Priceline Hotel: San Francisco (FW) 3* bidding advice needed

[Kev]

Hi,

I have used Hotwire & Priceline (via the forums, of course) a few times, but I have never had so much trouble as I am having getting a decent price for a stay in San Francisco :)

Is it just me, or does SF have one of the highest hotel prices in the US?

Anyway, my stay dates are Ocober 21st to 25th (5 nights), and I was initially trying for a 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf, but after seeing the price that people have already been bidding for a 3.5* around my dates in FW, I decided to try for a 3* instead. The Tuscan looks nice, though I'd also be happy with the Holiday Inn.

Anyway, I put in an opening bid of $62, which got rejected, but as I cannot add any zones (as all zones have at least one 3* hotel in them), I cannot up my bid from $62 and re-bid.

I thought I understood the whole re-bidding thing, but am I missing something? How can I re-bid (without waiting the full 24 hours) for a 3* in FW without changing my dates ?

Thanks,

Kevin.

[thereuare]

Are your dates actually 10/21-10/26? (check-out 10/26 --> 5 nites)

You do have ONE re-bid zones at the 3* level, see if you click the available zones at PRICELINE one at a time if you see any zones that only have hotels less rated less than 3 stars.

Rates are date specific, and the Tuscan Inn averages about $200/nite for your dates, making your $62 bid less than 1/3 of prevailing rates... not a high probability bet.

Rates at the Holiday Inn website are equally high for refundable reservations, but surprising their non-refundable rates are more than 50% off... Holiday Inn Fishermans Wharf starts at $104/nite on their website. I'm not sure if this property usually has such a wide gap between their non-refundable/refundable, but perhaps somebody local to the area could comment in this regard.

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

[Kev]

Thanks for the advice. yes it is the 26th I'm checking out.

I didn't realise that the Marina didn't have any 3* hotels, so just tried a re-bid at $70, but no luck, unfortunately.

One thing I did notice, and I often use this as a guideline to my bidding value, is yesterday, checking Hotwire, the 3* (Holiday Inn, from the description) was $169/night for my specific dates, whereas today, it has dropped to $109/night for my dates ($96 for the first 3 nights). That's why I was putting in what is a (relatively) low Priceline bid, as I have tended to find that you can usually get PRICELINE hotels cheaper than HOTWIRE for the same hotel, for the same dates.

Although saying that, the fees and taxs for a PRICELINE bid do aapear to be slightly higher than the fees/taxes for a Hotwire bid.

I'll keep trying...

[thereuare]

I do think the Holiday Inn Fishermans Wharf deal is pretty good... what is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

[Colfax]

Another plus to booking the Holiday Inn direct is that you can reserve 1 King or 2 Doubles. You can't do that with a Priceline reservation.

If price is more important than bedding preference I'll suggest bidding $80 for a 3* when your 24 hour lockout is up. Then add Marina at $85 or $90.

You can bid up in smaller increments, but rates are somewhat high for your dates and that $104 at the Holiday Inn could disappear while you're bidding up slowly.

(Can one of the mods move this thread to the SF board?)

[Kev]

Thanks for all the help with this guys.

To be honest, it's not really about what my upper limit is (although I wouldn't want to go any higher than $200/night), but $104/night for the Holiday Inn FW doesn't strike me as particularly good value (compared to other PRICELINE / HOTWIRE deals posted here and deals I've had in the past). I'm sure it's a nice hotel, but the Argonaut 4* is avalaible on Hotwire for my dates for $192/night. This seems better value for the extra $88/night.

I would have liked to have been able to make an offer of about $150/night for this, but unfortunately (as you already know) HOTWIRE doesn't have an offer system, and there aren't any 4* hotels in PRICELINE for FW.

I'll keep looking and keep bidding, and you never know, I might just get a "lucky day" :)

Thanks,

Kevin.

[Colfax]

If you don't want the Holiday Inn you shouldn't bid lower than 3.5*.

