Priceline Hotel: Bidding Strategy for San Juan 1/17/04

[liz1992]

:)

Hello,

Now that I have finally achieved a status on this site, may I ask for your help with Priceline bidding?

Hotel Zone - San Juan - Resort

Date 1/17/04

1 night - check in 6:00 pm

3 rooms

Resort Rates posted today(11/17/03) for 1/17/04,

for 1 night:

Caribe Hilton - $265.00

Wyndham Condado Plaza - 1/17/04 No availability

1/16/04 rate is $225.00

Intercontinental - $335.30

Marriott San Juan - $305.00

Bid History - 11/9/03 $60.00 - rejected

11/14/0 $90.00 - rejected

Am currently only choosing Resort on Priceline and only the San Juan area. I do not wish to change locations or dates.

I have the Park Plaza Normandie reserved, 3 rooms for $145.00 thru www.eztrip.com. Cancellation policy is 24 hrs prior.

I don't want to add 3 star yet.

Any strategy ideas for me.....

Thank you! :)

We are cruising on The AOS 1/18/04. Read you've been there done that... can't wait to say WOW!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates are a little high, but what i found most interesting is that the Wyndham Condado is not really sold-out... they just want guests for 2 nites (or don't want a Saturday check-in... perhaps wanting guests for the full weekend). Yet they show availability thru consolidator sites such as Expedia and Orbitz.

Hopefully as your dates get closer the Condado will accept a check-in for Saturday nite only (if they aren't as full as expected) or the Hilton will open up availability (they've been making availability closer and closer to check-in lately). We recently saw another example of the required 2 nite stay in PR, but at the Caribe Hilton. You still have plenty of time, and you have a back-up hotel reserved, so i wouldn't raise my bid just yet.

Looks like yet another lesson in patience :)

[liz1992]

Thanks!

I am hoping for the Caribe Hilton, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Any suggestion as to how long I should wait to place a new bid aside from the 72 hour plan.

What can I do as far as watching rates & availability to know when my timing may be better. Any tips, tools??

Should I bid low again (when I do bid) like $65.00 or should I stay at $90.00 I am willing to bid up to $110.00 for resort maybe a bit more. I was thinking that if I add 3 star down the line then I will at least get a 3 star for less than my reserved Normandie price.

[thereuare]

I wouldn't bid this high just yet, and rates are subject to change, but my guess at this point is that maybe you're looking at $115-$130 for a resort <but that's not etched in stone!>. If unsuccessful at resort, i agree that you'd likely be able to beat your back-up rate.... but not by much! San Juan is one of those areas where there isn't too much price difference between the 3* and Resort properties.

I would continue to monitor: Hilton's website and see if/when their rates drop (or they offer other rates such as pre-paid in full, 'bounce back weekend' rates, and other various marketing scheme rates), the Wyndham's website for any availability for only the nite of the 17th, and if rates drop for the 16th-18th or 17th-19th, and Hotwire.

Until any of the above change, i don't think you'll be successful under $100/nite, and wouldn't bid it more than once per week. By mid-December i may actually bid it less but monitor rates more, since i'd want to be able to bid immediately upon seeing a rate drop for conventional bookings (and not have to wait 72 hours).

[liz1992]

Gotcha, thank you, you have been most helpful.

Now if I could just stop being so obsessed with this trip and all the details I can find, I think I would learn how to breathe properly again. I have been a fiend since the day I booked the cruise. Websites, pictures, tidbits, cruisecritic. I am hooked! We are going with 7 other couples/families, can't wait!!!! I feel like this. :)

[liz1992]

Tried again. I checked the rates first, as I have been weekly.

Intercontinental - $335.30

Wyndham Condado Plaza- zip for the 17th (no avail) so it says. Wyndham El San Juan - $375.00

Caribe Hilton - $290.00 pre-paid in full rate.

Marriot - $305.00

Here's my latest bids, 11/20 90.00, 11/23 85.00, 11/27 110.00, 12/1 65.00, 12/4 90.00 12/7 90.00

All rejected......please change or add options.

Yes, I know it's more than once a week bidding. I keep hoping I'll get lucky.

I have signed up for wyndham.com, hiltonhonors (hilton.com)and marriott rewards (marriott.com) so I receive occasional web offers.

Any input or status quo.

[thereuare]

I still think this will likely take a bid of roughtly $115-$130 for a resort.

You may also want to consider what appears to be the Embassy Suites on Hotwire for ~$117.

