3.5* NYC (MTE) Roosevelt, $91 ... 2/15/10-2/18/10 Options

[sabbaticalman]

First time posting on BB. Awsome info is getting me amped about Hotel Bidding again. I've Pricelined a couple hotels in the past with acceptable results but I feel like results should improve now.

I'll be in NYC for six nights for work and I don't want to spend my whole paycheck on hotel. Work will be near the Queensburough Bridge, but I'm cool with Subway riding. I've stayed recently at Empire Hotel and Westin Jersey City. Both Priceline bookings. Both were Nice hotels (Weekends with Wife), but I'm OK with a Standard Hotel as long as it's clean. Also I'd be willing to switch hotels midway if it helps with bidding. Location is not that important to me. Just best likelihood of Good Hotel for sub $100/night.

I'll start looking into strategy tomorrow, but any hints would be appreciated...

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is the minimum star rating that you're willing to accept for this stay? Are you willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR is your goal the least expensive hotel at the minimum star level or better that you select? Are there are any NYC zones which are not acceptable?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[sabbaticalman]

I'm thinking 3*, but would accept a 2.5* with good tripadvisor reviews. Price is most important. Ideal location would be Upper East Side, but anywhere Midtown is fine. Anything Close to a Subway line...

Should I be worried about booking Hotel soon as I'm only 10 days out?

I've also stayed at the Marriot Brooklyn Bridge. If I remember correctly is was only one stop from Manhattan which would be fine for this trip. Especially if it saved me some money.

Also... should I be bidding for 6 consecutive nights, or should I be splitting up my bids?

[thereuare]

You need to be cleerer on what you are looking for from this stay as well as understand what you can and can't control with PRICELINE / HOTWIRE:

I'm thinking 3*, but would accept a 2.5* with good tripadvisor reviews. Price is most important.

With PRICELINE there is no way to know the Tripadvisor ratings before your purchase, so how can you restrict your purchase to one with good TA reviews? HOTWIRE does show TA information for some (not all) properties, but HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, but you mention price is most important, so which service would better suit your needs for this trip?

Ideal location would be Upper East Side, but anywhere Midtown is fine. Anything Close to a Subway line...

Again, you can receive a hotel anywhere within the shaded bounardaries of the zone, there is no way to select 'near a subway line' with PRICELINE. With HOTWIRE you can often take an educated guess as to the hotel you may receive, and thus have an educated guess how far it is from the nearest subway station, but again, HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so you have to decide which is most important to you. Also, you mention that anywhere in midtown is fine, but UES is not in midtown, and you also mention considering staying in Brooklyn, which isn't even in Manhattan, exactly which zones, by PRICELINE name, are you willing to accept?

Should I be worried about booking Hotel soon as I'm only 10 days out?

Should be fine, but i would start sooner rather than later and not drag your feet on this.

I've also stayed at the Marriot Brooklyn Bridge. If I remember correctly is was only one stop from Manhattan which would be fine for this trip. Especially if it saved me some money.

See comments above regarding needing to be able to accept a hotel anywhere within the shaded region of the zone.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[sabbaticalman]

I hoped I wouldn't be one of those guys that post the stupid questions. Figures....

I'd like 3* in Midtown East. Check-in Feb 12 and Check-out Feb 18.

Responses:
1. Trip Advisor Ratings - I meant that I could strategically bid based on your Hotel List to try and avoid any listed property that doesn't interest me. But Pirce is most important.
2. I looked at the Priceline map and quickly realized my error. UES is way bigger that I thought. Work will be in Sutton Place, but that's only 2 days out of the trip. In order of preference most to least: Midtown East, Central Park South, Midtown West, Empire State Building Area, Time Square.

[thereuare]

I'd like 3* in Midtown East. Check-in Feb 12 and Check-out Feb 18.
.
.
In order of preference most to least: Midtown East, Central Park South, Midtown West, Empire State Building Area, Time Square.

Since price is most important, did you want to bid up to your limit first for a 3* in the MTE zone OR do you prefer to try for the least expensive hotel in any of the zones you've mentioned in the quote box above?

Is $100 your maximum bid price or 'all-in' price?

Please confirm the information above and we'll suggest a stratetgy for you to follow.

