billferg61 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 We are looking for one room in NYC for 11/13/14-11/16/14 and are considering the following areas: CPS ESBA MSG-CA ME MW TS-TD UES and UWS We will be going to several Broadway shows and don't want to stay too far downtown. We'd love a 4*, but our budget of $130 before taxes probably won't allow that. Priceline.Express now shows a 3* Empire State Building Area for $151 and a 3.5* Madison Square Garden for $169. (I'll use the 10% Priceline Express Coupon I have if needed, but I'd rather take my chances on a better deal with "Name Your Own Price".) I understand that fall is a busy hotel season in NYC. We have started daily lowballing our areas at $120, which will make many who read this laugh, I guess. I would appreciate any advice you might have to offer. With just over seven weeks before our check-in date, I'm both anxious and excited to see how this might turn out. Thanks in advance! P.S. Will Priceline.Express and Hot.wire prices go down as we approach our check-in date as in many other parts of the country? Or will hotels fill up in NYC, causing last-minute deals to become very rare? Link to comment
AaronJB Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Welcome to Betterbidding. The issue with NYC is that the Fall and first half of the Winter are traditionally busy/more expensive periods of the year. If you have bid up to $120 for 3* in your desired areas and you know that there is a 3* in ESB for $151, you can have that in mind when bidding. $120 is not going to be enough, but if you are seeing a $151 PRICELINE EXPRESS, the likely range is probably more along the lines of $125-140. Rates really vary from area to area and day-to-day, but as demand has ramped up in recent years, there's been noticeably less in the way of "last minute" deals. I would suggest staying more central and not including UES/UWS, especially in November when it could be colder. UES/UWS do go quite far up. If you do use the 10% off coupon, it would be greatly appreciate if you could use the site's Price.line link, thanks. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches. Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 I will further add: We are looking for one room in NYC for 11/13/14-11/16/14 and are considering the following areas: CPS ESBA MSG-CA ME MW TS-TD UES and UWS We will be going to several Broadway shows and don't want to stay too far downtown.Note that CPS has the Hudson Hotel, which while well located, has notorious small rooms, so you'll have to decide if this is an acceptable outcome or not. Also, UES and UWS can go fairly far North, so you'll need to determine if these locations work well for your needs. I understand that fall is a busy hotel season in NYC. We have started daily lowballing our areas at $120...Are you bidding strategically OR just bidding all zones at $120/nite? If your maximum bid is $130 i would bid that high now (using a strategic bidding strategy which we can assist with once you confirm your zones) as that would be a good rate for this time of year and not too much risk (imo) of rates heading substantially lower (and a greater risk that they head higher). As well, if you use a systematic bidding strategy, if something is currently available for less you would win it at the lower price. Lastly, PRICELINE EXPRESS currently has this 3* ESB Hotel for $141/nite (confirm your dates on the landing page) which would come in below your $130 target. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
billferg61 Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Thanks for the advice on the possible extreme distance north for UES and UWS. My wife has stayed at the Excelsior, which was convenient to the 81st Street/Museum of Natural History subway station, so we hadn't considered just how far from a subway stop a UES or UWS hotel might be. We may be dropping those two zones in our next round of bidding. At this point we have not bid below 3.5*, even though our budget has been suggesting we are looking too high up the food chain. My wife is concerned with the HK neighborhood. I don't have any experience with this area. Any advice there? I think there are not 3.5* and up in QB, correct? I think we'll stay with 3.5* and up and find more funds for a bigger budget. We will be sure to use the betterbidding PRICELINE link since we are so happy with all of the information we have found here. Any further advice is welcome. Link to comment
billferg61 Posted September 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Thanks for the thoughtful response. We love the area around the Hudson Hotel, so we could live with the tiny room at the right price. I now see that UES and UWS might extend a bit farther north than we had considered, so we will not list those zones next time we bid. We would like to take you up on helping with a strategic bidding strategy using CPS ESBA MSG-CA ME MW and TS-TD and $130. We'd like to go no lower than 3.5* for now. So we'll pass on the 3* ESB for now for $141 before our coupon. (Do you think that's the Jolly Tower?) We will use your PRICELINE link when we finally make our purchase. Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 When bidding 3.5* in NYC you have ONE re-bid zone. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding. Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, TS... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, MTW... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, MTE... Bid $108, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, MTW... Bid $108, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, TS... Bid $108, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS... Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MTE, MTW, TS, ESB... Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MTE, MTW, TS, MSG... Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, MTE, MTW... Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, MTE, TS... Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MTW, TS, CPS, ESB, MSG... Bid $123, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* MTW, TS, CPS, ESB, MTE... Bid $123, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $125, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3.5* CPS, ESB, MSG, MTE, MTW, TS... Bid $128, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $130 Any questions feel free to ask. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
billferg61 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 After following the bidding advice generously provided by thereuare, we incrementally increased our bids as high as we were willing to go. When $165 didn't get us a 4* and $145 a 3.5* in Times Square (laugh to yourself here) or any of our other zones we finally settled on a PRICELINE EXPRESS offer for a 3* in the Empire State Building with Fitness Center. As expected, it was the Murray Hill East Suites and we are quite happy with our selection. We hadn't considered the possibility of getting a kitchen and we may even make ourselves a small meal. Now I can store my leftover Carnegie Deli cheesecake for a delicious breakfast. Thanks for the advice thereuare and AaronJB! Link to comment
AaronJB Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Congrats on your success. :) Very good deal for this property and glad you are pleased with the win. Definitely a nice location, plus the bonus of a larger room. Thank you for letting us know about this new PRICELINE EXPRESS property so that we can update the site's Priceline Hotel List. Can you confirm the amenities that were showing with this listing before purchase? Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches. Enjoy your stay. Link to comment
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