Priceline Hotel: San Juan Bidding Help

[faithful96]

Hello all,

I've tried 2 bids so far for a San Juan resort. The first bid was at $65 for the San Juan area, then I used Mayaguez - Isabela as a free rebid, bidding $70. No dice.

Do you think it's too far out, or I should try splitting my bid, or are my bids just too low?

The Caribe Hilton is $190-$215 (Expedia, Hilton, Priceline).

The El San Juan is coming up at $242.

The Intercontinental is $242 as well.

The Marriott site is currently saying the Marriott w/ Casino is booked that weekend.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

What is your maximum bid? How much more would you be willing to pay (if anything) to not have to split your stay and change hotels?

[faithful96]

I wanted to keep the hotel cost between $65-80 and we'd rather not have to switch hotels. However, if I had to weigh the two, keeping the cost down is more important, so we'd suck it up and switch hotels to accomodate that.

With the Caribe Hilton at $190, maybe I am in the ballpark at $80 a night? Then again, I bid $70 and did not get a counteroffer. I am confused, should I be bidding 40%, 50%, or 60% off the rack rate?

Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

I think there is a chance opaque availability has not yet been released for July, so you have a choice:

1) continue bidding as you have and hope to pick up the entire stay once availability becomes available (of course you also run the risk of June dates available now not being available once July dates are released)

2) try bidding for your partial stay of 6/28-7/1

If you select option #2 i would still try for as much of the stay as possible as follows:

Select Resort...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75.

(notice that there are now two re-bid zones in this area, always double check before bidding to make sure that this is still the case (or you can just stick with your one original re-bid zone if you're more comfortable). 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.)

Try the above in the following date combinations (when you change the dates there is no need to wait 24 hours between the bids):

6/28-7/4

6/28-7/3

6/29-7/4

6/28-7/2

6/30-7/4

6/28-7/1 <--this is the only one i think currently has a legitimate chance of success, but it doesn't hurt to try the others if you have time

Let us know what you decide to do and how it goes.

[faithful96]

Thanks Thereuare!

Last night I only saw 1 free re-bid zone: Mayaguez - Isabela. How did I miss Dorado! I just tried it again with $75 and Dorado and no dice.

Now I have to decide ... do I split my bid or wait? Hrm.

[faithful96]

So Priceline e-mailed me and apparently it had been 24 hours since my last try ... so hey bid again now? Is this new?

4 bids, all failed...

Bid 1 - San Juan, Resorts, 6/28-7/4 - $65

Bid 2 - San Juan & Dorado, Resorts, 6/28-7/4 - $70

Bid 3 - San Juan & Mayaguez - Isabela, Resorts, 6/28-7/4 - $75

Bid 4 - San Juan, Dorado, & Mayaguez - Isabela, Resorts, 6/28-7/4 - $80

Interesting to note is that the Caribe Hilton rates for my dates have dropped to $161-170 a night.

[thereuare]

Yes, you can now bid again after 24 hours (vs. the previous 72 hour lock-out period)

[faithful96]

The only problem with the new, improved 24 hour rebid time, is that it's easy to become obsessive, must... bid... everyday. EVERY... DAY!

Similar bids as yesterday, but I have 1 left. TILL TOMORROW! Still no dice.

I also tried 6/28-7/3 and 6/28-7/4. Nada.

Given that the room rates at the Caribe Hilton are still $161-170, I think (hope) perhaps the rooms have just not opened up yet for my dates.

Maybe I'll take the weekend off and start bidding again Monday.

[thereuare]

Right now i would cap my bids at $85... not $80.

This isn't to say i'd always be bidding $85, but i would at least try as high as that once.

[faithful96]

Ok, will do. I am attempting to hold out and restart the bidding process on Monday.

[faithful96]

Hello again,

I have bid on this multiple times since my last post, with a minimum bid of $65 and a max bid of $95. Still no accepted bids. Rates for the El San Juan are $242 and rates for the Caribe Hilton have been holding at $190. Any further advice?

I am torn here. I don't want to book our flights without a hotel, but the flight prices are climbing too.

[thereuare]

If you can't get a hotel at the amounts you've already bid would you still make this trip?

[faithful96]

I just wanted to update.

We've had to postpone this trip till September due to a family illness. I guess I should be happy (?) my 40+ bids never yielded me the long weekend in San Juan for July 4th. Feh.

I did see someone got the dates, and at the Caribe Hilton, for $77. I was obviously bidding too early.

Thanks for all your help.