Priceline Hotel: 4* San Jose (Sunnyvale-Santa Clara) Hyatt Santa Clara

[BHL]

Going by the info in Hilton Santa Clara thread, what should I bid? Also my my max limit obviously has to be a little higher now than I posted there ($60).

Thank you.

[thereuare]

What is your new maximum bid?

What is the best rate you're able to find thru conventional methods? (use our BetterChecker to assist in your rate search.

[BHL]

Note the dates are actually check in 25th, check out 27th (again I can't edit OP).

Hilton $249 (27th-29th is $107)

Hyatt - sold out

Not sure on a maximum. Why?

I have to have a hotel.

[thereuare]

Not sure on a maximum. Why?

I have to have a hotel.

Same explanation as HERE... we wouldn't want to suggest a strategy that went higher than you wanted to pay nor which went higher than you could get thru a conventional booking.

While you may definately need a hotel, it would be silly to bid more than whatever hotel you could purchase thru alternate means, and your maximum bid should be based upon your alternatives for this stay.

[BHL]

Yes, but I wouldn't bid higher than I wanted to. :) I never understood, even from that thread, what my max had to do with the suggested bid prices, other than obviously if your suggestion would be higher than what I would pay would be (which I didn't think would ever be the case). ie. Are they adjusted according to the max (besides not just going over it). If that makes sense. So say, even not knowing a max, if you gave a bid suggestion, I would either use it or not.

And even without knowing a 'max', I think any amount you would suggest would be lower than what I could get by conventional means, since surely you wouldn't suggest bidding $250. :)

So I'm just going to say $100, and see if that's possible (though I'd probably go slightly over that). And I certainly don't mind starting lower (say $70) and working up to that max, than say starting at $85/90/95/100, unless that's a complete waste of time. So maybe it shouldn't be, but a max is a little hard for me to come up with.

So, that's why I asked how the max was used. :o

[thereuare]

Yes, but I wouldn't bid higher than I wanted to.... even not knowing a max, if you gave a bid suggestion, I would either use it or not.

Telling us in the beginning saves us time of putting together a strategy you may not want to use :) Each strategy is 'customized' based upon prevailing rates and how high the user is willing to pay.

I'm doubtful you'll be successful with a $100 limit, but you can try as follows:

Select 4* Sunnyvale-Sanata Clara...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Sunnyvale-Sanata Clara and re-bid zone2...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Sunnyvale-Sanata Clara and re-bid zone3...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* Sunnyvale-Sanata Clara and re-bid zone2 and re-bid zone3...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $100.

Any questions feel free to ask. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

PS- to touch upon your point above, if we thought you'd be successful at, let's say $70, we wouldn't suggest going up to $100, even if you stated that as your maximum bid

[Colfax]

Before you do more bidding I suggest trying Add a Night on your accepted bid at the Hilton. That will tell you whether the Hilton has Priceline rooms available for your remaining days.

The three possible outcomes are:

1) Your Add a Night request is accepted at $60. (Unlikely since the Hilton is $249 for the nights you're trying to add.)

2) You get a counteroffer like "The Hilton has rooms available 7/25-7/27 but the price is $100". You can accept or reject the counteroffer.

3) You get a message that the Hilton has no Priceline rooms for the additional days.

If you get the third message then you probably won't win a 4* on Priceline no matter how high you bid, since the Hyatt is sold out.

=========

HOTWIRE has several Santa Clara options for your remaining dates:

4* $183 (possibly the Hilton)

3* $132

2.5* $69

2* $66

[BHL]

So, if a room was available, and my bid was too low, would it always give a counteroffer? In other words, if my bid wasn't accepted, that always means their sold out?

I tried the add-a-night for 7/25-7/27. It said:

We were unable to fulfill your request for additional nights at the Hilton Santa Clara. Your credit card has not been charged for the additional nights you just requested.

Please note: Our customer service agents have access to the same hotel rates and availability as our customers do on our website. They are not able to make this booking on your behalf.

If you would like to see additional rates available for your hotel click here.

[Colfax]

We were unable to fulfill your request for additional nights at the Hilton Santa Clara.

That means Priceline doesn't have rooms at the Hilton at any price now. You would have recieved an offer if they did. Unless availability changes you won't win the Hilton those two nights no matter how high you bid. (Priceline might have rooms for one night or the other alone, but they won't tell you that. It's just yes or no to the exact set of dates you request.)

If Hyatt is still sold out one night (I didn't check) you're not likely to win a 4* on Priceline now. Your dates are still two weeks away and it's possible Hilton will still give rooms to Priceline between now and then. It's really impossible to predict if they will or not, or when.

Do you want to hold out and keep trying for a 4* in Santa Clara? Bid for 3* in Santa Clara? HOTWIRE?

[BHL]

I was really hoping to get the Hilton for the 25th-27th since we're going to Great America on those days (it wont work out to go on the other days), and we'd be able to walk from the Hilton and save on parking. Their parking lots back up to each other!

So we'll be in the Hilton on the 27th-29th but won't be able to go to the park on those days. :)

What are the chances if I called the hotel and mentioned the priceline rate I got, that they'd give me a room, and at a decent rate, for the other 2 days?

