Priceline Hotel: 3* and lower - Barcelona - La Rambla - any suggestions?

[Joschaaa]

Hi,

I'd like to book a hotel for 4 nights starting at the 7th of may in the area La Rambla in Barcelona. I figuered 4 star and above are starting at around 90 with tax which is a little more than I would like to spend. I couldnt find any threads about hotels with less than 4 stars in Barcelona. I looked at the 2 and 3 star hotels priceline has listed in that area and I would be absolutely fine with them, judging by the first view.

I would like to spend max around $75 without tax, Preferably around $65. Do you thinks it's possible to get a stay for that rate? What starting bets would you recommend? Any other suggestions?

Thank you very much,

Joscha

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'd first comment that i would caution against low rated hotels in Europe, as their star ratings are a bit more 'generous' than here in the United States/North America... so a 3* there is not likely to be equivalent to a 3* property here, so you need to take into account the differences in the star rating systems.

With the above noted, as we don't have any bid history on 3* and lower properties so i can't say if $75 or less would be acceptable, but we can certainly try. However, i'll also note a flaw in your logic above... rates are date specific, and a quick look at rates they appear high for these dates. Your $75 maximum bid for a 3* is based upon the assumption that you can get a 4* hotel on these dates for $90, which may not be the case given what i believe to be higher than usual demand, and rates, for this stay. Have you checked to see the best rate you're able to get at an acceptable hotel thru conventional booking channels?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[Joschaaa]

Thank you for your reply.

This is not the first time I used PRICELINE. I am from Europe and I used it a couple of times for stays in the United States. So this is not the first try but for hotels in the U.S. it went a lot smoother.

I didnt thought the low rated hotels could be a problem. From what I read here in the guides, one can get quite an idea of possible PRICELINE picks by looking for the regular offers on PRICELINE. I checked all 2* and 3* hotels for the La Rambla area and there was none I would complain about, judging by pictures and ratings. Ofc it's a little more risky but I am a student and the budget is limited so I'd rather cope with a little less stars.

You might be right regarding the price. I made my asumption about the prices regarding this post: Priceline Barcelona which is for march. I was mainly wondering if there are any general impressions and experience about the price reduction from 4* to 3* to 2* regarding hotels in Europe.

I also tried bitting on 4* with La Rambla + Barcelona East, but havent had success yet. Regarding Barcelona West I am afraid to get the Hesperia Sant Just why I didnt bet there.

I quickly looked at Expedia for regular prices. But they are in fact a little high. Thus I thought I would start bidding low amounts. It's still 2 months time, so many days of trying to be succesfull :-)

In any case I will slowly rise my offer the next days and see whats possible. I am just grateful for every tip you have.

And ofc I will use your PRICELINE links. Thanks for the help again,

Joscha

[thereuare]

There is no 'formuala' for how much of a price decrease should be expected when dropping a star level... we have even seem numerous zones where higher rated hotels ultimately cost less than lower rated hotels in the zone.

With time on your side I think your best bet is to proceed as you intend, try every 24 hours and slowly increase your bid each day.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Good luck and keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.

[Joschaaa]

I have one specific question. The nights from sunday to tuesday are often a lot cheaper than the first two from friday to sunday. Would you recommend the strategy to only bet for sunday-tuesday and hope for the possibility to extend the stay for two more nights? Would you maybe recommend to split the betting to two times two nights to get the optimal offer? We wouldnt mind switching hotels on sunday.

Best,

Joscha

[Romelle]

I have one specific question. The nights from sunday to tuesday are often a lot cheaper than the first two from friday to sunday. Would you recommend the strategy to only bet for sunday-tuesday and hope for the possibility to extend the stay for two more nights? Would you maybe recommend to split the betting to two times two nights to get the optimal offer? We wouldnt mind switching hotels on sunday.

Best,

Joscha

When you are talking about rates being cheaper certain days, did you look up Barcelona specifically? The theory varies by city. Either the retail side of PRICELINE or Expedia will give you daily rates across your dates.

When rates do vary, it is a good idea to look at splitting a bid, and seeking the lower cost days first. Once in a while PRICELINE will let people extend into higher costing days at the same rate. More likely they will let you do it, but at a higher price. Still, you end up saving on those lower $$ days.

Romelle

[Joschaaa]

Yes, I looked for hotels specifically for those 4 nights in Barcelona and found the prices dropping for the last 2 nights. I will try that. Thank you.

[Joschaaa]

It didnt work out via PRICELINE this time but I found another place to stay that I really like. You were right, that there was a high demand for hotel rooms in Barcelona on that weekend. A lot of places were already sold out.

Thank you for your help though. Maybe next time I'll be lucky again.