beachgirl86

Hi,
I am heading to California for the first time with my cousin and her boyfriend. My husband has opted out of this trip, so the 3 of us will be sharing a room. We are spending 3 nights in LA and 4 nights in SF, and are trying to spend under $150/night.

In LA, we booked the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, which was over our budget...about $175 per night. So, we are trying to make up the difference in SF. I know Priceline says it's for double occupancy, but I was just curious if anyone has done it for 3 adults in a room....Is it just that 2 double beds are not guaranteed, or is it not allowed to have more than 2 ppl per room? Thanks!

Don

With Priceline, the room is supposed to be suitable for a minimum of double occupancy. Some of the rooms I've gotten have been just that--a single queen bed. Others have had matching queens or matching doubles. But in most cases you can have more than two people per room, at least everywhere I've been with Priceline.

In my limited experience with Priceline (maybe 15-20 stays), it seems that downtown hotels in large cities have the smallest rooms (where you're more likely to get a single bed). I had a one-bed hotel room in the Loop in Chicago that was so small that you couldn't have shoehorned in a rollaway if you tried.

I'd recommend checking out BiddingForTravel. Check out the San Francisco thread, go to the San Francisco Hotels listing, and read some of the reviews. They can give you an idea of what to expect, and can possibly point out which zones would give you a better chance of getting multiple beds on a winning bid.

gail

Don has some good suggestions, but even if you follow them, you could end up with bedding for only 2 people. He just has a way to increase chances - no guarantee.

Many San Francisco hotels have very small rooms - we had a room there where no roll-away would have fit anywhere. Some Priceline bidders recommend calling hotel you get ahead to request specific bedding - but even that is only a request, not a guarantee and if you get a hotel with few such rooms, you still could be out of luck. So it is a gamble that only you can decide if you want to take.

WillTravel

San Francisco does have Priceline hotels which are strict about double occupancy (meaning only two people in the room, even if you wanted to sleep on the floor). Most of the 4* hotels are not strict, but there's a slight chance of getting one.

I would not want to share a hotel room with a romantic couple, and if they are honest, would they want to share with you? I'd go for a lower-star hotel on Priceline, probably in the Cathedral Hill or Civic Center zone, and get two rooms. You could even go for a 2.5*, 3*, or Boutique bid in the Union Square zones.

If you really want to have one room, try Hotwire where you can specify 3 adults.

Check out http://www.betterbidding.com .

GoTravel

If you are dead set on priceline, bid on two rooms.

In places that I've bid that are city hotels, I've never gotten a room big enough for three people. That includes South Beach, NYC, and Boston.

I would not chance it on priceline with one room.

J_Correa

I recommend 2 rooms as well. With Priceline, you can stay within your $150/night budget, even with 2 rooms.