I live in San Diego, forget the crew rate. I use priceline.com when my friends are in town. Recently Ive gotten Hilton on harbor island for $60 and hotels in mission valley area for $30-50, radison and residence inn. You pick the area of san diego and the hotel star level, so you pretty much know what your getting. I usually look at Hotwire.com and see the prices they quote then go to priceline and bid $10-20 less.