Priceline Hotel: New York Stay

[jaymz67]

Planning a stay in New York over Christmas holiday period for myself and my girlfriend - we fly to Philadelphia on 27th December and return on 4th January. Planning to stay in Philadelphia (don't know where yet) for a couple of nights first, so need a hotel in NYC from 28th/29th to the 4th. Because of the New Years celebrations I was thinking Times Square would be a good spot, although I imagine its doubtful we'd get anywhere to watch the ball drop from the hotel? Heard its possible from the bar in the Hyatt so would like to get a good deal there or somewhere similar? Budget is unfortunately only around $200 per night - is this unrealistic given the time of year? New to Priceline so any guidance appreciated

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The hotels in the Times Square zone, especially those with views of Times Square, will get a very hefty premium for New Years Eve.  For example, i looked just for the heck of it, for 12/31 the Doubletree in Times Square is getting $3500+ per nite, the Hyatt shows no availability, the Hilton Times Square, and other hotels with similar prices (use our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com to search for this solo nite '1 mile from Times Square NYC' to see just how high rates can go.  While the days leading up to NYE will be pricey, but not as expensive as NYE itself, the nites after New Years Eve should see a sharp drop in rates.  So while the other nites of your trip will bring down the average cost, not many Times Square hotels are going to be offering the nite of 12/31 at a deep discount, and this is going to negatively impact your PRICELINE bidding.

 

As I i'm doubtful that you will have much of a chance at landing a hotel with a view of the ball drop for $200/nite or less, my suggestion would be to:

1) plan in staying in a different zone for the NYC part of your trip

2) SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID... staying in a less expensive part of the city for 12/28 or 12/29 thru 1/1... then change hotels for the nites of 1/1-1/4.  Changing hotels mid-trip can be an inconvenience, but this will likely help you get a better deal since the hotel with the best deal for the 'peak nites' of 12/28-1/1 will not necessarily be the same hotel that offers the best deal for the much slower nites of 1/1-1/4.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Let us know your thoughts based upon the information above and we'll take it from there.