I used to work for a large hotel chain with many hotels. It would kill us on the phone to not be able to tell people the lowest price. Im not sure if they all (Call centers in the sky)work this way but ... you have to say either the name of the specials they have or get close to them. You can get around it a bit by asking for lets say, 'that fall special you have' or 'that special you have going on right now, Im trying to think of the name' or even 'I called for your special ummm it includes a movie and a discount?' then they might hint around. We never knew when our calls were being monitored & had to hear those magic words or we got marked down/in trouble. Also I always get a better rate by calling the hotel directly late at night. Talking to the front desk. They seem kind of bored and just give you the best rate usually.

This is interesting to me as I am wondering how so many people get these "specials". I am trying to book accommodation in San Francisco at the moment and am horrified at the cost of a hotel room. I am in Australia and want to book ahead for January. I do not want to leave it until the very end in the hope of getting a special deal. I would rather have everything booked well beforehand but seem to be at a disadvantage by wanting to do it this way.

I have looked at so many hotel sites, booking sites etc and can't seem to find any "specials" for this time. Surely January would not be a peak period? I keep reading on Fodors and Trip Advisor " I got a really good deal for $xx per night" which is often a third or more of what the sites are quoting.

Can you offer any more advice about whether I should wait or book and make sure I get the hotel and room type that I want. There are three of us, 2 adults and one 16 yrs old and I gather Priceline will only do doubles, nothing different. Should I try and bid for two rooms? Bidding appears complicated to me, and it worries me that I would get one room and not the other, thus defeating the whole purpose. As you can see I am going round in circles. We want a pleasant hotel in Union Square area, doesn't have to be the flashiest but I don't want a basic place either. The Monaco are quoting Us$329 a night for a king and sofa bed room, which to an Aussie is huge amounts of money. We are away for three weeks and have already spent a small fortune at The Torian Plum for 10 nights in Steamboat.

Can you or anyone else out there help me? I was going to post a question myself but your post seemed timely so I thought I would jump in and ask some questions. Some of the hotels I am considering are: The Orchard - $299, Monaco $329, Hotel Rex - $209, Prescott - $299 and Handlery - A$279.00, also the Adagio at A$333. Still in the process of coverting US $ to Aus $ for some of the quotes.

I could try your phoning at night thing, but again ringing from Aus could be a problem, but it may be worth a go. Sorry to be so long winded. Any suggestions would be appreciated by anyone. Thanks Schnauzer.

My favorite book to get is Frommers, it gives pretty accurate prices and great detail. You are in luck though because I have insomnia and can work on this a bit hehehe If you could bear with me Ill post again in a bit OK? Ill try my best.

i dont think this is posting but can you tell me what price range your looking for?

OK go to:

http://www.sftravel.com/htlunion.html
this goes to the union sq hotels

this is main page with info.
www.sftravel.com -- San Francisco Underground Travel
If you click on each otel it will say what the names are of the deals and there can be a huge difference in price but be careful with your choice look up how many stars they get. Differences like Crowne Plaza offers special with town car in mornings to downtown areas but less expensive at nobb hill is right at cable car turn around which is 3.00 per person per night. Tax rate 14% to add on and the extra person is under 18 so look around for the hotel who counts that as child and does not charge more or only 20$ more. I found a special from 205 plus tx and 114 plus tx.

hehe 3 dollars per person per RIDE o ya and the hotels usually run about 239 a night there im told. Just look for the deals. call the 800 number and ask a Million questions thats what they are there for!

Thanks so much coltoncity, have been having my dinner, thus the delay in replying. I will look at your site recommendations now. We are looking about the US$200 range I guess. We are prepared to pay for what we want but like most folk would love to get that extra special hotel for that extra special deal. Do you know of any of those hotels I have mentioned personally? Would you recommend one over the other? Thanks Schnau

Actually to be honest with you I have not been to these particular hotels. We had family in the area and just drove into the city. The major thing to remember with hotels is you usually get what you pay for. If a hotel is usually expensive and you get a great deal then fantastic but if it is usually cheap ... trust me there is a reason for it even if it is just location. For any city it could be just location. A matter of a mile could be a big difference in price. San Fran is a great city but I would make sure to be in the safest, most accomodating hotel hotel especially with a teen. Oh ya and when you book make sure you print off ALL it says you are getting as proof in case you get there and they say it isnt available. That happens a lot with many chains. Also I always double check by calling before I get there and make sure the reservation/add ons are fine and they expect you to be more demanding of what they offer that way.

Tell me, in the US does a double bed mean just a double or a queen size bed? I am confused, some of the room configs say double double and others say queen x 2. Here is Aus, a double is fairly small and we woudln't consider that. On some of the hotel sites on the link you gave me aren't 100% clear as to the room config, ie is it a sofa bed, roll away bed etc. Also they don't stipulate separate charges for the extra person. Can I ring them from Australia do you think, they have the US number and a Europe number but no "other country" number. I would hate to book and find we have not got what we thought we had booked. Oh worry, worry. schnau

coltoncity,I wouldn't be so rigid on the ideas of why you can get a fantastic rate at a good hotel.
Some possible answers -- normally there are a lot of conventions and at that time there are none.
You are staying on a weekend that has not special events and they are highly discounting all rooms.
You are booking way ahead and reservations just happen to be below normal for your dates. Some hotels do a certain percentage of their first reservations at big discount.
You are booking last minute and they want to fill up the rooms.

There are other reasons as well, but I'm not as "gun-shy" of bargains in hotels as you are.

schnauzer, normally speaking a queen-queen room should have two 60 inch wide beds. A double-double room should have two 54 inch wide beds. (The queens are also about 5 inches longer than doubles.)