You've got three rebid zones for 3.5* (South SF, Civic Center, Marina-Lombard). Unless you want the Argonaut at $192 I'd suggest bidding from about $70 to $85 for a 3.5* every few days now.

In Priceline terms it's still early for late October. Checking the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins I see that noone's reported a win yet for any of your five days in ANY San Francisco zone.

[Kev]

Yes, I'm beginning to think that I'm being a little premature, and that I should wait a bit and see how things develop with PRICELINE in the coming weeks.

Patience really is a virtue :)

[Kev]

I decided to give 4* (Financial District) a try. A friend of mine from work stayed at the Omni and said it was a great hotel, so I thought it would be nice if I managed to get that.

Anyway, using various bids & re-bids (so much easier to re-bid for a 4*), I started at $105, and went up in $5 increments to $160 for 10/21 - 10/26

All rejected.

I'll give it a few days and try the same bids again. I would have thought $160 was sufficient for a 4* especially as the Argonaut is only $189 on HOTWIRE.

Kevin.

[thereuare]

You can see via THIS LINK that The Argonaut is only 3.5* rated by PRICELINE... so this property is not even an option when bidding 4*, which would explain your rejection at $160 for a 4* hotel even thought hot.wiire offered this property at $189 :)

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

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of any additional help along the way.

[Colfax]

I would have thought $160 was sufficient for a 4* especially as the Argonaut is only $189 on HOTWIRE.

On PRICELINE the Argonaut is a 3.5* in the Fisherman's Wharf zone, and I think you've only bid to $70 in FW, Kev. Your bids to $160 for a 4* in a different zone aren't relevant.

The Argonaut is up to $229 on HOTWIRE now (on Hotwire it's a 4*) and it's the ONLY choice HW offers in FW now. (no 3.5* or 3* or 2.5* at any price)

Rates in FW could come down as your dates approach. But there's no guarantee that they will. If you want a chance at getting a 3.5* in FW now (as opposed to waiting) I think you need to be bidding higher than $70 in FW though. Maybe more like $80-110 range, which is still less than 50% off prevailing rates for your expensive dates.

HOTWIRE has extremetly limited availability downtown for your dates. Three of the four Downtown zones have no 4* option at all. Availability is much better for your first two nights (10/21 and 10/22) than the last three. The 4* are still over $200 for the first two nights, but at least there's availability.

Is splitting your bid and switching hotels once an option for you?

[Kev]

Just thought I'd follow up and let people know how things are coming along re my San francisco trip for October 21st - October 26th.

I left my bidding alone for a week or so, and have just tried the following:

3.5* Union Square East

$90 Rejected

$95 Rejected

$100 Rejected

$105 Rejected

$110 Rejected

4* Financial District

$165 Rejected

$170 Rejected

$175 Rejected

$180 Rejected

Again, I think I will leave it for now and give it another week or so and try again.

For some reason, the end of October is really expensive in San Francisco at the moment, and I think this is being reflected in Priceline's rejections (and Hotwires prices too, for that matter).

Kevin.

[BEAV]

Again, I think I will leave it for now and give it another week or so and try again.

For some reason, the end of October is really expensive in San Francisco at the moment, and I think this is being reflected in Priceline's rejections (and Hotwires prices too, for that matter).

Kevin.

September & October are traditionally the most difficult months of the year to "score" low-priced Priceline/Hotwire deals. And 5 night stays don't make it any easier. This is typically high season in SF for major conventions, etc. Colfax's study of very limited 4 star availability on Hotwire is an indication there are probably some large conventions in town during your stay, which is driving the prices up.

Yes, patience is a virtue, and I think you have the right attitude for staying the course and bidding weekly at this stage. Also, check PRICELINE's vacation package (air + hotel) just to give you some sort of indication of what's out there (and what's not).

[Colfax]

Thanks for the update, Kev.

At the start you were bidding for a 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf as well. Have you abandoned the FW idea for now?