Yes, the Hyatt is still sold out on the night of the 25th-26th (is avail. on the 26th-27th).

[thereuare]

It depends upon what you consider a 'decent rate' to be... but if you'refering to around the amounts you have already bid, i'd put your chances at less than 2%.

[BHL]

No, I'd consider decent would be higher than that. Their lowest website price is $206 for 26th-27th. So, how about $120?

Their website is showing sold out for 25th-26th too (just like the Hyatt).

Also, something I don't think we've thought of; if the Hilton's website shows vacancy on the 26th-27th, can/should I bid on priceline for that day and maybe get the Hilton again at least for that day?

FYI, The Smashing Pumpkins are playing 11 nights in San Fran, one being the 25th, if that has anything to do with the 25th being booked up.?

[thereuare]

So, how about $120?

I doubt it. Rates are high because the demand is there... so why should they sell a room to you at half price during peak nites if they think they can likely get their full rate on their own?

You could try bidding for the nite of the 26th but of course then risk having to chnage hotels yet again (if you don't receive the Hilton).

[Colfax]

Hilton rates:

7/25 sold out

7/26 $206.10

7/25-7/27 $249

That means Hilton has a two day minimum stay requirement associated with checkins on 7/25.

HOTWIRE has a 4* Santa Clara for $183. I think that's the Hilton but can't say with certainty.

There's no harm in bidding Priceline up to $120. If you win the Hilton at $120 that's still less than 50% of their best published rates for those dates.

And if you won a 3* in Santa Clara for $70-100 the savings vs a 4* would be more than enough to cover the parking charge at Great America.

[BHL]

Ah, so it's not sold out.

OK, I'll bid on both nights (7/25-7/27). So would you recommend starting at $120 or working up to it?

[Colfax]

I guess I would start at about $80 and go up in $10 increments.

That the Hilton isn't sold out doesn't mean Priceline has rooms though. Remember when you tried Add a Night for the Hilton a couple days ago you got back a "no inventory" message and the Hilton wasn't sold out at that time either.

You also could try Add a Night from the link on your acceptance page once more, but this time try to add just the one night 7/26, instead of both. 7/26 has a lower price than 7/25 so more likely to be on Priceline.

Priceline's rules say you can only attempt Add a Night one time off an accepted reservation and you've already attempted once. But I've heard of one instance where someone tried Add a Night a second time a couple days after a rejection and got accepted, even though the rules don't allow it. Probably that was a fluke or a glitch and I doubt you'll duplicate that success. It might be worth a try though.

[BHL]

Yep, when I click to Add a Night, it gives me the 'sorry' message it gave after I actually used it to bid before.

Still trying to decide whether I should bid $120 for 7/26, or 7/25 and 7/26.

[Colfax]

You can bid up to $120 for both days and if rejected then bid to $120 for 7/26 alone. You don't have to wait 24 hours to bid for a different set of dates.

It's possible you could win the Hyatt on 7/26 though and some other hotel on 7/25. That would mean three hotels in three days.

[BHL]

$120 for both days wasn't accepted. You think I could get it for less than $120 for just 7/26?

If I don't do that, do I need to start a new thread for a 3* bidding assistance for those 2 days?

[thereuare]

You probably won't win at $120 for just the nite of the 26th, but if you're willing to split this portion of the stay you don't have much to lose by trying :)

You can continue this thread even if you switch to 3* bidding... all posts for the same date(s) should go in the same thread.

[BHL]

Actually I bid $80 as my first bid and it was accepted for the 26th. But unfortunately I got the Hyatt instead. I was thinking it was sold out. Good news is it's right across the street, so no big deal at all.

How much should I try to Add a Night for (25th)?

[Colfax]

Congratulations. Three down and one to go. Sorry you'll have to move.

I don't think the Hyatt has showed sold out on 7/26 since this thread started. It's showing $219 now, so $80 is a very good deal.

The Hyatt IS sold out on 7/25 though, which is the one night you still need.

Even though Hyatt shows sold out you should try Add a Night first. Occasionally a hotel that shows sold out on its website will come through on Priceline.

So try Add a Night first and let us know whether you get acceptance, counteroffer, or rejection.

Good luck!

[BHL]

At $80? I wouldn't be any cheaper than that would it? $219 isn't far off from the Hilton's rate of $209, when they accepted my $60.

[Colfax]

With Add a Night you don't enter an amount. Priceline submits a bid for additional days ONLY to the hotel you already won and at the same price as your accepted bid, which in this case was $80. You already tried Add a Night once for this stay, when you tried adding two nights to your accepted bid at the Hilton; so I know you know how to do it.

As the Hyatt is sold out on 7/25 I don't think your Add a Night bid will be accepted. If it is accepted though that will save you another hotel move. It's worth trying.

After that you can try bidding for ANY 4* in the zone and maybe get the Hilton again. But since Hilton is sold out on 7/25 too I don't think you'll win that either.

Probably it's time to start looking at a 3* in Santa Clara or bid an adjacent zone.

Or you can book a cancellable backup reservation somewhere and keep bidding for a 4* in Santa Clara every day until your stay, hoping for cancellations.

[thereuare]

Glad to see one more nite taken care of.

Please start a NEW TOPIC for the remaining nite of your stay.