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Summary of winning bids on Priceline

dmk

By dmk,
in West Coast Departures

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MAXII

MAXII

Posted
Posted

Date: May 06, 2013

Number of nights: 1 (post cruise)

Hotel: BW Pus Bayside Inn

Rating: 3 star

Area: San Diego Downtown

Site: Priceline

Winning Bid: $95

Taxes & Service Fees:21.27

Total Price: $116.27

 

Very happy - complimentary breakfast & shuttle and super location.

For those of you that like Priceline bidding, note that the zone for the downtown area of San Diego is pretty extensive and you could end up with a hotel that means a $35 plus taxi fare. I scouted things out for a week or two and came up with the best way to narrow things down is to avoid anything over a 3 star for the downtown zone - most of those available through the bidding process have shuttles at no charge and are close enough to the airport that a cab would mean around $11 - $18. Another good way is to use Hotwire and just ensure that the shuttle icon shows in the amenities.

There are currently two re-bid Zones you can use that have nothing over a 2.5 star, I bid at 85, then 90, then the 95.

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DocJim

DocJim

Posted
Posted

Patience pays off, pre-cruise for October 13th sailing of Sapphire Princess.

 

Date: October 11th – 13th, 2012

Number of Nights: 2

Hotel: The Westin Long Beach

Rating: 3.5 star

Area: Long Beach, CA, Convention Center

Taxes and Fees: $32.36

Total Room Cost: $192.36

 

Regards,

 

Jim

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted (edited)

Crowne Plaza - San Pedro

 

1/01/2013: $95 + $22.00 = $117.00

1/16/2013: $95 + $21.97 = $116.97

 

In the past, I have been able to get the Crowne Plaza for $65 or $75 before taxes & fees, so it was not fun going this high. I decided to go up to a bid of $100 before considering an alternative because DW and I are comfortable at the Crowne Plaza for one-night stays before and after cruise, believe the free shuttles to/from the pier add value, and believe that Priceline bid prices are trending up for the Crowne Plaza.

 

I am a bit surprised by the difference in taxes and fees for this winning bid ($22) and the winning bid reported above by DocJim ($32.36 for 2 nights = $16.18 per night).

 

 

 

For those who like the details, here is the bid history associated with these bookings for 3.5* in San Pedro:

 

09/27/12: bid $65 area 3 - rejected. Added area 2, bid $70 - rejected

09/28/12: bid $75 area 3 - rejected. Added area 2, bid $80 - rejected

09/29/12: bid $85 area 3 - rejected. Added area 2, bid $90 - rejected

09/30/12: bid $91 area 3 - rejected. Added area 2, bid $93 - rejected

09/30/12 for 1/16/13: bid $95 area 3 - accepted

10/01/12 for 1/01/13: bid $95 area 3 - accepted

 

I kept the bids for these two dates the same until 9/30/12 when I raised the bid to $95 for the second night to speed things along.

 

.

Edited by usviking
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DocJim

DocJim

Posted
Posted

USViking,

 

I am surprised too. I went back to my confirmation to verify my numbers. Strange that San Pedro would be so different from Long Beach.

 

Also strange that the tax is different between your two individual nights when the rate is the same.

 

Summary of Charges

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $80.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Guests Per Room: 2

Number of Nights: 2

Room Subtotal: $160.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $32.36 (USD)

Total Room Cost: $192.36 (USD)

(All prices are in US dollars)

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted
USViking,

 

I am surprised too. I went back to my confirmation to verify my numbers. Strange that San Pedro would be so different from Long Beach.

 

Also strange that the tax is different between your two individual nights when the rate is the same.

 

I did a quick google search and it appears that San Pedro has a higher occupancy tax than Long Beach, which explains part of the difference. If Priceline charges a percentage fee based on room bid rate + occupancy taxes it might explain all of the difference.

 

I will let the 3-cent difference for two individual nights at the same rate go unexplained.

 

.

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iluvcruzin

iluvcruzin

Posted
Posted

I've been bidding almost daily and the taxes & fees can vary by the day of the bid.

 

UsViking - what was the express deal rate for your dates? It's been $99 for mine.