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

[sabbaticalman]

I'd like to try the second option.... try for the least expensive hotel in any of the zones.
And $100 'All In'.

[bowlopho]

I'm thinking 3*, but would accept a 2.5* with good tripadvisor reviews. Price is most important. Ideal location would be Upper East Side, but anywhere Midtown is fine. Anything Close to a Subway line...

Should I be worried about booking Hotel soon as I'm only 10 days out?

I've also stayed at the Marriot Brooklyn Bridge. If I remember correctly is was only one stop from Manhattan which would be fine for this trip. Especially if it saved me some money.

Also... should I be bidding for 6 consecutive nights, or should I be splitting up my bids?

I scored Affinia 50 - priceline rated 2.5* hotel for $65, but I got it for the week after yours. You can always give that a shot.

[sabbaticalman]

Affinia 50 looks great in reviews and location would be perfect for me. What was your bidding strategy that resulted in $65?

[AaronJB]

The Affinia 50 is a 2.5* in MTE. Keep in mind when bidding that there's no way to ensure a particular property - if you were to bid 2.5* MTE, you could certainly get a different 2.5* or possibly be upgraded to one of the 3*'s.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[bowlopho]

Affinia 50 looks great in reviews and location would be perfect for me. What was your bidding strategy that resulted in $65?

you can view my bid history here.
Priceline New York City

basically when I decided to give it a shot, first bid at $65 won.

But do keep in mind, just as AaronJB mentioned, there is no gurantee that you will win affinia50. I kept that in mind, but took a gamble anyways. Really was a hard decision to make, because I did not want any other 2.5* rated hotel other than affinia50.

[sabbaticalman]

It looks like the cheapest rooms at Affinia 50 have one queen bed. If I win a room, can I request or upgrade to a room with two beds?

[thereuare]

You can make whatever requests you'd like, but there is no assurnace that the hotel will be able, or willing, to accomodate your request. As well, if rooms with two beds cost more than rooms with one bed (which is not uncommong in NYC) then the hotel may also charge an addtiional fee if they are willing/able to upgrade.

Also note that bowlopho's win is for dates other than your own, so there is no assurance that a $65 bid would be successful for your own dates, and if it is, that you'll receive this property as well.

Lastly, if you need two beds, HOTWIRE may be a better (yet slightly more expensive) option as you can search for triple occupancy (2adults/1chidl) which will ensure separate sleeping acomodations (which could be 2 beds, 1bed+pullout sofabed, 1bed+rollaway, etc)

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

[sabbaticalman]

Succesful bids from last visit to NYC...

Westin Jersey City Newport - 9/23 to 9/25 2009 - $106/nt plus taxes
Empire Hotel - 9/25 to 9/27 - $205/nt plus taxes


Review: Westin was new hotel in a what seemed like a recently redeveloped area. 1-2 blocks from PATH train that is one stop from WTC. Empire is a Hip style hotel. Our room was smaller than the Westin in Jersey but totally adequate. Good location for walking to Central Park South.

[AaronJB]

Sabbaticalman, please post the details of these stays as new threads. Thanks.

[sabbaticalman]

In hopes of winning Affinia 50 i bid....
MTE 2.5* 2/16 - 2/17 I bid $65 per night. Rejected... ( I don't see any options for Re-bidding. Am I missing something? )

btw- Looks like my brother is flying in and we'll share a room (need 2 beds) for 2/12 - 2/15. That's why I tried for Affinia 50 on the days I'll be by myself. If I can get a winning bid (reservation) for those 2 days, I'll call and see what it costs to Upgrade to a room with 2 beds. If it's reasonable and possible, I'll then try and bid there for the first part of the stay. Does this make any sense....

[AaronJB]

There are no re-bid options at the 2.5* level in NYC.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

If I can get a winning bid (reservation) for those 2 days, I'll call and see what it costs to Upgrade to a room with 2 beds. If it's reasonable and possible, I'll then try and bid there for the first part of the stay. Does this make any sense....

It's logical, but i wouldn't assume that you'd receive the same hotel for your second purchase as you did for the first. The second purchase would be totally independent from the first, with its own supply/demand characteristics (as well as the second stay is midweek and the first leg would be considered weekend), so while you may get the same hotel on a second purchase, it would be a fairly bid leap to expect it.

