Priceline Hotel: Bidding Strategy For New York in September

[lihodr]

Hey all,

My wife and myself are visiting NYC with our 3 months toddler, starting Sep 13 till Sep 20.

We are looking for 4 star hotel (but 3/3.5* could be acceptable) in the center of Manhattan (Soho till south central park).
Unfortunately, it seems that the prices are very very high during this season, as I can't find any deal for less than $260 per night.
Since I new user in priceline, it would be much appreciated to understand what I'm doing wrong.

 

Thanks in advance.
Lihod

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Exactly which zones, by PRICELINE name, have you already tried bidding? (up to $260 i presume?)

HOTWIRE has a 4* hotel in the MSG zone for $256/nite with:

Free Internet

Smoke Free

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

Golf

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Roll-in Shower

... best guess for this one would be the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel

NOTE: if you do go for this offer and are not in the HOTWIRE US page by default, please change the drop down menu on the top right of HOTWIRE's page to United States and the currency dropdown to US Dollars. Then continue to search HOTWIRE and post to the board in US Dollars so that rates are consistent and not subject to interpretation due to future currency fluctuation. Once you're ready to purchase use this HOTWIRE link to re-access while staying on the US version of their site and simply change the drop down menu to whatever currency you'd like to use and complete your purchase.

Although not a zone you mention, PRICELINE EXPRESS has a 4* hotel in the Upper West Side zone for $246/nite (and code METRO6 will take an additional 5% OFF (today 8/25 is the last day) bringing this to $238/nite) with:

Indoor or Outdoor Pool

Pets Allowed

Restaurant

Fitness Center

Business Center

... my guess here would be the Empire Hotel, which if correct (i'm fairly confident in the guess) is in the very southern part of the zone and just 2 blocks from the boundary of the CPS zone).

Do either of the above work for your needs?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know your thoughts and/or how it goes and we'll take it from there.

[lihodr]

Thank you for the prompt response.

I found express deal in priceline.com for 3* star in Soho - Tribeca for $227/nite. (with free internet, gym, restaurant and business center)

any idea what hotel is it?

[niftytastic]

Holiday Inn from the looks of it (there's a hotel list and that's currently the only 3* in it)

[lihodr]

Got it, great! thanks for the prompt response.

 

1 last question - I've searched for 3*/4* hotels in the some areas (chelsea, soho, mid west) for next week (08/30/2014-09/06/2014 ) and I found that the prices are much lower in the last minute comparing to an advance reservation.

My question is whether it's good idea to wait a week/2 weeks or to book the hotel immediately?

 

Thanks again for your assistance!

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will come down, or move higher, between now and your trip... it all depends upon supply/demand (how actual new reservations/cancellations come in relative to expected new reservations/cancellations). As well, taking supply/demand one step further, rates are date specific... there could be more business travel, more conferences/conventions, etc. in the city during your dates than for next week and that can explain the higher rates. Lastly, this is the start of high season for NYC, and rates tend to increase from the star of September thru the first two weeks of December.

There is a code that expires today for NYC PRICELINE EXPRESS hotels (METRO6) which will take an extra 5% OFF your purchase. Assuming the hotel above is indeed the Holiday Inn, retail rates are $296/nite for your dates, so you'll need to decide if $75+ per nite savings (which does add up over a one week stay) is enough for you to lock in this deal now.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.