Priceline Hotel: Newbie to Priceline and NYC!

[luzippu]

hi, i keep seeing CPS, MTE, UWS, etc...

 

is there a list anywhere explaining what/where they are?

 

searched but couldn't find anything...

 

thanks

[luzippu]

Hi gang,

 

I want to give a go at Priceline.com and this is also my first trip to NYC...

 

Going to be there Oct 10th for 2 nights (confirmed)

 

Don't know any of the areas, but I am used to travel, so easily pleased. Only there for the weekend so don't want to be miles out...
From reading on your site, Chelsea, Empire State, Hell's Kitchen, Madison Square Garden are recommended, but happy to extend if these are too expensive.

 

Need a room just to sleep and shower, so as long as clean and safe any other amenities don’t matter.

Obviously would like to opt for something decent first and drop stars if not successful.

 

Budget is $120 p/night max. I know it's not much, but i read about lots of good deals using Priceline!

 

Any tips of where to start? Which stars/areas/bid..?

 

If you get me started, I will keep the post updated with the outcome... 

 

Many Thanks! :-)

[Romelle]

I've never seen a list anywhere, but those abbreviations actually are pretty easy - just the three initial letters of the New York City Priceline zones .  The first one on your list is "Central Park Square".  If you are in Price.line where you would be bidding for something in NYC (New York City), you can see the list of zones

 

If you haven't gotten into Priceline yet, the easiest way is to use the blue QUICK QUOTE box up above in the right corner or thru the BiddingHelper.com.  Just put in your city and click.  For just looking at the zones, you don't even need to add your dates.

 

Romelle

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

Your budget of $120 (i'm assuming bid price and not 'all-in' after fees/taxes) will not likely be enough to stay in Manhattan. Although i'm not such a fan of the zone, Long Island City will likely be your best bet in terms of location while taking your budget into consideration (and possibly some locations on the NJ side... how are you arriving to NYC)

Are you willing to stay outside of the city and commute in?

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

[luzippu]

I've never seen a list anywhere, but those abbreviations actually are pretty easy - just the three initial letters of the New York City Priceline zones .  The first one on your list is "Central Park Square".  If you are in PRICELINE where you would be bidding for something in NYC (New York City), you can see the list of zones

 

If you haven't gotten into Priceline yet, the easiest way is to use the blue QUICK QUOTE box up above in the right corner or thru the BiddingHelper.com.  Just put in your city and click.  For just looking at the zones, you don't even need to add your dates.

 

Romelle

 

 

Got it, thanks!

[luzippu]

Hi

 

yes budget is $120 per/night + i know there will be taxes on top. So total stay i'm looking at around $260/$280 approx. (not sure as taxes i can see vary from place to place)

 

I've secured a couple of rooms on booking.com (which i can cancel):

a. $278 total stay + (14.75 % TAX is excluded. USD 3.50 city tax per night is excluded.)

This is for a room with shared bathroom in Gramercy... which i'm not too keen on due to the shared facilities.

 

b. $166 total stay + (14.75 % TAX is excluded. USD 3.50 city tax per night is excluded.)

This is for a room with shared bathroom in Greenpoint, near Nassau Ave (G) ... as above, not too keen on due to the shared facilities.

 

I will have no car, so public transports and walking. So for a 3 days stay i don't want to be too far out with long train/subway journeys and long walk to the stations.

 

Thanks for your help so far.

[thereuare]

At current rates a room in Manhattan for your dates at $120 or less is not realistic. If you're using your back-up reservations with shared baths as a reference point it's not an apples-to-apples comparison as any win as a result of PRICELINE bidding will have a private bath. To stay in Manhattan you need to make a choice between:

1) staying with your back-up properties which are within budget but have a shared bath

2) increasing your budget for a PRICELINE / HOTWIRE purchase with a private bath

3) staying outside of the city and commuting in

Using our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com, what is the best rate you're able to find at an acceptable hotel inside of Manhattan for these dates?

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

[luzippu]

thanks

 

used the site MAPS and HOTELS.com with a 3m radius from rockefeller and this is what i found sorted by price/night:

- Econo Lodge Jersey City, $160 p/night ($363 total) not easy to get to

- Howard Johnson North Bergen, $260 p/night ($593 total) not easy to get to

- Chelsea Star Hotel, $292 p/night ($677 total) great location, but well out of my budget.

- ... more expensive accommodations

 

I see these prices are their ongoing rates posted on the "List View" or "Express Deals". Wouldn't I be able to get better rates by using the "Name Your Own Price" system..?

 

[Romelle]

Wouldn't I be able to get better rates by using the "Name Your Own Price" system..?

 

The only way to answer your question for sure is to bid up to your limit.  There is a $127 Long Island 2* on Hotwire with free breakfast and 60% recommended.  That suggests a bid of $120 might be successful.  There is no set difference between bidding and the semi-opaque deals of Priceline Express and Hotwire.  There are instances of no savings, but generally there is some.  5% ... 10% ... ?   

 

The three Priceline reported Long Island City 2* hotels are the Comfort Inn, the Quality Inn and the Sleep Inn.  Only one is reviewed here and the reviewer was OK with it.  I looked at the three on Tripadvisor.  One got a 3 1/2  and  the other two got 4s for reviews.  Fairly positive.  The thing is that one can always receive an as yet unreported hotel, and the 2* level can be dicey.

 

FYI, I'm a member, not a board official, so keep that in mind in what I have to say.

 

Technically for bidding Long Island at the 2* level, you would only get one bid a day and you don't have a lot of time.  But you can have more bids if you simply add in those zones you know are most likely too expensive but you'd be OK with if you happened to get them.   You mentioned 4 besides Long Island.  So you could do something like start LI at $108, then add in the other 4 one at a time while bidding 111, 114, 117 and 120.  

 

Or you can accept the $127 Hotwire deal, valuing that free breakfast and the decent recommendations at $7.

 

You might wait to see what thereuare or one of the other administrators has to add.  Often my ideas get refined a bit for the better.

 

Romelle

[luzippu]

Thanks! interesting...

 

I think i'm going to try that tomorrow and bid my way up to my target room rate. Have been reading a lot this afternoon and I think more or less i understand the process.

 

i will try every day and worst case scenario i'll keep one of my backup accomodations.

 

will keep you posted!

cheers

[thereuare]

Of the hotels above two of three are not in Manhattan:

Econo Lodge Jersey City, $160 p/night ($363 total) not easy to get to

==> not in Manhattan so doesn't qualify as an 'acceptable hotel' (based upon your earlier comments)

Howard Johnson North Bergen, $260 p/night ($593 total) not easy to get to

==> not in Manhattan so doesn't qualify as an 'acceptable hotel' (based upon your earlier comments)

Chelsea Star Hotel, $292 p/night ($677 total) great location, but well out of my budget.

==> the only hotel in the list that is located in Manhattan and gives you an idea of the challenge you're up against when trying to win a hotel at $120 or less for these dates

I see these prices are their ongoing rates posted on the "List View" or "Express Deals". Wouldn't I be able to get better rates by using the "Name Your Own Price" system?

I suspect these are the same/similar prices as the 'List View' as both are showing 'retail' rates... the least expensive PRICELINE EXPRESS hotel i'm seeing in Manhattan is THIS ONE which is a 3.5* in the Downtown zone for $254/nite. The 'bidding' side of PRICELINE and the PRICELINE EXPRESS side each use a different universe of hotels, but just like bidding, PRICELINE EXPRESS is still 'opaque' (in the sense that the name is not shown until after your purchase), so while you may be able to do a slightly better by bidding, going from $254/nite to $120/nite is extremely unlikely.

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