Priceline Hotel: SFO 8/1 - 8/7

[akho]

Hi,

I am wondering what the best strategy is to get 6 nights in SFO for the lowest $ bid. I've tried bidding up to $34 and was rejected.

Thanks for any help.

[thereuare]

I would first try all 6 nites at $35.

If that fails, i would try the following date combinations in this order:

8/1-8/6

8/2-8/7

8/1-8/5

8/3-8/7

8/1-8/4

8/4-8/7

You do have one RE-BID available at the 3* level so you can actually bid twice for each date above. (if you're not familiar with re-bidding please ask)

If any of the above get an accepted bid report back and we'll advise on the remainder of the stay. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck.

[akho]

okay. Here's what I got.

8/1 - 8/5 accepted.

3* Hyatt Regency SFO.

$35/day, taxes and service fees $26.12

Suggestions on how to proceed?

Thanks!

[thesilb]

Hi,

Seems like you still need the 5th and 6th. It appears that Priceline does not have access to inventory for the Hyatt at the airport for those dates. The dates are showing on Hyatt.com as available for $129; so, you might just snap it up if you are opposed to changing hotels. It is interesting that at Hotels.com, those dates for Hyatt are showing as "restricted" and not available. There is obviously some sort of convention or special event going on.

Priceline does have access to inventory for the Marriott (available for $99 directly) or Doubletree (available for $119 directly) for those dates.

I'm confident if you up your bid from $35 slightly at this time, you'll be able to secure one of those. My expectation is that the Marriott will be the next dispensed hotel, and I bet $38 to $41 is a good shot for those dates.

If you want to bid it out now and still have a bid and a rebid, I would bid SFO $38 and then add Civic Center $41. On failure, which I doubt will happen, you could bid $45 and $49 in three days (make sure to recheck all the facts stated above at that time to avoid an overbid).

You could also wait. It is possible that Priceline's access to investory at the Hyatt will open up later. If you decide to do this, consider making a cancellable backup for those dates with a hotel directly.

Good luck!

[thesilb]

I forgot to say, PL is also showing access to investory for Crowne Plaza in terms of airport 3* on those dates. My info is from the vacations product.

[thereuare]

So now you need a hotel for 8/5-8/7 and you know that $35 isn't enough to get accepted for both nites together. It appears that the Friday nite is cheaper than the Thursday nite (at hotels where there is a difference).

I would recommend:

3* SFO 8/5-8/7

Bid $37, if rejected add re-bid zone and

Bid $39.

Another option, if money is very tight, is to split the bid again (bidding 8/5-8/6 and then 8/6-8/7). I'd guess splitting the bid again will enable you to get a slightly lower rate for Friday than for Thursday, but i don't think the few dollars involved is worth the ordeal of potentially having to change hotels yet again. I'd sooner try the above strategy first and then cross the 'price vs. inconvenience factor' bridge when you get there.

Please post the results in a new thread since it's for a brand new set of dates (and we'll also be able to accurately reflect the winning hotel in the title of each).

Let us know how it goes and feel free to ask any questions that the above may have raised.

[thesilb]

I agree with thereuare that splitting the nights is a mistake, because, almost surely, the difference in price is less than the transaction costs of two bids (i.e., another "fee").

[akho]

Thanks for all your help!

I will definitely try your suggestions and if bid rejected, will make backup hotel plans.

[bbbb]

try Pls add a night option and see what they come back with.

[thesilb]

Add a night is not going to work. There's no inventory with Priceline for Hyatt for the dates in question.

[bbbb]

How do you know?You can"t check for one night on vacation packages

[WillTravel]

Sometimes people try "Add a night" and get a high counteroffer. Whether that happens, or there is no inventory, at least then you know what your options are.

[thesilb]

bbbb,

Agreed in a strict sense, however, when you use vacations to try AB and BC (where AB and C are consecutive nights) you can be fairly sure that "B" is not an available night for inventory for hotel X where hotel X is not returned in your AB BC analysis. Of course, A and C independently could be unavailable, and B available, but when you look at ancillary evidence, i.e. hotel direct pricing, and find that A, B and C are identically priced (and in this case, restricted), the evidence that B is not an available for inventory night is, in my opinion, extremely high.

Its surely worth the time to try for it on Priceline for just the one more night, the 5th (I kind of assumed you meant originally, the bidder should try to go for TWO more nights - to which I responded, no way, not happening) - maybe the 5th as an independent night will come up.

Just my thoughts.

[bbbb]

I think if it were me I would get a back up hotel that can be canceled and watch Hotwire everyday to see if the Hyatt comes up.If it does come up on Hotwire I would then use PLs add a night.You have 30 days to add a night.

[akho]

I didn't know that you can add a night! I tried it and there was no availability. checking Hyatt's website shows that they're fully booked for those nights.

Thanks again for your suggestions.