Priceline Hotel: 3* San Diego (Mission Valley) Town and Country Resort

[megabass]

Hello need advice on booking a 3* room for the San Diego Area... Looking to mainly stay in Downtown / Point Loma / Coronado area with my last choice as being the Mission Valley area since the hotels there are generally older.... When I increase the increments should I increase them by 3 dollars or 5 dollars? Also should I start with the area I desire first which is the Downtown area and then add incrementally the areas that I desire the from better to the least or that doesn't really make a difference... I actually started at 76 dollars (Downtown) and added in increments of 2 with the last bid being 82 dollars for the Mission Valley... I got rejected so should I just wait another day? I noticed that someone recently won the Mission Valley for 85 dollars so I guess I will have to try that tomorrow... Thanks in advance....

[Colfax]

Someone just won a 4* Downtown for your exact days at $112 after $110 was rejected.

Are you willing to bid that high? If not how high are you willing to bid for a 3*?

Do you prefer Downtown/Point Loma/Coronado in that order? Or do you want the least expensive 3* hotel available in any of those three zones?

[thereuare]

should I start with the area I desire first which is the Downtown area and then add incrementally the areas that I desire the from better to the least or that doesn't really make a difference

It does make a difference, but what is most important to you... zone or price? Would you prefer a lower priced hotel in your 2nd or 3rd choice of zones or a more expensive hotel in a prefered zone?

What is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

[megabass]

First of all thanks for ur quik responses... Okay I do NOT want to spend more than 85 dollars for a 3* rated room... With taxes and everthing that will come out to more than 100 dollars a nite plus parking and everthing else will put it to 120+/nite.. I would like to stay in the Downtown/Point Loma/ Coronado areas with my last choice being Mission Valley since the hotels seem a little older.... I did see that someone won a 3* room in Mission Valley... I would love to stay in Downtown preferrably in that price and then next on the list is Old Town/Point Loma and then Coronado (i don't think they have a 3* room anyways) with last choice being Mission Valley... My question is that should I start at say 70 dollars and then incrementally add the zones i prefer in order and then lastly use Mission valley at the higher price or start with Mission Valley at a lower price and then add the zones that I prefer? Hopefully this isn't confusing...

[thereuare]

I understand your question, but i don't think you understand ours:

Would you prefer a lower priced hotel in your 2nd or 3rd choice of zones or a more expensive hotel in a prefered zone?

We will suggest a strategy for your to follow, but we need to know your preference so that the suggested strategy is tailored to what you want.

In other words... would you prefer a hotel in Downtown at $85 or would you sonner prefer a less expensive hotel in, for example, Old Town?

[megabass]

I would prefer to pay 85 in downtown,old town and coronado then stay at mission valley for cheaper... However I don't know if my max price of 85 for a 3 star is enough to win a bid for those 3 locations.. Worse come worse then I'm goin to have to settle for mission valley then since I desire to stay in da 3 zones other than Mission Valley.. What should my strategy be then with MAX price 85 for zones downtown, point loma, and Coronado? Thanks

[Colfax]

When bidding for a 3* in San Diego you have four free rebid zones. If you need help determining your free rebid zones please ask before you bid.

From your bid history it doesn't sound like you've done any bidding in Point Loma zone yet, so this is what I'd suggest:

Bid $55 for a 3* in Point Loma

Add Coronado and bid $60.

Add Downtown and bid $65.

Then add your free rebids, one at a time, going up $5 per free rebid til you hit your $85 limit.

[megabass]

I guess I don't understand concept of the free rebid.. Let's say I bid the three zones to 65 with no success then what? Are there other zones that I can bid that don't have 3 star hotels? Thanks..

[Colfax]

A free rebid zone is one that only has hotels of lower quality than you're seeking. Since you want a 3* hotel your free rebid zones are those that only have hotels of 2.5* quality or less. If you go to Priceline's San Diego bid page and check the zones one at a time you'll see the highest quality level offered in each zone. There are four zones that only have 2.5* or less.

You can add those "free rebid" zones to your 3* bids in other zones without risk of winning a hotel in those "free rebid" zones because Priceline will never give you a lower quality level than you bid for.

Before you bid again I encourage you to post the names of your four rebid zones here, so we can verify that you understand the concept and don't end up winning a hotel in a part of town you don't want. Ask if you still don't understand.

[megabass]

I totally get it NOW!! Thanks so much I didn't think of that for some reason... I didn't realize that there were 4 zones including San Ysidro, East Valley, Sorrento Mesa and National City that don't have 3* hotels... I'm going to try it tonite and let u guyz know!! Thanks so much....

[megabass]

Status Update:

I bid first Old Town/Point Loma at $55, 60 for Downtown/Harbor Island, 65 for Coronado, added rebid zone #1 at 70, rebid zone 2 at 75, rebid zone 3 at 80, rebid zone 4 at 87. NOTHING!! Then I even tried the dreaded Mission Valley for 87 and all REJECTED!