[Kev]

Yes, I decided to head a little more "inland" now...not that it has done any good :)

[Kev]

I wasn't really going to do anything else with my San Francisco trip for at least a few days, but I got an offer of the Tuscan Inn at Fisherman's Wharf for $130 for the 5 nights, which although it's "ony" a 3*, it does seem to get qute favourible reviews.

I didn't know how long this Tuscan Inn offer would last so I decided to put a few more bids in to Priceline and see what happened.

3.5* USE 10/21 - 10/26

$120 bid - Rejected

$130 bid - Rejected

$140 bid - Rejected

$150 bid - Rejected

$160 bid - Rejected

I am quite tempted by the Tuscan Inn offer (not via HOTWIRE or PRICELINE, I might add), but it is a non-refundable offer, so if I take it, there's no trying for something "better" later on.

Hmmm, what to do :)

[Colfax]

I wasn't really going to do anything else with my San Francisco trip for at least a few days, but I got an offer of the Tuscan Inn at Fisherman's Wharf for $130 for the 5 nights, which although it's "ony" a 3*, it does seem to get qute favourible reviews.

Tuscan Inn is very nice and $130 is a good rate for these expensive dates. Where are you finding that $130 rate?

Don't put too much stock in * ratings. One of the best reviewed hotels in Fisherman's Wharf area is the Holiday Inn Express and it's a PRICELINE 2*. You can also get a crap room at a 4* hotel.

Since you're in town five nights you could also book three nights at Tuscan, and keep holding out for two nights in Embarcadero-Financial. Get a little variety.

[Kev]

Well, I bit the bullet and went for the Tuscan Inn yesterday evening at $800 inc taxes for the 5 nights. Unfortunately, I didn't get it via PRICELINE or HOTWIRE (this time), but I am flying out to San Francisco on British Airways, and I noticed they have a hotel booking section on their site, and I put my dates in, and although they didn't have many hotels come up for those dates, the Tuscan was one of them, and at $800 (inc taxes), I thought it deserved serious consideration.

Anyway, last night after umming and ahhing, I went for it, and I'm glad i did, as just checking now, the BA site isn't listing the Tuscan Inn as available on my dates, so I reckon I must have got one of the last few remaining rooms at that price.

Anyway, I'm sorry that PRICELINE / HOTWIRE couldn't help me on this occasion, but it seems that this particular time in San Francisco is exceptional and I think my Tuscan deal will turn out to be a good one.

My wife and I are both looking forward to our vacation next month.

Thanks for all the advice :)

Kevin.

[thereuare]

Glad you found something that works well for your needs and budget.

Thanks for 'closing' this thread with what you ultimately decided to do for this stay.

Enjoy your stay.

[Colfax]

Unfortunately, I didn't get it via PRICELINE or HOTWIRE (this time)

No worries, Kev. Nobody here uses Priceline or Hotwire 100% of the time. Take the best deal you can find, wherever you find it.

$130 for Tuscan Inn is excellent for these dates. Have fun!

[Colfax]

Don't put too much stock in * ratings. One of the best reviewed hotels in Fisherman's Wharf area is the Holiday Inn Express and it's a PRICELINE 2*. You can also get a crap room at a 4* hotel.

For others reading this thread I wanted to clarify that that I was only speaking about Fisherman's Wharf zone when I said not to put too much stock in * ratings. When 3.5* and 3* are expensive in FW I think many would find the 2.5* and 2* hotels in FW zone an acceptable compromise. It's a different story in the Downtown zones and bidding 2* or 2.5* in those zones is much more of a gamble than it is in FW.

[Tuggster]

Hi new to the board, have stayed at the Tuscan Inn in the past and thought I would add my thoughts.

The Tuscan is a very nice hotel to stay in, the free wine receptions in the evening at 5pm i think they were are good, I am from the UK and spent 10 days at the tuscan in 2008 and found it very pleasent, My future trips unfortunatley are not going to happen until 2011, but iI am using this forum to gain ideas for NYC and San Francisco.

Now that I have found this site I will certainly be using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to Book

But to conclude the Tuscan is a good hotel, I have stayed at the Hyatt on FW also this year in fact which was also a good hotel.