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Priceline Hotel: 4* San Francisco (Union Square West) Hotel Spero


Lindseym07
By Lindseym07,
in

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Hi, I am a first timer at bidding and was hoping for some insight as to whether anyone could foresee any problem with this bidding strategy. I have read the FAQs and "before you post" threads so have a general feel for how it works but this is my question:

 I was going to San Francisco June 29th- July 3rd and would like to ideally spend about $75-$95/night on a hotel. There are 9 different zones I am willing to stay in (15 total zones in SF). Does it sound like a reasonable bidding strategy to just include all of these 9 zones starting at $75 at a higher star level (say 4.5* although pretty certain I won't get anything at this price point) and then each time go to a lower star level that I re-bid? I probably wouldn't want to go below 2.5*s, so if I get to that level and my bid is still not accepted then I could go up by a few bucks and start going down the star levels again, starting at 4.5* down to 2.5*, repeating the process until I get up to $95 (my cap). I have read the re-bidding thread and will try to incorporate that if I am able so that I don't have to wait the 24 hours to re-bid. Does this sound OK? I am not so fussy with getting a certain hotel or certain zone, mainly just wanting to get a better quality hotel than I would elsewhere for my price range. Thank you!

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Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

No, the strategy above is not recommended (it's a common error, but you don't want to raise your bid and lower your star rating at the same time).

 

For example, assume two hotels are in a zone and below is the 'right' price for each:

3 star = $60

2.5 star = $40

==> you're approach would have you bid a 3 star at $55 and when that is rejected you lower your star rating to 2.5* and increase your bid to $60... never giving yourself a chance to win the 2.5* for less

 

Let us know the zones that you are willing to accept and we'll have a look and suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Also, is your goal the best hotel that you can get near your budget OR is the goal the least expensive 2.5* or better hotel?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Sorry, I may not have been clear, I wasn't aiming to lower star ratings and raise my bid price at the same time, I was just going to lower star ratings first and if that doesn't work, go up by a few dollars each time. So my bidding sequence would be as follows:

1st bid: $75 for 4.5* in 

2nd bid:$75 for 4*

3rd bid: $75 for 3.5*

4th: $75 for 3*

5th: $75 for 2.5* (I don't want to go lower than a 2.5*, so for my sixth bid I would go up a few dollars)

6th: $78 for 4.5*

..and so on until I get to ~$95 which is about my max.

 

Zones I am open to stay in: 

Zone 1 (Civic center south), 2 (financial district), 3 (fisherman's wharf), 4 (Japan town), 5 (Marina), 13 (south of market), 14 (union square east) and 15 (union square west). 

 

It looks like the only way I could use the re-bidding strategy to bypass the 24 hour waiting period would be by using zone 8 (Richmond) because it only has a 1* and 2* hotel. So bids 1-5 I can make in the same day since I am changing the star ratings, but for my sixth bid  I would need to check zone 8 (Richmond) in addition to the zones I am wanting to stay at so that I don't have to wait 24 hours, correct? and I can only do this once since there is only this one zone that has less than my minimum star rating? So once I go through $78 down to 2.5* (assuming all my bids are rejected), then I will have to wait 24 hours to bid $81 for a 4.5* hotel, correct?

My goal is to get the best hotel I can at my budget. I hope I explained it a little better, do you foresee any problems with my strategy above? Thank you for your help and I will be sure to use the links!

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Since you're looking for the best hotel within your $95/nite budget, think about the following scenario (as an example of why the above strategy is flawed):

 

Two Hotels in the zone:

4 star = $80

3 star = $60

==> you would bid for a 4* at $55 and get rejected, then lower to a 3.5* at $55 and are rejected, then lower to a 3* at $55 and are rejected

you then try a 4* at $60 and are rejected, then a 3.5* and are rejected, then a 3* and are accepted... but a much higher rated hotel was available within your budget (but you never had a chance to win that one)

 

You're also making this more complicated than it needs to be...

If your true goal is the highest rated hotel within your budget you could bid as follows:

 

At the 4.5* level you have TEN re-bid zones.  At the 4* level you have SIX re-bid zones.  At the 3.5* level you have THREE re-bid zones.

If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

 

ALSO NOTE that in your original post you indicated that there were SEVEN ZONES that you were interested in staying in, but in your most recent post you listed EIGHT zones (so the example below uses 8 zones):

 

Select 4.5* Civic Center South, Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, JapanTown, Marina, South of Market, USE, USW
Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $83, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $88, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Select 4* USE, USW, Civic Center South, Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, JapanTown, Marina
Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $78, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...
Select 4* USE, USW, Civic Center South, Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, JapanTown, South of Market
Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $78, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...


Select 4* Civic Center South, Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, JapanTown, Marina, South of Market, USE, USW
Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $83, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $88, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone...
Bid $95

 

Now at this point if the above is rejected, we can offer a strategy at the 3.5* level up to $95 or you can consider the following:

4* HOTWIRE Union Square West for $113.00 reduces to $102 when using the board's Hotwire Coupon (code also in my signature below)
Free Internet
Pet Friendly
Boutique
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
Golf
Room Accessible
==> The Marker San Francisco, a Joie de Vivre Hotel would be my best guess for this one, which get you into a very well reviewed 4 star property for just about $7/nite more than your previously failed bids (NOTE: there is also a resort fee at this property of about $30/nite, but you could just as easily land a hotel with a resort fee when bidding as well)

 

So let's start with the above, either try the bidding strategy proposed or ask questions if you're unsure of anything (or would like to confirm your re-bid zones)... if all of the bidding fails you can then let us know if you'd like to go for the 4* Union Square West property above on HOTWIRE OR if you'd like us to continue onward with a 3.5* bidding strategy.

 

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes or any additional questions we can answer.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Congratulations on your success!

Hope you're pleased with the hotel and deal you received and are looking forward to your trip.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and helping us update the Priceline Hotel List with the new name for this hotel (previously the Hotel Serrano)

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

Enjoy your stay.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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