 

DocJim - have you stayed in Long Beach before and cruised out of San Pedro? Just curious if it's a better option.

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted

 

UsViking - what was the express deal rate for your dates? It's been $99 for mine.

 

 

Depending on the day, it was $99 or $100. I stuck with Name Your Own Price hoping for better price - so I ended up saving about $5 off the express deal rate.

 

.

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iluvcruzin

iluvcruzin

Posted
Posted

I have been bidding almost daily for a while. I noticed Hotwire had the rate down to $78 tonight so I took a chance. I may have been able to get it for $65 a night but started with $70 and it hit right away.

 

11/22 & 11/23 $70 x 2 = $140 + $28.64 = $168.64

 

So those still trying be patient. It should eventually drop.

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted
I have been bidding almost daily for a while. I noticed Hotwire had the rate down to $78 tonight so I took a chance. I may have been able to get it for $65 a night but started with $70 and it hit right away.

 

11/22 & 11/23 $70 x 2 = $140 + $28.64 = $168.64

 

So those still trying be patient. It should eventually drop.

 

Good job.

 

I just checked the Priceline Express Deals for 11/22 & 11/23 and it is also showing a nice drop down to $71 per night for 3.5* in San Pedro.

 

I usually like firming up all my reservations as close as possible to the time I book a cruise just to have everything in place. In the future, if the nightly rate appears much over $65 - $70, I will have to wait and watch the Hotwire rates and the Express Deal rates more closely.

 

.

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usviking

usviking

Posted
Posted
Good job.

 

I just checked the Priceline Express Deals for 11/22 & 11/23 and it is also showing a nice drop down to $71 per night for 3.5* in San Pedro.

 

I usually like firming up all my reservations as close as possible to the time I book a cruise just to have everything in place. In the future, if the nightly rate appears much over $65 - $70, I will have to wait and watch the Hotwire rates and the Express Deal rates more closely.

 

.

 

 

Out of curiosity, I just checked the Priceline Express Deals for 3.5* in San Pedro for 11/22 and 11/23 individually as one-night stays. For 11/22 the Express Deal shows $100 and for 11/23 the Express Deal shows $98. So, it would appear that there is a discount for booking the two nights consecutively.

 

.

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DMRick

DMRick

Posted
Posted

Hasn't dropped yet for my December cruise.

 

I have been bidding almost daily for a while. I noticed Hotwire had the rate down to $78 tonight so I took a chance. I may have been able to get it for $65 a night but started with $70 and it hit right away.

 

11/22 & 11/23 $70 x 2 = $140 + $28.64 = $168.64

 

So those still trying be patient. It should eventually drop.

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mommybearx2

mommybearx2

Posted
Posted

I have never bid on Priceline and have been looking at this thread and the recommendations for research. We will be looking for a hotel in Vancouver for June 30th. There are 5 families though. Will I be able to put one bid in for 5 families? When I bid, am I going to be able to specify if I need 2 queen beds? I think the zone I want to use is downtown and possibly Granville Entertainment District. And what seems like a stupid question, will we be able to cancel a room or rooms if needed? Thanks for your time.

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iluvcruzin

iluvcruzin

Posted
Posted (edited)
I have never bid on Priceline and have been looking at this thread and the recommendations for research. We will be looking for a hotel in Vancouver for June 30th. There are 5 families though. Will I be able to put one bid in for 5 families? When I bid, am I going to be able to specify if I need 2 queen beds? I think the zone I want to use is downtown and possibly Granville Entertainment District. And what seems like a stupid question, will we be able to cancel a room or rooms if needed? Thanks for your time.

 

With Priceline, the accomidations are for 2 people and there is no guarantee of 2 queen beds. You can not cancel the reservation as it's pre-paid. You can bid on multiple rooms at once. But there is no way of knowing if there is availability for the number of rooms. Some people are successful bidding 4 rooms - others have to split them up to individual bids. The risk is you may end up at different hotels.

 

For that many people I would recommend using Hotwire. You would have a better chance of getting 2 queen's. The deals are still good. If you do the hotwire deal - those are prepaid as well. If there is a possibility you would need to cancel, don't use either Priceline or Hotwire. Use a traditional booking.

Edited by iluvcruzin
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