broadwayblue Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Newbie here...I just got shot down with $66, $68, $70, and $75 for 10/7-10/11. I guess I need to wait 72 hours and try again. Any suggestions? Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Welcome to BetterBidding!What star rating were you bidding for? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 4*. I read a few threads here before I started bidding and it seemed like people had been successful at around $70. At first I was kind of surprised I got shut out with a $75 bid in October...but now I'm thinking it may have been due to the fact it's the Columbus day weekend. Thanks for the welcome. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Well you do have 5 re-bid zones available at the 4* level.If you're willing to raise your bid you can bid again immediately, but i don't know if you wanted to bid higher at this point or not. If you do let us know and we'll try to suggest a strategy if you'd like. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 i re-bid a 4th time at $78 and got shot down again. what would you suggest for my last re-bid? Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Next time, you have lots more rebids to use, just start new bids instead of taking priceline up on its offer to "add a zone". If you have zone A you are targetting and zones B, C, D, E and F which are free rebid zones, bid:AABACADAEAFABCABDABEABFACDACEACFADEADFAEFABCDABCEABCFABDEABDFABEFABCDEFNot that you should need all those in USE-SF hopefully! You are correct that you would normally have seen an acceptance by now. You can wait and see if prices come down. Currently, based on ancillary evidence, I would recommend that your next bid levels be 85, 90 and 93. I am fairly confident that 93 would win the Westin St. Francis for these dates as of right now. Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 P.S. If you do wait 72 hours, definitely start at the bottom again, I would recommednd 60, 68, 70, 72, 75, 80, 85, 90 and 93. Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 thanks for the help. interesting technique, i'll definitely give it a shot. do you think the prices are jacked up because it's a holiday weekend? Link to comment
BEAV Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Either a holiday weekend, or a convention(s) in town. October is a busy month for conventioneers. Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 I just tried again (had my girlfriend try on her account) and still no luck. I bid $66, 70, 72, 75, and 80. I don't want to go much higher as I've seen reports of people having successful bids of $70 for the following weekend. Guess I'll try again tomorrow night on my account.thesilb, how do you remove zones after you've been rejected? They remain grayed out on my screen when I go to re-bid. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 You remove zones by closing that browser and then re-accessing Priceline however you did previously. Then just check the appropriate zones.I'm not pushing you to raise your bid amount if you're not comfortable doing so, but here's an extreme example which should make it clear why you can't use acceptances the following weekend in order to determine your bid amount for the prior weekend.Weekend 1:Hotel is hosting three weddings over the course of the weekend and a big conference on Monday for which several people will be arriving beforehand so that they can get organized and set-up. As well, the nearby professional sports team is starting the play-offs for the first time in 8 years and this hotel is 2 miles from the stadium. As a result of all of the above, the hotel is 97% occupied.Weekend 2:The hotel has no weddings, no conferences, no special events, and it is the town's official "stay home with your family weekend." As a result the hotel is 15% booked.The rates, and Priceline availability for the above two weekends, will be entirely different. Comparing the two is a complete 'apples to oranges' comparison.As well, i think the first nite of your stay may have higher demand than the remainder of your stay. If you're willing to SPLIT YOUR BID you may want to try dropping the first nite of your stay and repeat your prior bids, but only for the last three nites. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Have you considered bidding USW? You may have more success in the 70 range in that zone (although personally it is my less favorite of the two based mostly on the chance of getting the Hilton, which I think stinks and does have crummy "priceline" rooms). If you want USE, its possible, but I think less than 50% chance, that you'll see winning bids at 70-75. I agree with thereuare, this is a tough weekend and cannot be compared to surrounding weekend. Apples and oranges. I still remain confident that a bid at 93 should get this done for you right now at the Westin, but that could change at any moment. Link to comment
bbbb Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Next time, you have lots more rebids to use, just start new bids instead of taking priceline up on its offer to "add a zone". If you have zone A you are targetting and zones B, C, D, E and F which are free rebid zones, bid:AABACADAEAFABCABDABEABFACDACEACFADEADFAEFABCDABCEABCFABDEABDFABEFABCDEFNot that you should need all those in USE-SF hopefully! You are correct that you would normally have seen an acceptance by now. You can wait and see if prices come down. Currently, based on ancillary evidence, I would recommend that your next bid levels be 85, 90 and 93. I am fairly confident that 93 would win the Westin St. Francis for these dates as of right now.WOW! This is great,I never thought about bidding like this.I was woundering why all the posts keep telling people to close their browsers.thesilb Thanks for this info. Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 you guys definitely weren't kidding. just tried again and no luck for those 4 nights at $77/$81/$85/$87/$89. no wonder i was never a priceline fan. do the prices generally get better or worse as you get closer to your arrival date? i guess i may have to start thinking about other options...such as splitting my dates, going for broke and bidding over $90 (thesilb do you still think that $93 bid wins?), or downgrading to a 3*. Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 I'm not so confident any longer. The lowest available rate at the Westin is now higher than rates I've seen where 93 was accepted. But this hotel has only recently started popping up again after soem rennovations so the data set is somewhat limited. Did you get any counteroffers on your 80's bids? This would be a good indication that you're close. Link to comment
