Priceline Hotel: san fran in november-where to stay

[groove_11]

hows it going? been a long time lurker and now i think im ready to take the step forward to actually using here!!

I'm heading on my honeymoon from ireland and staying in san fran from the 10th-17th Nov. Budget is around 70-100 tops.

We would to be within walking distance of most attractions, where would you suggest?

I'm at the mercy of the forum here! i've waited as long as possible to get the best deal but the 'wife' is getting itchy feet now and would like somewhere sorted, ive already told here that its a surprise, so somewhere nice hopefully will be the surprise. any help would be appreciated!

[Colfax]

Welcome to BetterBidding, groove_11, and congratulations on your wedding.

We would to be within walking distance of most attractions, where would you suggest?

No one location is within walking distance of all SF's attractions. Wherever you stay you'll be taking buses/taxis/BART to see the different areas. Most honeymooners would probably prefer a 4* in one of the Downtown zones---USW, USE, Embarcadero, or SOMA. A 3.5* Downtown or 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf would be second choices.

Among the four Downtown zones people have their personal preferences, but geographically they're all close together and I think a 4* in any of those four zones would work. Some people don't like USW because a couple of the hotels there are near the Tenderloin, a dodgy neigbhorhood. But USW is also very close to the stores in Union Square, the cable car, and the Theater District, so there are tradeoffs to staying in USW.

My big question is this: Do you want to spend all seven nights at the same hotel? Or are you willing to split your bid with four nights at one hotel and three nights at another, or five nights and two? It's often easier getting shorter stays accepted on Priceline than longer ones, especially when your bidding limit is to the low side, which $100 is. Also some people just prefer experiencing two different hotels over a week, for the variety.

But if you prefer staying put in one hotel for the whole week we'll certainly try to help you get that first.

Let us know which zones are acceptable to you and if you're willing to split or not and someone will suggest a strategy.

[groove_11]

thanks for your reply, never thought of splitting the hotels but i think we could manage that, we are leaving san francisco early on the monday morning so i suppose we could stay in an airport hotel the night before to save money. the 4 areas, USW, USE, Embarcadero, or SOMA i think would be the most preferable as i think these are the places where the shopping is. I dont want to be doing a lot of hotel shifting, but i willing to make one or two moves if required. many thanks again for your reply. what do you think the next steps should be?

[Colfax]

I dont want to be doing a lot of hotel shifting, but i willing to make one or two moves if required.

You don't have to split your bid at the start. If you prefer staying in one hotel you can try for that first and only split later if necessary. It's totally up to you.

Have you definitely decided that you want to spend your final night 11/16 near the Airport? If so you might try bidding for 11/16 first, as winning a single night at the airport will be easier than winning 6 nights Downtown. One piece of your itinerary will be settled then.

If you're still not sure whether you want to stay at the airport on 11/16 you could bid for just your first six nights Downtown first. Later, when you decide if you want the airport on 11/16 you could bid that night separately, or try Priceline's Add a Night feature to extend your Downtown hotel by one more night (Just so you know though, Add a Night doesn't always work).

My suggestion for "next step" would be to try and decide whether you want to stay at the Airport on 11/16. If so do you want a 4* at the Airport too? All 2.5* and higher hotels in the SFO zone have free airport shuttles.

[groove_11]

i think i'll bid for 7 nights downtown, and get a shuttle early on the monday morning. i'll start with bidding $85 for usw then work from there i think. i really like the marriott and would like to stay there if preferable, what would the best strategy be for getting that?

thanks again

[Colfax]

If you're talking about the Marriott San Francisco on Fourth Street (there's also the JW Marriott Hotel on Post Street), it's sold out on 11/11 but available your other six nights. It's not likely you'll win the Marriott for any set of dates that includes 11/11 then. (Occasionally someone wins a hotel that shows sold out but it's not common.)

If you still want to try for the Marriott I suggest bidding to your $100 limit in just the SOMA-Moscone zone, where Marriott is located. Then if you fail you can add the other Downtown zones after. Or just try for your last five nights in SOMA-Moscone, which eliminates the one night that Marriott is sold out. Whether you bid for 5 nights or 7 you could win any 4* in the zone though, not just the Marriott.

At the 4* level you have four free rebid zones, which are zones that only have hotels less than 4* quality.

I suggest you bid $80 for a 4* in SOMA-Moscone and increase $5 per free rebid. Please start your bids with this PRICELINE link, as that helps sustain this board. Let us know if you have any questions.

[Colfax]

An afterthought.

You said you wanted to start bidding in USW zone so I wonder now if it's the JW Marriott Hotel you were hoping for, not the Marriott SF. The JW Marriott is in USW zone, and it's available all seven nights.

[thereuare]

I'll also add to the above...

What is more important, trying to target the Marriott (which one??) or getting the lowest price for a 4* hotel in any of your acceptable zones? If the former, are you willing to pay more for a 4* hotel in the zone where the Marriott is located (even though you may not receive the Marriott you're hoping for) OR is ultimatley price the most important aspect and you'd prefer to try for the least expenisve 4* hotel in any of the zones you deem acceptable?

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

[groove_11]

price is the main issue for me im afraid!!

ive bid up to $85 for the Embarcadero area, the usw and the use areas and soma and now have no bids left. should i change the dates avaliable?what would my next move be?

[groove_11]

i have now split the dates up from the 10-15 and still cant get anything 4* under $100!! i have use soma usw embard, all ticked and nothing!!

is there any reason why its so expensive at the minute? is there anything else i can do?

thanks

[Colfax]

These are your options as I see them:

1) Wait 24 hours and bid higher than $100 for all seven nights.

2) Bid to $100 for a 3.5* instead of a 4*. If you do that I suggest you exclude the Embarcadero zone from your bids, as the 3.5* Club Quarters in Embarcadero zone is more of a business hotel than a "honeymoon hotel".

3) Bid to $100/4* for your last five nights, rather than your first five nights.

4) Bid to $100/4* for your first four nights.

[groove_11]

having been rejected up to $100 for USE,USW,SOMA and Embarcadero, I'm going to try tonight to lower it to 3.5 stars.

the reviews on tripadvisor for the 3.5 at usw and embarcadero are good so i think we should still have a great time.

I'm just not sure im using the best strategy, should i target the 4* 1st using the free rebid zones for each?

such as bid for embarcadero use up all the free bids then try use, then try usw?

if that doesnt work then go to 3.5 stars?

thanks for any replies, getting a wee bit concerned now that i havent booked anywhere!!!

[Colfax]

First I would say don't worry about the time. Your trip is still a week away and in PRICELINE terms that's a long time.

As a first step, I'll suggest bidding from $80-$100 for a 4* in all four Downtown zones one more time today, when your 24 hour lockout is over (if you've got the patience to wait). Sometimes Priceline gets new inventory on Mondays and since you prefer not to move I think it's worth one more shot today, even though you were rejected to $100 yesterday.

Checking the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins I see another bidder, faro, won three of your seven nights at the Hilton in USW for $85, after $80 was rejected. faro won nights 4,5,6 of your seven night stay. As your seventh night is a Sunday, which is usually a slow night in downtown SF, I think your night 7 may be available at a similar rate. If you're willing to split your bid you can probably win your last four nights for $80-85, and possibly your last five nights. You don't need to wait 24 hours if you want to try for that now.

Or would you rather try for all seven nights at a 3.5* first? At 3.5* level you only have three rebid zones, not four. It would be your decision whether you want to bid just one zone to $100 first, or all four zones together.