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

[sabbaticalman]

I understand that a new bid is like starting over with no ties to the previous bid. I'm willing to stay in 2 different hotels. Switching is not a problem for me. What would be the BB's suggested way to book a 2 bed hotel room on Priceline?

I'm thinking (from somewhat limited NY hotel experience) that a large chain hotel with lots of standard style rooms, off of manhattan would be my best bet. Having recently stayed at the Westin in Jersey City and the Marriot Brooklyn Bridge, I'd guess they have loads of multi bed hotel rooms.

And then there's the fact that my trip is this coming weekend. If I don't have a reservation soon I'll probably start getting nervous. And then the padlock on my wallet gets easier to jimmy....

[AaronJB]

There's no way to guarantee a room with 2 beds by using PRICELINE. If you use HOTWIRE and search for more than 2 people in the room (such as 2 adults/2 children), then you are guaranteed some form of bedding for the party (although that can be 2 beds or 1 + sofa.) Rooms with 2 beds may be more readily available at hotels in outlying areas, but they are a rarity in Manhattan, where many properties have very small rooms. PRICELINE does not guarantee 2 beds in general, but NYC is probably one of the least likely major cities in the US in terms of getting 2 beds from a PRICELINE reservation - it's certainly a risk.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

What would be the BB's suggested way to book a 2 bed hotel room on Priceline?

As mentioned above, this can't be done with any degree of certainty, and if you need two beds, i wouldn't use PRICELINE for this leg of your stay. I'd instread use HOTWIRE, searching for 2adults/1child.

I'm thinking (from somewhat limited NY hotel experience) that a large chain hotel with lots of standard style rooms, off of manhattan would be my best bet.

First, you won't be able to restrict your bidding to only large hotel chains, since with PRICELINE you have to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating you choose. Second, in NYC space is at a premium, and most hotels (large chains or small independents) have a high percentage or rooms with only one bed (and often little/no room for a rollaway). This percentage is probably higher at the lower rated hotels which you're seeking. Third, even if the hotel does have rooms with two beds, there is no assurance that you'll be able to receive such a room, as the hotel may be unable, or unwilling, to honor your request for a room with 2 beds. In NYC rooms with two beds are often considered an upgrade and the hotel may not be willing to upgrade your PRICELINE reservation (or may charge an additional fee to do so)

Having recently stayed at the Westin in Jersey City and the Marriot Brooklyn Bridge, I'd guess they have loads of multi bed hotel rooms.

These are not Manhattan hotels, and again, you can't bid on a large chain hotel, and it's at the hotel's discretion if they are able/willing to provide you a room with two beds.

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

[bowlopho]

In hopes of winning Affinia 50 i bid....
MTE 2.5* 2/16 - 2/17 I bid $65 per night. Rejected... ( I don't see any options for Re-bidding. Am I missing something? )

if you need to "rebid", you can
1) wait 24 hours to place a higher bid

or 2) add another zone and your higher bid to your list. etc, picking a more expensive area (possibly time square??) and making a $70 bid, but you might get stuck with a hotel you don't even want. I would Play it safe and wait 24 hour.

[sabbaticalman]

Last minute plan changes. I'll be traveling alone with new arrival date. New arrival date is 2/15. Departure 2/18.

After Rejected Bid of $65, I've waited 24hrs. So I just bid MTE 2.5* 2/15-2/18 $75 - Rejected
My plan is to bid every 24hrs going up $5-10 per day up to maybe $90. If I don't get a win I am willing to increase my bid, but I'm thinking some new property could come into play. For around $100 I'm thinking I could increase my star level. I'm still willing to stay in MTE, MTW, CPS, ESB. What do you consider a good value for about $100? And what's the strategy for bidding it....

[AaronJB]

Are you looking for the cheapest 2.5* or are you considering a 3*? Is your budget under $100 or are you considering moving above $100?

[thereuare]

I'm still willing to stay in MTE, MTW, CPS, ESB...

Is there a reason you're not including MSG, TS and/or Chelsea in your bidding?

Also, i'd recommend first trying for a 3* hotel up to your limit. While there may be some 2.5* properties which are acceptable, there may be some which are not, and with PRICELINE you can't choose which type you will get

Let us know regarding the zone(s) above and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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