BEAV Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 A friend of mine called me today to say he got the Marriott (USE zone) for $120 per night for the nights of Oct 6, 7 & 8. He used the bidding strategy thesilb posted earlier on this thread, starting around $80. This is obviously a busy week in SF which is driving up Priceline rates. My friend didn't feel he got a "bad Priceline deal" because conventional rates at the Marriott are still twice the amount of his winning bid. I should note, however, he didn't not include USW in his bidding as he wanted to steer clear of the Hilton.Priceline rates are driven by hotel occupancy levels, and his experience confirms it! Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 I'm not so confident any longer. The lowest available rate at the Westin is now higher than rates I've seen where 93 was accepted. But this hotel has only recently started popping up again after soem rennovations so the data set is somewhat limited. Did you get any counteroffers on your 80's bids? This would be a good indication that you're close. do they email me the counteroffer, or does it show on the screen after i've been rejected?i'm sorry i didn't take your advice a couple days ago...i just got shot down with $86/$90/$93/$95.i then took thereuare's suggestion and tried splitting my bid...but still got shot down for fri/sat/sun with the same bids. :)if i decide to give up on the 4* USE zone what would you suggest i go for next? 4* USW, 3* USE, or 3* FW? Link to comment
BEAV Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 do they email me the counteroffer, or does it show on the screen after i've been rejected? The counteroffer displays in leiu of a rejection notice on your screen, in addition to an email notification. If you'd have received one, you would have known it. If you want to be downtown, near shopping and the theatre district, I'd go with 4* USW zone over 3* FW zone. Often times, you can score a 4* USW for about the same price as 3* FW. When my friend bid for Oct 6-9, he didn't receive any counteroffers until finally successful at $120. Good luck with this....as a newbie, don't let it get you down. Persistance usually pays off! Also, since your stay is still quite a ways off, Priceline's access to inventory can change dramatically as time goes on. Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 Try 68 & 75 again USE right now if you have more free rebids. I think the Hyatt Regency may have just come into play for those dates. Let us know if it accepts or if you get counteroffers at these prices.If you are willing to try USW, try 70, 75 and 80 right now. I believe the Renaissance Stanford Court is in play at those rates right now. You might, possibly, end up at the Hilton, so make sure you're okay with this before you press forward on USW for these dates. However, I believe the Stanford Court is much more likely on those dates. If you can snag this for 70, or even 80, you ought to be a very happy camper.I note that my favorite USE boutique - the Harbor Court - is also likely in play for its lowest rate, which I'm not up-on the data enough to know what it is - 55 to 70 somewhere I think? But I think there are other less desirable boutiques. If you get this one, you're psyched though. Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 Tried USE again just now at $75 but no luck. I'll keep trying. Thanks for all the help and encouragement! Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Have you yet tried splitting the bid by removing the first nite of your stay or are you not inclined to change hotels after one nite? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Have you yet tried splitting the bid by removing the first nite of your stay or are you not inclined to change hotels after one nite? Yes, i am ok with splitting the bid...i tried that (see my post above) but it didn't work either. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Since there is so much time and we've seen a few bids in this zone get rejected where they would typically be accepted, i would stick with this one for awhile.If you really feel you need something Hotwire has 4* hotels in the USE zone as well as the Embarcadero zone at $108/nite... both are listed as Customer Favorites.Not sure how this compares to any other options you have and/or a back-up reservation (which i highly suggest you make). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
thesilb Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Are you not interested in USW? Link to comment
broadwayblue Posted August 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Are you not interested in USW? i don't have anything against USW...it's just that i had been told that USE was the best area to stay. it's been a long time since i've been to San Fran so i'm really just going with other people's recommendations. i won't have a car so i'd like to be centrally located for all the action (touristy stuff.)thereuare, very good suggestion that i make a backup reservation in case the whole priceline thing doesn't work out for me.any suggestions for a decent hotel at a reasonable price? Link to comment
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