Priceline Hotel: 3* San Jose (Milpitas) Beverly Heritage

[Colfax]

$34 for a 2.5* in Milpitas got a counteroffer to raise by $9.

Instead I added zones that I thought would be more expensive than Milpitas at $35, $36, $38....finally hitting at $40 with an upgrade to the 3* Beverly Heritage.

The lobby renovations are almost complete. I was given a renovated room and found it very comfortable.

On the Beverly's website these nights were $170 each.

I bid through the PRICELINE link at SavingsBarn.com.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding... we're glad you're here.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and for using the SavingsBarn.com PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[Colfax]

My two day job in San Jose turned into a five day job and I needed three more hotel nights---Thurs, Fri, Sat.

I bid from $35 to $40 for a 2.5* in Milpitas without success.

I thought Thursday was probably more expensive than Friday/Saturday; so I decided to bid Fri/Sat alone, then use Add a Night for Thursday. I'd have two chances to use Add a Night---first off my Tues/Weds reservation at the Beverly and again off my Fri/Sat reservation, if I won someplace else.

For Fri/Sat $35 for 2.5* Milpitas got a $9 counteroffer. I went up in one dollar increments and won the Beverly Heritage on an upgrade, again at $40.

Tried Add a Night for Thursday off the Fri/Sat reservation. Got a $48 counteroffer.

Tried Add a Night for Thursday off the Tues/Weds reservation. $48 counteroffer again.

I tried to undercut the counteroffer by bidding for Thursday night alone. $40 for 3* Milpitas denied without counteroffer. $42 denied and $44 accepted by the Beverly again.

What I ended up with then, all at the Beverly, was:

Tues $40

Weds $40

Thurs $44

Fri $40

Sat $40

I'm surprised the Beverly adjusts their Priceline rates in increments as small as $4, but apparently they do.

[zbenye]

According to thereuare (and I believe he is correct), PL averages the nightly rates over the length of stay. So theoretically you might have gotten all three nights together for a bid of $42.

If that actually worked out, you would have saved $4.43 due to the varying fee:

1 nt * $44 = $44 + $12.37 = $56.37

2 nt * $40 = $80 + $17.02 = $97.02

Total for 3 nights: $153.39

Whereas:

3 nt * $42 = $126 + $22.96 = $148.96

It is always cheaper to book nights together than separately, so it is worth trying to bid a bit higher before splitting bids.

[Colfax]

I thought it was the other way, zbenye; that Hotwire averages daily rates and Priceline doesn't. :)

Consider a three night stay where the hotel's Priceline/Hotwire rate is $30 for the first two nights and $90 for the third. $30 + $30 + $90 / 3 = $50/night average.

My understanding was that to win all three nights with one Priceline bid you'd have to bid $90 x 3 = $270, as high as the most expensive night. A bid of $89 would be rejected on Priceline even though it's much higher than the three night average of $50.

Hotwire would only charge $50 x 3 = $150 for those three nights, since Hotwire averages.

At least that's what I thought. No? :)

If I have it right then in the Milpitas example I would have had to bid $44 for all three nights to win them in a single bid on Priceline, overbidding two nights by $4, but saving on transaction fees.

3 nt * $44 = $132 + $23.73 = $155.73, or $2.34 more than the $153.39 I paid splitting the bid in two.

I tend to split my longer stays into smaller pieces than necessary, even though sometimes I end up paying more in transaction fees. There are hotels I just don't like and I bid shorter stays as sort of an insurance policy against being stuck for days in a hotel I don't want.

[thereuare]

To clarify my current thoughts on this subject:

It used to be (years ago) that priceline did not average the nightly rate across the stay, while HOTWIRE did. Since then, we have seen definitive examples of priceline average rates in some situations, but also continuing to not average rates in others. I believe there may be an option for the hotel to choose, when they load rates into the system (or by priceline contract), to decide if they would like to have rates for mutli-nite stays averaged (as it does appear that it is hotel specific, not random or city specific). HOTWIRE continues to average rates across all stays.

[Colfax]

I haven't seen those threads with examples of Priceline averaging rates, so this is news to me. Thanks for the update, thereuare and zbenye.

It's tough to formulate the best strategy when you don't know whether a particular hotel allows averaging or not. It doesn't make much difference in a $40/$44 situation like the Beverly but could make a big difference in situations like the $30/90 example.

[zbenye]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on your upgrade: yesterday you were ranked "newbie", today you are seen as "member"... :)

No, it doesn't make much difference in a $40-$44 bid, it's just the fun of finding the lowest bid... for those of us who've made this a hobby (or addiction).

In the end I spend the same: the less I pay for the room, the more tip the maid gets...

[Colfax]

Yesterday a Newbie ... Today a Member ... Next week KING OF THE UNIVERSE!!

I learn fast, lol. :)