Hotwire Hotel: San Juan

[birdnutty]

Hi Thereuare. Thanks for your help thus far. My date is 3/6 to 3/7 pre-cruise. I just checked Hotwire, and going by the info given in the other areas in this forum, checked the packages available, etc. There's a 3 1/2 star available for that night for $137. I'm taking a not-so-educated guess that it's the Wyndham Condado. If it is, is that a good price? What are my chances that it is? I'm hoping to stay pretty close to the piers, and all the hotels look so very expensive. But after reading this forum and hearing the low prices some folks are paying, I have no clue as to what's good. Should I wait a bit longer?

What's your opinion?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The 3.5* that you are currently is most likely the Wyndham Condado Plaza. This hotel currently shows a non-cancellable web rate of $169, and a 'traditional' (cancellable) rate of $199, so purchasing for $130 would probably save you $30 or so (after Hotwire tacks on their own fee)... not bad, but i think you can do better if you're willing to work at it and have a little patience :)

If i were in your shoes, this is what i would do....

1) Book a cancellable back-up so that you at least know you'll have some place to sleep if all at once inventory disappears. Don't know what your budget is, but PR can get pricey at times. The Caribe Hilton has a 'best available' rate of $190 that appears to be cancellable up until day of arrival, so i would use that as a back-up since it's a few dollars cheaper than the cancellable rate at the Condado. Of course we hope to cancel this reservation, but if there's no way you'll ever pay $190 for a room that nite, then book something else more in line with your budget.

2) Try a low-ball Priceline bid of $75 for a Resort class hotel in San Juan. Chance are it will get rejected, but always worth a shot. Ignore any screens that say you 'only have a small chance of getting accepted'. If that's rejected, wait 72 hours and try bidding $100, if that's rejected, wait 72 hours and try bidding $115. If $115 is also rejected, we'll re-evaluate things at that time. If at any time you get a 'counter offer' telling you that if you raise your bid by '$xx' (or if you bid a specific amount) they'll let you bid again immediately, report that information back here. While you're waiting 72 hour between bids, continue to check Hotwire once/twice a day and let us know if any new options/prices are offered.

Of course this all assumes that you're willing to go at least as high as $115 for a bid (keeping in mind a Priceline fee and taxes will get added to this... figure the Priceline fee to be about $10 and the taxes would be the same as they are if you booked direct (if i recall, 11% for non-casino hotels and a whopping 22% for casino hotels)).

If you have any questions regarding any of the above, feel free to ask.

It's always appreciated if you start your Priceline/Hotwire puchases using the links at SavngsBarn.com

[birdnutty]

Well, I gathered up my courage and tried $75 on Priceline, which was rejected. I bid on a resort level - should I change that to 4*? What would the difference be?

I'd prefer not to stay in the Isla Verde area, only because I would like to be as close to the cruise docks as possible. What are my chances that I could end up far away?

I do have a safety hotel - the El Canario at the Lagoon ($140 minus AAA discount), so I have room to play.

I keep reading about a 72 hour limit, yet I don't see it on Priceline. Is this a bidding strategy? I still have the window open to rebid on my last rejected offer.

Thanks!

[birdnutty]

Oops! Just realized that Priceline doesn't do 4*. I got it mixed up with Hotwire.

But I still have the other questions remaining....

[thereuare]

You can end up with a hotel anywhere within the shaded region that priceline/hotwire have on their map, so the Isla Verde is certainly a possibility. However, it's not really too far (IMO) from the docks and lots of cruisers use this area to stay.

Rates dont' seem too high for your dates, so i would hang in there and hopefully we'll see rates drop a little as we get closer to your dates. Also, continue to check Hotwire as you may see rates drop as your check-in date gets closer. If you can figure out the hotel beforehand, this will also better your chances of avoiding the Isla Verde area (but as i said above, i don't see any legitimate reason to avoid it).

The $139 on Hotwire appears to be the Wyndham Condado, but doesn't represent too great of a deal given that the Wyndham's website shows a $169 rate... after Hotwire's fee gets tacked on you'd end up saving about $20. I think the risk/reward favors waiting this one out.

