Priceline Hotel: 2* Fresno La Quinta Inn

[pterrell]

Priceline must have caught on to how easy it was to get the lowest prices on a last minute room in Fresno!

Fresno has been remapped to three zones and outlying cities have been dropped!

Since I'd only given myself half an hour before the 8pm PST deadline, I started bidding on 2.5* at $46 to see if I could get the Courtyard. No go. So did the "crazy" and went for $48 and dropped to 2*. Got the La Quinta. Hotwire showed the La Quinta at $56, so I figured that it would be unlikely for me to get the La Quinta for one of the rock bottom prices I've scored before. At least I beat the Hotwire rate.

Started bidding from the PRICELINE link. (Or at least I hope I did...finding that rezoning threw me off and I switched browsers to confirm what I saw...)

[thereuare]

Thanks for the report and letting us know about the re-zoning of the PRICELINE zones for this area.

Do you recall the old zones... can you simply include the hotels currently in the Airport zone and put them in the Fresno zone... or did the previous Airport zone extend north and some hotels in the Priceline Hotel List's Airport zone are in the 'new' Pinedale-UC Fresno zone? I assume the Radisson Visilia isn't in this region any longer?

Thanks for using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding and any insight you can provide on the reclassifciation which would give us a head start in editing the hotel list.

Enjoy your stay.

[pterrell]

Sorry I had to run off before reporting on the zone changes. I believe this will update Fresno...

Fresno

3* Four Points

3* Holiday Inn

3* Radisson

2.5* Courtyard Airport REVIEW

2* La Quinta Inn REVIEW

Fresno (Fresno West)

2* Crossland Fresno

Fresno (Pinedale - UC Fresno)

2.5* Country Inn and Suites

2.5* Courtyard

2* Extended StayAmerica North

Notes:

The Fresno zone incorporates downtown Fresno with the airport.

The Radisson in Visalia (note correct spelling) is now a Marriott. Visalia is no longer part of Fresno search.

Three Courtyards were on the old list. There are only two in Fresno.

"UC Fresno" is an interesting name for the zone containing CSU Fresno, known by sports fans as FSU or Fresno State. Priceline may want to correct this...

[pterrell]

And it was my "little brother" making the journey back to the hometown of Fresno. He too likes to make his travels flexible, so I was waiting to the last minute to make sure he didn't want to camp out with any old friends or stay in Bakersfield with my sister.

I told him to request a room with a fridge and microwave and see if La Quinta comped him...

I won't be going down to Fresno for a while. As my pregnant wife and I were preparing for a trip the first weekend of August, her OB decided it was best to get the baby out a couple of months early. They are both healthy now, but not fit for traveling until the new year...

[Colfax]

Congrats on your new baby, pterrell.

I don't think eliminating the Fresno Airport zone was a good idea. People either want to stay near the airport or they don't. Some who used to bid the Airport zone will find staying Downtown inconvenient, and may stop using Priceline in Fresno as a result.

The new "Pinedale-UC-Fresno" zone title makes it clear Priceline didn't talk to anyone in Fresno when they renamed the zone. Fresno State isn't part of the UC system, as you note. And "Pinedale" needs to go as well. Pinedale is kind of a rough area and I don't think there are any hotels in Pinedale. Why not just call the zone "North Fresno"? That's simple and "North Fresno" is the way locals refer to the area.

Priceline still offers bidding in Visalia but Visalia appears in a new cluster now with Tulare and Lindsay. Visalia only goes to 2* now, so I don't think the Visalia Marriott is participating. Marriotts are almost always 3*.

[thereuare]

I believe this will update Fresno...

THANKS!! I've made the changes to the Priceline Hotel List and will doublecheck when time permits. Thanks for adding this additional info.

As my pregnant wife and I were preparing for a trip the first weekend of August, her OB decided it was best to get the baby out a couple of months early. They are both healthy now, but not fit for traveling until the new year...

Congratulations on the new addition! :) Glad to hear both are doing well... hopefully you are too and you're getting some sleep!

Priceline still offers bidding in Visalia but Visalia appears in a new cluster now with Tulare and Lindsay. Visalia only goes to 2* now, so I don't think the Visalia Marriott is participating. Marriotts are almost always 3*.

Thanks for this... i've moved Visalia to it's own zone and made the note that the Radisson is now a Marriott and 3* bidding not currently offered.

[pterrell]

It's hard to negotiate when there's so few zones!!

Little brother decided that he'd like to continue his stay in Fresno to Thursday. Since that $48/night price bothered me, I had my wife bid $44/night. No go. Then tried to extend the stay. No go, including no counteroffer. Hmmm... Whipped up an account for little brother and bid $54. Counteroffered at $69. With no free zones to rebid, I took it. ($69 still beat HOTWIRE and website's lowest rates.)

Only problem: the hotel is the Radisson, so little brother will need to check out and check in down the street. But knowing him, he'll get a big kick out of staying at the Radisson.

[thereuare]

It's hard to negotiate when there's so few zones!!

I'm sure it will just take some getting used to... in a few weeks you'll have forgotten about the 'old' zones (but long for the "good old days")