I think the only way to find that specific information out that you want is to call the hotel itself directly. The US number listed may be a corporate office if it is a chain and probably won't be able to give you the specific answers you need. I'd get the actual hotel number and ring them up.

To make things simpler, all a caller has to do is ask the reservationist, "what is the best rate you are offering?" and I think by law you have to tell.

I've got years in hotel management and have never even heard of reservationists that would not tell guests the lowest rate when asked.

Priceline only guarantees double occupancy, but my family of four has used Priceline numerous times for family trips to Chicago and Dallas. If you opt for the Priceline route and you win a hotel room, call a head and request two queens as soon as possible. Granted it is a risk.

There are also numerous resources on the internet including:

http://www.biddingfortravel.com
http://www.bidsmartforhotels.com
http://www.betterbidding.com

My friend Jeff has won incredible bids from Priceline in SF.

Good luck!

OK.

All of the hotels you mentioned are in a great area.

You did not mention the Chancellor, which is on Union Square and, as I remember, has better rates. We stay there often.

Go to tripadvisor.com The general manager of the Chancellor is there and has an email address. If you ask him about the rates for your dates, he will answer And give you a good deal. (I would give you his name, but am not sure about the protocol here, but if you go there, you will recognize him.)

It is a smaller hotel but with an excellent staff and a free continental breakfast. The best location.

Good luck.

I've had good luck on priceline too. Check out biddingfortravel.com first to get an idea of what the best price range for the hotel you're looking for might be.

Thanks for the further advice. I have narrowed it down to the Stanford Court at Nob Hill at $317 aussie dollars for 2 x queen beds or the Hotel Rex at $277 aussie dollars for a King room with sofa bed. It is interesting not many hotels have 2 x queen. I will book these and keep my eyes open for any internet deals in the meantime. Has anyone stayed at the Stanford Court recently? I have read all the reviews for just about every hotel in San Francisco on Trip Advisor and searched all the hotels here at Fodors.

jtrandolph, I did look at the Chancellor but dismissed it as being a "bit basic" looking at the web pictures. Am I incorrect in my assumptions? It certainly was in a good area and was at a good price. The Rex looks really good and for only a bit more I thought it was a better hotel. Any comments from anyone who has stayed at both these hotels would be appreciated. Both the Stanford Court and the Rex are all non-smoking, with all new curtains and bed covers etc. This was important to me. (the non smoking bit) Any further help please chime in. Schnauzer

It may be too late for our Aussie friend, but I just booked a room on Hotwire.com at the Crowne Plaza at Union Square in San Francisco for $72 a night for this coming june. Hotwire was much better than Kayak.com who quoted $185 for the same room. The big problem with Hotwire is that they won't tell you the name of the hotel until you finish the nonrefundable purchase. I hate that! Travelocity did this, too, but I think that they have modified it somewhat due to customers refusing to do business sight unseen.

We've stayed at Stanford Court and really liked it. The location was great. Despite being on Powell Street with 2 cable car lines, the rooms were quiet and we did not hear street noise. See if you can get a better rate, though. January is a slower time of year. I know rates have gone up significantly in the City during this past year, but it seems like you might be able to get Stanford Court to do a little better for you. Ask. Ask what there best available rate is. Ask if they have specials and when is the best time to book those specials.
Stanford Court is within easy walking distance of everything (except Golden Gate Park, of course).

Problems we've had in booking so far in advance is having to check in time to time to see if the rates have dropped or they have a special. Also in some areas weekends are less than weekdays. Did you use the check rates button on tripadvisors as it uses most of the search engines. We generally see what the best rate is on there then contact the hotel website or the desk.

This always tends to get me going. Could be a filthy rich person wanting to save $5.00 - I don’t know. If the traveler wants the best rate then staying home is it. Obviously there must be some other qualifying criteria

Kind of like the traveler that wants to stay in the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, but is so concerned about getting the "Best Rate" This person is apparently a person of financial means to even consider such a place. The obvious other criteria then is luxury, splendor, grandeur etc. (or just irrational fantasy in thinking it will cost the same as Motel 6 as some do until it is wake up time)

Similarly a Niagara Falls traveler seeking the "best Rate" would end up near the Strip Clubs in the trailer trash environment (my mental picture term - no insult intended to nice people trailer dwellers ) but other qualifying criteria means spending more in the nicer places.

All hotels are not required or inclined to compete with the trailer trash rate establishments price. Some have no motivation at all to discount. Don’t need to.

What is my bottom line? If you find a place that is where you want it, when you want it, with the stuff you want in the mix then the price is either generally go or no go. Obsessing and second guessing over "Best Rate" just sours the whole experience.

If your only concern is best price then find the oldest, seediest run down and unsafe part of town. If you want safety, convenience, amenities etc. the question is what is it worth to you ?

Scour the internet to match your criteria and then call the hotel direct, late at night like a previous poster said to ask the person what’s up there. Best view, closet to ice, best deal as the poster said they can be bored and like the interaction. I find room brokers\speculators sell less desirable rooms at a higher price than calling direct. Way less desirable can be very cheap but I do not like the “surprise!”

Like the time I was in a “best rate” low bid Government room and decided to go elsewhere for the weekend. (3 rooms in group) The place is sort of low rent like I said so I would not leave anything there when gone. When we go back late at night and entered our rooms but they had been re-rented. We could have been easily killed had the people inside had guns and heard us fumbling with the doors before entering. Surprise! No amount of talking with hotel staff could convince the fools that re-renting could have got us killed - it looked like we left so they re-rented even though it was paid for another week!