Priceline Hotel: 4* San Francisco (USE) wanted, 16-18 September

[Paradiso]

I would like a 4* in San Francisco USE, check-in 16 September, check-out 18 September.

My bids:

USE $90

USE+Cathedral Hill $95

USE+Cathedral Hill+SSF $100

USE+Cathedral Hill+SSF+Civic Centre $110

Locked out for 24 hours.

Any advice for mmy second attempt welcome.

Wanted to add, I will pay up to $160 if necessary.

[GM Mike]

Your strategy looks good, aside from the obvious ideas of lowering quality/adding additional acceptable zones.

I think you MIGHT be a little early in your bidding, actually. I suspect a lot of the revenue managers plan a month-out to start thinking of adding rooms to priceline, especially with San Francisco so busy.

Only you know how urgently you want to get this settled. My opinion (and it's only an opinion) would be to bid in the price range you have been, every few days, and think about going higher in a week or two, when you get closer to check in date.

One trigger to you might be to watch hotwire rates. 4* is very high right now. You could run hotwire searches and when you see a low 4* price pop up, it could signal you to bid low on priceline. Not foolproof but has worked well for a lot of people here.

[Paradiso]

Thank you for your reply, Mike. It is reassuring to know that I haven't left it too late, as I feared

[GM Mike]

I feel obligated to mention... Please strongly consider booking a fully cancellable/refundable backup reservation somewhere NOW, just in case you end up waiting and nothing from priceline or hotwire works out.

[Paradiso]

I feel obligated to mention... Please strongly consider booking a fully cancellable/refundable backup reservation somewhere NOW, just in case you end up waiting and nothing from priceline or hotwire works out.

I am getting nowhere with my bids up to $120. But others on this board have succeeded with a bid of $113, for the same time period. My earlier bid for $90 was accepted, for 13 days earlier.

[BEAV]

I am getting nowhere with my bids up to $120. But others on this board have succeeded with a bid of $113, for the same time period. My earlier bid for $90 was accepted, for 13 days earlier.

What are the published rates at the 4 star hotels in USE during this time period? That will help in determining a bid strategy. Hotels constantly review and adjust the inventory they allocate Priceline based on their ever-changing occupancy levels. It's very possible the hotel the other poster won for $113 for the same time period is no longer allocating inventory to Priceline if their occupancy levels have increased, or is now even sold out.

Hang in there!