St. Regis on Skyauction.com

A Starwood St. Regis suite, San Francisco
SPG Category 6
20,000 points/night low-season
25,000 points/night peak season


A sign of the times?

St. Regis on LuxuryLink.com I would have anticipated, but luxury at a discount through SkyAuction was not a "For Sale" I envisioned.

Wednesday, March 5 had a Skyauction listing for a per night bid, for up to a 7-night stay at the St. Regis San Francisco. This hotel property occasionally drops to $299 per night during the slowest weeks of the year. San Francisco has a 14% hotel tax meaning the lowest nightly rate possible through a regular booking is payment of $340/night out the door, after taxes, if you don't park a car or charge any other goodies.

An SPG member could earn as few as 598 Starpoints/night at 2 Starpoints/$1 status. Gold member earn 897 Starpoints. Platinum member might have 1,397 Starpoints with platinum amenity 500 points.

600 Starpoints has a value of $21 if purchased. A person without elite status and no expectation of going for elite status will really only gain $21 extra value for a regular stay booked through Starwood channels.

Skyauction is a generally good website for getting great deals on last-minute 7-night condo timeshare stays. I have booked a half-dozen hotel stays through Skyauction going back 8 years to 2000 when I picked up my first 7-night timeshare stay for $214 at the Samoset Resort in Maine (regular rates were $1,500/week).

St. Regis San Francisco, winning bid was $253 per night with a $65 fee to be paid directly to the hotel (+14% tax on this $65?) . The rate of $318 is a savings of about $22 per night on the lowest available rate I have seen at this property over the past couple years.

A 5-night stay at the St. Regis San Francisco for March 28 to April 2, 2008 is listed as $404/night for a nonrefundable rate. There is a $413 refundable AAA rate. The 5-night refundable rate is $2,356 for a paid reservation through Starwood websites.

A 5-night stay using the special SPG 25% discount weblink: St. Regis is not listed as available for this special offer.

Skyauction = $318/night x 5 nights = $1,590 and a savings of $766 for a 5-night stay.

But don't count on getting the St. Regis for a low bid under $100. There is a minimum reserve which is somewhere around $200 bid. (Presently, A $162 bid for St. Regis Ft. Lauderdale has not met minimum reserve.)

St. Regis Ft. Lauderdale is available on Skyauction for bids closing on Sunday, March 9, 1:00pm EDT.