins via Priceline.

I'm hoping for a win soon!

[Neelee]

Interesting. Looks like Priceline changed the star level for Carlsbad from 3* to 2.5*. I wrote down the star levels when I started this quest back in February and have been checking and bidding every 72 hours since.

Would it be wise for me to add this as a free re-bid zone now?

Thanks for any advise.

[thereuare]

If you are only bidding 3* and higher it would currently be safe to use this as a re-bid zone... but continue to check this before each round of bidding to make sure that a new hotel has not been added back into the system.

[Neelee]

Ok. I checked again tonight and Carlsbad was still 2.5*

Unfortunately everything I tried was rejected. It could be it's too early or I'm doing it wrong. I feel its too early.

Here's what I did tonight - all rejected

• Zone A - Carlsbad 2.5*
  
• Zone B - Miramar 2*
  
• Zone C - Mission Valley 3* (this is my area)
  
• Zone D - Sorrento/Mesa 2.5*
  

Selected 3* because I want Hotel Circle area

Bid #1

Zone C @ $57 > Rejected

Added Zone B > Rejected

Closed browser, start again

Bid #2

Zone C & Zone D @ $63 > Rejected

Added Zone B > Rejected

Closed browser, start again

Bid #3

Zone A and Zone C @ $57 > Rejected

Added Zone B @ $62 > Rejected

Added Zone D @ $65 > Rejected

I probably have another combination in there somewhere, but its late, and I need to get to bed.

I'm open for suggestions.

Thank you everyone!

[Neelee]

Rejected again! I'm starting to make this a personal mission.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[photomikey]

Hi,

I'm a San Diegan. Also a priceline afficinado. To lay it straight out there, I'm cheap. Really cheap.

I priceline a lot. I enjoy getting the lowest price possible on a room. If you look through my previous posts, you can find incidents where I bid up $1 at a time, in order to pay the least amount possible.

Today I took a stab in the dark at a room in Pasadena (a region with no priceline history on this board), and bid $65. I thought it was a little high, but a decent offer. Comprable rooms are going for $150.

The bid was accepted, first try. In my post, I talk about how I probably could have bid $55, been rejected, and spent weeks trying to engineer a strategy to employ every 72 hours, to pay the least amount possible for the room. But for an extra ten bucks, I got the deed done in two minutes, and I don't have to sweat it.

You're bidding $50-$60 dollars for a priceline room, that even on hotwire (a more expensive, somewhat less opaque service) is going for $134 / night. On Travelocity"]Travelocity, all but one of the 3*'s are $175+.

If I were in your position, I'd think about upping your bid to the $65-$75 level. I'd say your likelyhood of getting the hotel is much higher. You're still saving $100 in real dollars, per room, per night; in one of the priciest cities in the mainland USA.

For me, I'd rather bid the $75 than be forced to pay the $109. (Also, almost any of the 3*'s on Hotel Circle are nicer than the T&C.)

Just my two cents. After all, you made a public call for advice. :-)

[Neelee]

Your advise is well taken and very appreciated. Even though the dates are far off, I'm anal enough to want to have it planned ahead. I already won a bid for the car and Anaheim stay for the same time frame, via PriceLine. My frustration lies in the fact that PL won't give "it" to me now, like they did with the car and Disneyland. I bid and won those last month - for August!

Anyway, I have been thinking about what you wrote, and you're right. Why be greedy with my $10 bucks? I know the Doubletree charges at least $10/day for parking. Then we have to haul our butts over to T&C for all day parking. So now we're up to $20 day. STILL, much less than the group rate of $135 plus $10 parking at T&C. So I'm looking at spending $100 day for a two day stay in Mission Valley. Hmmm.... $200 vs $300 ($135/day room + $10/day parking) ???

Like you said the average price in this area and time frame are upwards of $150 for a 3*. Even Travelodge, within walking distance of the T&C, is asking $130/night! And I know from experience that place is a dive and noisey (its right under the freeway).

So after my 72 hours are up, I will up my bid to max $75.

Thank you for your insight and advise. That was the slap of reality that I needed to motivate me. I'll keep the board posted of my on-going saga. Hopefully, my next post is a win!

[Neelee]

Additional strategy needed. P/L added more zones to this area making my head spin the the possibilities. :)

I am trying to get Mission Valley area (3*) because of the event we are attending during this time at Town & Country on Hotel Circle.

Tonight, before bidding, I noticed P/L added two more zones or changed zones which now gives me 5 free rebid areas compared to the original 3.

Mission Valley 3* >>>> This is where I want to be

East County 2*

Miramar 2*

National City 2*

North County 2*

San Ysidro/Mexican Border 2*

Sorrento Mesa 2.5*

I can probably play a bunch of combinations but I'm not experienced enough to deal with so many options.

Does any one have any advice? Max is $75/night for 4 rooms

Thank you in advance!

[Neelee]

Here are the combinations I tried tonight (via Savings Barn) , ALL rejected

Mission @ $57

add Sorrento @ 61

add N. County @ 65

add E. County @ 67

CLOSED browser

Mission + National City @ 69

add Miramar @ 71

add E. County @ 75

CLOSED browser

Misison + San Ysidro/Mex. Border @ 69

add E. County @ 72

add Nat'l City @ 75

All rejected. I might start taking this personally! :)