I've heard good things about this property, if you indeed get in at 6pm you'll be in time for some cocktails at the manager's reception, as well as a cooked to order breakfast buffet in the morning.... not bad considering the rates you're seeing.

As always, if you decide to more forward with Priceline or Hotwire, it's appreciated if you start your bid at SavingsBarn.com

THANKS! and keep us posted as to your progress.

[liz1992]

Thank you!

Read all your posts at Cruise Critic, thanks for all your insight.

So, go to www.savingsbarn.com to bid Priceline right. Not www.Priceline.com direct.

Question about the AOS. Was in cold on the ship, the air conditioning? Do you think we need a sweater at dinner and the shows. This is making me re-think Formal attire!

Any favorite spots to hit in the ports?

[thereuare]

Yes, it's appreciated if you start your bid at "the barn" :)

Glad to see my posts at CC get read and aren't in vain! :)

Did you see my AOS review w/ links to the ports of call (i don't remember if i emailed them to you or not... i've emailed them to a lot of people since i've taken that trip). I'll find it and email it to you if you hadn't seen it (and Maho Bay in St. Martaan may be our favorite day out of all the given cruise ports we've been to.... but we enjoy watching air traffic so YMMV)

I don't remember the AOS being cold, but i'll ask those i took the trip with if they recall it being noticably cold. Best advice is to bring a cover-up (shawl?) regardless as it's easy to take on and off.

[liz1992]

Thank you!

I did see your pic's and savored every word.......

[whenpigsfly]

Hi Liz,

I just came back from San Juan yesterday and hated to leave (even if it was reaining it was still really nice)we did 5 nights there 3 pre cruise and 2 after. After not being able to sucessfully find priceline availability we blinked at the last Wyndham 72 hr sale before our trip for the first two nights at the Wyndham Old San Juan and for the last three at the Wyndham Condado Plaza. I was nervous because some of the posters at tripadvisor had hammered this hotel. I will address this in my review but we can't talk highly enough about the property.

We stayed at the Wyndham Condado and were lucky enough to get yupgraded to a very nice oceanfront room. It was all I could have dreamed of (I will post a review on www.tripadvisor.com when I get the chance) while the hotel is a bit dated and the carpet a bit worn it is a truly great place to stay if you can get an oceanfacing room in the main building (these rooms represent 25% of there available space). There is a great deal of construction going on over by the caribe hilton i noticed but thereuare would be better at commenting if it affected his stay. We spent a great deal of time from Old San Juan to the condado to the Isla Verde area and of the three I liked the the Condado the best. There are some run down areas but I felt safe and went out walking at night without problem. Isla verda where the embassy suites is right by the airport and I wouldnt want to be that close to a major airport for a nice resport stay. In defense of the isla verde area it does have the only really nice beach area of the three areas.

Wyndham seems to be trying to wean itself off of third party resellers of its space such as priceline and go toward direct sales like its 72 hr sales. The HUGE advantage of this for you is you are MUCH more likely to get upgraded if you book as a Wyndham by request member than through Priceline or any other third party site like Travelocity or Expedia. We booked a city view room f0r $102/night (which equals $125 after resort tax and resort fee)

I would register at Wyndham.com for Wyndham by request and wait for a 72 hr sale and see if any availablilty for your dates come up and in the mean time conitnue to bid in the $80 range for San Juan. Saturday night is at he busiest night in San Juan. For my stay the rates that came up for the sale are as follows were Wyndham Old San Juan $65 Wyndham Condado $102, $95 and Wyndham El San Juan $163. We hung out at all three and if I had the chance wished I had booked a night at the El San Juan AS IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!

[thereuare]

whenpigsfly,

Thanks for the report upn your return.

It would be appreciated if after you write your review of the properties at TripAdvisor if you would also copy/paste them into our HOTEL REVIEWS section as well.

Glad to hear you had a good time.

[liz1992]

Thank you for that great insight WhenPigsFly! I haven't had any luck at all on priceline yet. I wish I knew if there was some type of pattern to watch for besides the rate changes if any. I hope I get a hit soon. I'm beginning to think it isn't going to happen. There are 3 other couples bidding for the same dates as I am (same cruise) and they haven't had any luck either. So Priceline is aware that there are currently 4 different people trying to bid on 8 rooms. I am bidding for 4 rooms. (we have all been bidding for about a month now) We all have a reservation on hold. Normandie or HoJo's.

