Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Los Angeles (Redondo-Manhattan Beaches) Crowne Plaza

[Fermat]

Bid for 3* on PRICELINE and upgraded to 3.5*. Hoping for Residence Inn, but I realise it is too early for that property to feature. Travelling 6000 miles it is wise to get hotels sorted. It does mean that some low rates are not yet available. Exchange rate is all over the place as we compete with US to get lowest MLR rate! At a guess $50 failed on 3*

[Colfax]

The 3* Residence Inn isn't as sure a thing as it once was. It seems the 3.5* in Redondo-Manhattan are offering lower rates lately and 3* bids get upgraded to 3.5* more often.

The upgrade often means extra charges for parking, internet, and breakfast, which are all included at the Residence Inn.

Thanks for the report.

[SeattleTraveler]

What's the best way to maximize my chances for getting the 3* Residence Inn, which seems to be a bit nicer in many ways than the 3.5* Crowne Plaza?

Wait until closer to the date? If so, how close? Change the bidding amount? Don't want to overpay, but am actually willing to pay more for the Residence Inn than the Crowne Plaza, based on TripAdvisor reviews.

Travel is on 1/1/09-1/5/09.

Thanks for any tips!

[slick_gd]

SeattleTraveler please start a new thread for your stay and we'll help you out there. Include the zone that you are looking at as well.

[Colfax]

Welcome to BetterBidding, SeattleTraveler.

There's no way to prevent an upgrade to 3.5* if that's what the numbers dictate. Res Inn MB doesn't give Priceline inventory every day of the week and you can't know in advance if there's 3* inventory for the dates you're bidding.

In general Res Inn hotels come up on Priceline on weekend nights more often than weekdays, but that's not a hard and fast rule.

If you'd like further assistance please start a new thread. It would help if you include the Residence Inn's rates for your travel dates. You can also check HOTWIRE and see if any hotels appear there that look like the RI from amenties.