I just saw someone recently won it for 85 so I guess I'm going to end up spending more than $85 since my bid of $87 was rejected... Any advice? Should I bump up my max price to $90 and hope for the best tomorrow, or should I jump to the 4* ratings and hope I can get it for around 115 which I've seen people get accepted bids at the same time period.... I don't have much time since I'm tryin to book the hotel for this weekend.... Advice appreciated... Is it much harder to secure bids when its closer to the desired days?

[thereuare]

Any advice? Should I bump up my max price to $90 and hope for the best tomorrow, or should I jump to the 4* ratings and hope I can get it for around 115 which I've seen people get accepted bids at the same time period

It depends if the extra $20-$30 is worth it for you to upgrade to a 4* property. For me it would be, especially if it meant getting a hotel in one of your prefered zones (and not Mission Valley)... but let us know your own thoughts and we'll advise accordingly.

Also, dont just add Mission Valley at the end to your other bids as you could easily end up overbidding for that zone.

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

[megabass]

Thereuare,

I understand your points... It seems like this weekend is pretty expensive and looking at the regular discount hotel sites, even 3* rooms in Mission Valley are going for $150 dollars or more... Generally does anyone know what is the avg price paid for a 3* hotel in the Downtown/Harbor Island area? Haven't seen too many winning bids in this area or even the Old Town/Point Loma area... It seems like when people have won for a 3* property it seems to be Mission Valley... I'm now okay with Mission Valley as long as I don't spent over $90 for it since the last winning bid was $85. I don't have much time so I'm getting a little concerned that I may not win something before the weekend which is when I'm heading to SD... My last question is that since I've been bidding 2 or times for the 3* properties, would starting the process on 4* properties be considered a whole new bidding process?

[thereuare]

Generally does anyone know what is the avg price paid for a 3* hotel in the Downtown/Harbor Island area?

The average winning bid is meaningless. Take for example a hotel that has a "slow rate ($100) and a "busy rate" ($200)... the average rate is $150 but that doesn't help you for your particular dates (which is why we always stress that rates are date specific). Using the example above, if you bid $150 because that is the average rate, you'll either overbid by $50 or not even be close.

It seems like when people have won for a 3* property it seems to be Mission Valley

Mission Valley is its own zone, so i'm not sure what you're trying to say above.

I'm now okay with Mission Valley as long as I don't spent over $90 for it since the last winning bid was $85

Rates are date specific. I believe this is the previous winning priceline bid bid you're refering to at $85. If you check the Crowne Plaza website for their dates you'll see that rates are $135/nite... then check for your own dates and you'll see they're $175/nite. You've already been rejected at $87, higher than their winning $85 bid, so now you're only willing to raise your bid another $3 to give it a try and expect to win? The winning bid 'threshold' has to be somewhere, but at only $3 more than your previous bid, i wouldn't put a high probability of it being at $90.

As you point out your dates are quickly approaching, so why not re-group and come up with a real strategy that is based upon actual rates for your stay and your next best alternative for these dates.

If you continue to fail with the opaque providers... where would you stay and what would it cost? Your maximum bid should be based upon some discount of this figure.

[megabass]

Thereuare,

Thanks for telling me like it is... At this point I think I'm willing to stay within the 4 zones: Old Town/Point Loma, Downtown/Harbor Island/ Coronado, and Mission Valley. I would like to keep my maximum bid below $100 if at all possible, otherwise I might as well bid up for the 4* hotels... So should I start with my strategy at $65 with the 4 zones and then work my way until $100 with the 4 rebid zones? What else can you suggest. Sorry if I sound confusing because I'm just trying to weigh my options and I didn't realize this particular weekend of 8/8/08 seems more expensive than other weekends....

[thereuare]

You have four re-bid zones available at the four star level. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 3* and the four zones you're willing to accept...

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

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use our links to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* and the four zones you're willing to accept and re-bid zone4...

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

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $100

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. If rejected and you then want to try for a 4* hotel let us know your maximum bid and we'll revise accordingly.

[Colfax]

Have you thought about bidding for a 2.5* Downtown, megabass? In June I spent two nights at the 2.5* Holiday Inn Downtown and I thought it was pretty good for the money.

2.5* doesn't mean a bad hotel. Priceline won't rate a hotel higher than 2.5* unless it has a restaurant that serves three meals a day, plus room service. The Downtown Holiday Inn doesn't have a restaurant but it's a few short blocks from Little Italy, where there are lots of good places to eat. If you want to be near Downtown and don't care about restaurant/room service then I think bidding 2.5* Downtown is a viable option too.

There's a different 2.5* Holiday Inn in Point Loma zone that gets very mixed reviews. I've never stayed there but a common complaint among people who don't like it is that it's motel style with parking in front of your door. If that doesn't bother you then you could bid for a 2.5* in Pont Loma zone as well.

[megabass]

I first wanted to thank everyone for helping me out... I ended up starting from $65 for 3 star and bid 4 zones with the 4 free rebid zones. I eventually won the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley for $100.. I did not notice this in the priceline list so this should be added.. Must be a popular weekend cuz I didn't expect prices to be this high..

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your ultimate success!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and helping us add this property to the Priceline Hotel List.

If you didn't, please remember to use our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your future travel purchases.

Enjoy your stay.