Posted: Nov 30, 2007, 6:37 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 562
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Priceline in Sacramento
This is random but maybe of interest to some here.
I stay in hotels a lot, mostly via Priceline. Over the last couple years I've done a lot of bidding around Sacramento, for myself and for others, and here's some of what I've learned about Pricelining Downtown Sacramento.
On Priceline you pick a zone and a quality level and place a bid. If a qualifying hotel has a room at that price or lower you get it. You don't learn which hotel it is until after you pay though. Here are the Downtown Sac hotels known to participate in Priceline, their quality levels, and how much it typically takes to win them.
At 4* level you'll either get the Hyatt or Sheraton. $75 is the lowest accepted bid I've seen and usually you can get one or the other for $75-95.
At 3* level it's the Holiday Inn next to Downtown Plaza. $55-70 range.
At 2.5* level it's the Clarion on 16th, which is a dump, or Hawthorne Suites up on Richards. (Priceline's Downtown Sacramento zone extends all the way up to the American River.) Usually $45-55.
At 2* level it's La Quinta at I-5 Richards. I've got it for $38--less than the Motel 6 across the street costs. Comes with free breakfast. Hotel is next to the American River and you can walk into Discovery Park for free, avoiding the usual $5 parking charge.
At 1* it's the Travelodge on H Street. Filthy nasty. I think I paid $30 and that was too much. Never again.
So far the Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn Express on 16th, and the new Residence Inn on L Street haven't been reported won on Priceline. (There are websites that archive Priceline win reports.)
The prices I posted don't work every day. Priceline sells excess inventory, which means on nights when a hotel is sold out Priceline won't have anything. Also Sacramento occupancy is higher during the week than weekends and Priceline stays on Mon-Thurs often require higher bids than Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights.
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