Priceline Hotel: Santa Barbara Bidding Help

[iaurmelloneug]

I would like some help with a bidding strategy for Santa Barbara 5/26 - 6/2/08.

There are 3 regions for this area, but I'd like to stay in either Santa Barbara or Goleta. I'd prefer to spend no more than $75 per night for a 2.5 star hotel...

The max stars for each region are as follows:

Goleta 2.5* max

Santa Barbara 3* max

Solvang - SY Valley 3* max

I'm wondering if this is too difficult given the area and my dates which include Memorial day holiday. I am willing to consider flexing on some on my dates (date earlier or later at the beginning or end) or possibly even changing my minimum star level to 2, but I'm a little afraid of getting some of the 2 star places I've seen online.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

[iaurmelloneug]

Dates of stay: 5/26 - 6/2/08

Location: Goleta

Price: $84

Features:

Suite

Laundry

None of the hotels on the California hotel list seem to match. Any suggestions?

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread... since the HOTWIRE hotel above is higher than the maximum bid you set for your PRICELINE bidding, and of lower star quality that you indicated, is this property really an option at this point?

Since you have no re-bid zones, i would try as follows:

Select 2.5* Santa Barbara...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 2.5* Goleta...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 2.5* Santa Barbara and Goleta...

Bid $75

Any questions feel free to ask.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[iaurmelloneug]

Yeah, I guess we were considering the Hotwire as a backup since it was at least a suite (even if it was only 2 stars) and we weren't really sure that we'd get anything with Priceline. (We also had mentioned that we would consider flexing with the star levels if that would help us with the price.) But we wanted to see if anyone had any ideas about which place it was first before we decided - I was thinking it might be the Extended Stay America Suites. Any thoughts?

[Colfax]

That 2* could be an Extended Stay America, if one exists in the zone. Other ESA's have been reported with those icons. Would ESA be an acceptable outcome for you?

As a general comment, Santa Barbara isn't a good PRICELINE city, especially in summer. You can bid very high, like to $100 for a 2*, and get nothing. I'm not discouraging you from bidding as things can change at any time. But probably your $75 limit won't be enough. What kind of conventional rates do you find for your dates?

[thereuare]

There is an ESA in this area and that would be my best guess too.

Have you tried the PRICELINE bidding above yet?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[iaurmelloneug]

Thanks for your input about the Hotwire hotel. Conventional rates for 2* I've seen with rates averaging starting around $90 per day (on those discount hotel websites)...so I didn't think $75 was that unreasonable for 2.5*.

I'll let you know what happens when we decide which direction to go with...