The 72 hour limit is that you have to wait 72 hour before you place another bid, unless you are willing to add a zone or lower your quality. You don't have any re-bid zones for this area, and i don't recommend you lower your quality at this point, so i would just wait it out and bid again in 72 hours. It may take a bid up near $115 at this point, but i wouldn't start bidding that high until near the end of the month (as long as you won't get nervous about waiting).

I think that answers all your questions, but if i missed something or you have add'l questions, please ask.

[birdnutty]

Twice more I have bid on Priceline for a resort class hotel, each time raising my bid by $10. ( I already have a hotel reserved that's only going to cost me $140 total, and I really don't want to go any higher than that.) Each time the bid was rejected, but with an offer to bid again higher immediately. My last offer of $95 was this morning, once again with an offer to rebid right away.

On checking Hotwire, I noticed that the hotel that we're pretty sure was the Wyndham Condado fluctuated both up and down by as much as $10 over the course of the 11 day period, and now appears to have disappeared altogether. On checking webrates directly, it said they were full.

Any tricks as to what I should do now, especially with the offer to rebid now?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

These offers to bid higher are refered to on the board as 'counter-offers', how much are they suggesting you bid?

[birdnutty]

They don't say. They just ask me if I can extend my area, change my dates. Then offer me a window to rebid, stating that "You should consider a price above your original offer of $95 per night to increase your chances of getting a hotel room in the Puerto Rico area. ", then state that the average retail price of a resort is $275.

[thereuare]

Oh, that's not a counter-offer.

I wouldn't lower my quality at this point or add another zone as you still have time... although with the Wyndham Condado being sold-out this just got a bit tougher :)

EDIT: actually they're not sold out, they have just put a restriction on Sauturday Check-in. If you try searching for 3/5-3/7 you will see that there is still availability at the rates mentioned above

[birdnutty]

So what should my strategy be at this point? Does it make any difference whether I bid in $10 or $25 increments?

To not pay any more than the hotel that I already have reserved ($140 complete), my max bid should be 110, no? That would be 110 hotel, 22% tax (I'm assuming casino), and Priceline's $10 cut. Am I talking snowball in Hell here?

What happens if you bid the same amount three days after your last bid? Is there any chance of ever getting it, or do they keep records of that kind of thing and ignore you at that point? I'm still trying to get a handle on how it all works, so please excuse any dumb questions I might ask.

[thereuare]

There are no dumb questions (ok, there are actually dumb quesitons, but this isn't one of them :) )

To backtrack for a moment... although everyone calls it 'bidding', it's really not bidding in an auction sense. The way it works is that Priceline/Hotwire input rates into a computerized system. When you submit a bid, Priceline checks tha amount you're willing to pay and see if anyone at the star quality you designated (or higher) has a rate equal to or lower than your 'bid' amount. If a hotel has a rate equal to or lower than your bid amount, you pay your bid amount (plus taxes and fees) and anything over the actual cost of the hotel goes to Priceline (and potentially some goes to the hotel as well). So you're really not bidding, and more astutely 'trying to give a price equal to the lowest price a hotel is willing to accept.' If you bid too much, it's just 'wasted' money.

As well, the entire system is automated and does not discriminate as to whether you recently bid higher, lower, are a new customer, a good long time customer, etc. Nobody ever looks at your bid (except a computer) and then it's just compared to the lowest available rates at your star level.

Rates change all the time, as you can see with your recent Hotwire search no longer showing that 3.5* hotel we believed to be the Wyndham. Here is an EXAMPLE posted today of a bid being accepted at a rate that was rejected just a few days prior.

Ballparking your maximum bid at $110 or so is accurate, but Priceline will always show you the maximum that you will pay before you click "Buy My Hotel Room"

Where is your back-up reservation?

[birdnutty]

It's at the El Canario by the Lagoon. $140 ( minus 10 or 15% AAA discount) gets us a queen bed and a good breakfast. It's cancellable up to 4 days in advance, so I figured I'd be safe with it. It's gotten good reviews, is AAA approved and is close to the piers,too. It's not a resort, but it should do, if I can't get a resort.

Thanks for the explanation on the way Priceline works. I understand alot better now.