Hotwire Hotel: HELP San Antonio

[crossedfingers]

I am looking to book the St. Anthony for the night of 6/5/04 on hotwire. There is a 3.5 star with restaurant, pool, fitness center, and business center that is a boutique that I thought might be the St. A, but based on this HOTWIRE POST I think it is probably the Emily Morgan.

There is a 4 star with restaurant, pool, fitness center, high speed internet access, business center, golf nearby, tennis nearby, and spa services that my friend booked (for the same night) and it is the Marriot Plaza.

There is also a 4.5 star with restaurant, pool, fitness center, and business center that I think might be the Westin (based on your post)

I know that the St. Anthony has a business center and restaurant so I wonder why those were not listed as amenities when you booked? Maybe they have updated their records since last year? If anyone has any input, I would appreciate it. Thank you

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Was your friend's Marriott win in the Downtown/Riverwalk zone? (i'd like to add it to the list)

Sometimes hotels choose not to display all of their amenities (in my opinion, a dumb decision on their part).

Take a look at our TEXAS HOTWIRE HOTELS list (particulary the second post in the thread).

My best guesses are that the 4.5* is most likely the Westin, and i think the 3.5* Boutique hotel is most likely the Sheraton Gunter.

As well, there is a chance that the Wyndham has indeed added add'l amenities to their listing (see first post in that same thread).

Let us know if we can be of more assistance and if you move forward please let us know what you got along with the amenities that Hotwire used to describe it.

[crossedfingers]

Thank you!

Yes, It is in the DT San Antonio and Riverwalk zone. Sorry I wasn't clear before. We both looked on Hotwire for Downtown/Riverwalk hotels and she booked I described.

I agree- bad idea and misleading.

The only reason I was thinking that it was the Emily Morgan instead of the Sheraton Gunther is that the Gunther is $111 on Expedia and the 3.5star on Hotwire is $116. Wouldn't the Expedia rate be higher?

[thereuare]

The Expedia rate should be higher, but it doesn't always work out to be the case. If Expedia has a cheaper rate for the complete stay and the hotel ends up being the Sheraton, you can apply to get "Double the Difference" back from Hotwire... but it may not be worth it after taking into account Hotwire's fee since the difference in rate isn't very much.

If you end up booking thru Expedia, Orbitz, etc. please remember that this site is an affiliate of those and use the links HERE.

Thanks.

[crossedfingers]

I wasn't aware of the "double the difference" guarantee- good to know

I am actually considering using priceline at this point and, don't worry, I'll use your link

:)

[thereuare]

If you'd like a bidding strategy let us know.

Keep this thread current for your Priceline info and if Priceline is ultimately used then i'll move this thread to the Priceline section.

[crossedfingers]

I would like a bidding strategy-

I was going to do 4 star, downtown, and start with $60

[thereuare]

You hae 5 RE-BIDS at the 4* level so starting at $60 and raising $5 per re-bid seems like a sound strategy. (so your last bid, if needed, would be for $85)

NOTE: the 'West' zone, which has a Resort but no 4* hotels, is not a re-bid zone as selecting that zone could result in an upgrade

Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Any questions with the above or if you need to confirm re-bid zones feel free to ask.

[crossedfingers]

One thing though- doesn't priceline consider the St. Anthony a 3*?

I think I might do $55 for a 3* to see if that works. Then if I have to add a zone I'll go up to 4* (but won't do the West zone).

So, none of the zones- besides West and Downtown- have any 4* or resorts?

[thereuare]

Actually there are 8 zones in the area, so there if you look closely i believe it's the Northwest zone that also offers 4* bidding. The 're-bidding' link above explains how to check each zone but you essentially need to select ONE zone, check the quality levels available, go back and UNcheck that zone and check the next one, and repeat the process.

I don't recommend the 3* at $55 strategy first since we have seen 3* hotels in this zone come up cheaper than that... you may not get the hotel you want and simply over-bid. You can read this which discusses it further: DON"T BID HIGHER FOR A SPECIFIC HOTEL

If you want to try for any 3* in the area we'll supply a different bidding strategy.

[crossedfingers]

I went to the Wyndham site one last time before trying Priceline and their webrate had dropped to $122 (it has been $199 the past few days) so I just booked through them. We are going for a wedding and really didn't want to stay anywhere else. I do appreciate your help and will definately use your site in the future and refer others to it. Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Glad you were able to get what you wanted and your follow-up, even though you didn't end up using Priceline or Hotwire, is greatly appreciated.

FYI for anyonoe following along... we're also a WYNDHAM affiliate. :)

[crossedfingers]

Just a little more followup, the webrate is now $108

Grrrrrrrrr

Oh well

Thanks again!

[thereuare]

If it's been less than 24 hours I would try to get them to match the price. I know it's a webrate and therefore 'no change, refunds, etc' but based upon their Web Guarantee they'll match a lower price that you find within 24 hours. Their actual terms state "... find a lower rate on another website..." but i don't think it was written with the intention of not honoring lower rates on their own website inside of 24 hours (not to mention bad for business.... they'll honor another company's price drop within 24 hours but not their own?!?!)

Details are at the WYNDHAM website. If you try it let us know the outcome.

EDIT: just read thru their Terms and Conditions a bit closer and it appear that they will honor a lower price from their own website (within 24 hours of booking)

[crossedfingers]

Thank you so much for your suggestion and to Wyndham!

I just called and spoke to a very nice customer service representative. After explaining that the webrate is now lower, she agreed to refund my $122 charge and give me the $108 rate!

What a great company!

[thereuare]

Glad you were able to take advantage of the lower price.