I think I will check out the Wydham 72 hour sale if I get it in the near future. I did sign up a while back.

Otherwise, I will stick to plan A. Bid Priceline thru SavingsBarn at the resort level, as time gets closer if still no luck then I will add 3 star. Then hopefully with that roll of the dice, I get a good deal. :)

[liz1992]

Quote: Were you ever successful for your PRICELINE SAN JUAN stay?

No I wasn't successful I tried for the Caribe Hilton and the Park Plaza Normandie. I think i bid up to $131.00 for Januray 18th 2004. Then we ended up booking the Howard Johnsons in San Juan because that's where the rest of our group stayed. It was just okay for an overnight. I wouln't recommend it. Didn't eat there either. Not very clean or very friendly. The only good thing was the location. There was also a great bar across the street at the hotel on the beach.

The Water Tower Boutique Hotel was an interesting site with all the blue lights on every floor.

[DarSee]

Why hasn't anyone posted information to this post between Dec. 2003 and today? I am new to this and trying to figure it all out. Going to San Juan 4/21/06 for 2 nights pre cruise AOS. Want to start bidding for a resort type room. Need two rooms for 2 couples. Where do I find current information? Thanks for any help. :)

[thereuare]

DarSee,

The above is usually not the case....

The original poster (OP) never followed up on the results for their request for help. Subsequently, the returned to the board and asked for help in this PRICELINE NEW YORK thread. As we like all threads to have a 'finish' to them, we requested that the OP add a reply to this thread to give it a resolution... in doing so this thread once again got 'bumped' to the top of the forum.

Hope that explains it.

For your own stay please start a NEW TOPIC and also include our maximum price... we'll then have a closer look at your dates and advise accordingly.

[liz1992]

Beginning , middle, end.

Everything nice and tidy and organized. :)

Request, help, guidance, reward (hopefully) and finally the finish.

Our follow up with a review or any comment you wish to share about your endeavor.

Thanks for keeping me in line.......... :)

and maintaining the boards with a logical standard to follow.

It makes the whole process thorough and informative, a place like no other online where the help and insight is invaluable.

Oh and P.S. I never got to go back to the boards for an update

due to the fact that when I arrived home from San Juan I came back to My Mom who was in an assisted living facility with Alzheimers when I took my vacation from caring for her. She had fallen and broke her hip. So it was straight to the hospital and then a nursing home for a few months. Then my Mother passed away. So it was a real tough year and still is.

[liz1992]

Darsee,

I am so excited for you :) . We cruised on the AOS. It was wonderful.

If I were you I'd try to book the El San Juan. The location is nice and I have friends that stay there often and love it.

Take your time and study these boards, everything is here that you need to know about bidding through www.savingsbarn.com . It just takes a little patience :) to read through it all.

If you make an error they will surely advise you in the right direction.

Have you been on the Cruise Critic Website. You will find the answers to just about everything pertaining to your cruise. It is a goldmine of info. Reviews, tips, anything.

They also have a great section on ports of call. Any questions you may have you can post and you'll get many answers and advice. Its a great way to countdown to your cruise. I met some great people on my cruise that I chatted with on the boards. We became good friends before we met.

I too can probably answer many questions about the AOS, excursions, and lots of little tidbits you need to know, from the boards and personal experience while onboard.

A great thing to do on disembarkation day is to book a Tour of San Juan thru the RC excusion book (it comes to you in your cruise documentation)if you have a later flight and time to kill. I loved this part. It was a bus tour of San Juan and it ends at the airport so you don't have to wory about your luggage. It stays with you on the bus. Our driver was Anthony and he was great. The excursion was $26.00 pp and well worth every penny if you have a later flght home.

You can look at the excusions thru teh RC website as long as you have your Cruis Conf #.

So, if you already know this stuff, i'm sorry to be redundant. If not, I hope it helps. Don't hesitate to send me an e-mail with any questions.

I've been checking back into the boards lately to see who I can help and besides that reason I love to do anyting that involves crusing. Especially now since our boating season is almost over. I an't wait to cruise the Freedom of the Seas.

[DarSee]

Liz: Thanks for the info on cruise critic. I am a registered user. this will be my 3rd cruise, first out of San Juan.

Thereuare: Thanks for your guidance as I am new to this board and probably need to go back and read some basics before I try to ask for advice and start bidding.

Read some information on the boards for "TOBB", but I think this may be more up to date that that site. All new to me.