how many rooms? Do you have a maximum budget per night? Did you make reservations for dinner at Gene and Georgetti's yet? (one of my favorites :) )
I think the nature of mclan's inquiry is the amount of Priceline's fee after the hotel taxes have been paid. For example, I recently won a bid @ $60, taxes and fees were $11.95, making my total "walk out" price $71.95. Now, I know that Priceline paid the hotel $52.00 (because the hotel incorrectly charged my credit card this amount, which was ulitimately reversed). State and local taxes in this area would have been about 10%, so the total for room and tax was $52. Priceline made $20 on this reservation, or a whopping 38% :) Yes, they must deduct credit card fees of about 4%, but it is a huge margin for a paperless, electronic transaction.
Please list your dates of travel and your maximum budget for each night.
Tell him to put the savings towards a great dinner at Vetri, a small 35 seat restaurant in the 1300 block of Spruce Street that's in a townhouse in Philly. This used to house LeBec Fin, he won't be disappointed and that promotion is in the bag :)
You can change the dates of travel, you can add zones, or change your "star" level. This increases the potential "pool" of properties available; the downside to this is getting a lesser property in an area that might not be your first choice. However, if you completely understand the rebidding process, these risks can be reduced and you can end up staying at a great property for a teriffic price. Hence, the purpose of this great message board!!
Laurie, can you start a new topic in the Colorado section of the board? We will try to offer a bidding stragegy for the dates of your travel and your budget.
If bid 2 fails, will you need to close your browser then re-access Priceline as done previously? Should this be the case as well for each subsequent bid?
As far as waiting until June to start bidding, I don't know if that will make any difference. Lastminute might only get rooms within 5 months, but Hotwire and Priceline do not have this restriction. You have lots of time, you might want to start low, toss some bread on the water and see if they bite :)
We went to the Army-Navy game last year for the first time, and it was a spectacular event, just make sure you hit the loo before you que up to get into the stadium. Security was pretty tight and I was in line for about 45 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity after quaffing a few.... :) This is a big weekend for Philly hotels, and it might be difficult to get lower priced accomodations for Friday and Saturday night, so these are the dates you will need to consider splitting your bid.
Don't forget to hit the Dickens Inn while in town for Bangers and Mash, washed down with a Newcastle, you'll think you were over 'ome.
We attended Fleet Week two years ago, stayed in Secaucus at the Embassy Suites using HHonors points. We were two adults and three kids, so we drove over on Sunday and found parking on the street, might have been Ninth Ave. The lines to get onto some of the ships were very long, but if you pay for admission onto the USS Intrepid , you can get onto some of the ships that are docked next to the USS Intrepid without having to wait in the "free line" Since our visit, I think they have added a retired Concord Supersonic Jet to the musuem. There were ships from all over the world available to tour.
Mini,
not sure if you can get off at the Meadowlands on one of the "Chinatown" busses, they may just go from Philly to NYC direct, no stops. By the By, if you go with Lastminute.com, can you please use the following link? Support BetterBidding This will help to support this great message board.
this is a good hotel to base your NY trip, each room has a refrigerator, microwave, three burner stove, it's like a mini apartment. If you don't feel like walking the two blocks to the PATH station, the hotel van can take you around. Free parking too! Your trip will coincide with Fleet Week:
Fleet Week is a week long celebration of the U.S. Navy hosted by the City of New York. During Fleet Week, approximately 15 U.S. Navy and foreign warships, as well as U.S. Coast guard Vessels, anchor in and around the city. The public is invited to tour some of the ships, as well as view military demonstrations and crew competitions.
what a great rate for the July 4th weekend! Check out all of the activities for the weekend Welcome America many are free. Elton John is appearing at the Art Musuem on July 4th with a fireworks show following.
Recently reported in the Las Vegas Advisor: The San Remo will begin its transformation into the first Hooters Casino. The rebranding process will require nine months, during which the signage, color scheme, and theme will change, the hotel rooms will be remodeled, the second-largest Hooters restaurant (out of 375 venues worldwide) will open, and the casino will be expanded. The hotel-casino will close for approximately four weeks at some point near the grand opening when the interior work will be completed. Hooters will be the seventh name on this property since it opened; Paradise, 20th Century, Treasury, Pacifica, Polynesian, and San Remo have come before it.
Ziek, I liked the Monte Carlo, it was in a good location on the strip within walking distance to many other properties and at $119 this is a decent rate. Thereuare is really a Penn State fan, why else would the colors on the Betterbidding site be blue??? :)
it looks like PL has an Elizabethtown zone showing only 1* and 2*, there is no map of this zone on Priceline. FYI, there is a Hampton Inn at the intersection of Rt. 72 and the PA turnpike Lebanon Exit, this looks pretty close to Elizabethtown. You can make your reservation online by using one of the Travel Links to Support Better Bidding above, just go to the Hilton website.
Off topic, but the Eagles owner, Jeff Laurie said NO to renegotiating the contract of Terrill Owens.... if you go to see the Eagles beat the Giants in the Meadowlands, you might not want to wear too much "midnight green" the colors of the Eagles......
On topic, I like the location of the Holiday Inn at 4th and Chestnut, it's a block away from some really good watering holes, plus the Bus Terminal is a block off 8th and Market. Finally, you will be close to Chinatown, there are several independant bus companies that go from Philly to NYC for $12 each way.
This is right next door to the Sheraton, right on Rt. 3, right?
wow! considering that that the best rate on the Marriott website is $299, this is excellent!
this sounds a great dealbetter than the 3* Sheraton 4 Points in Elizabeth!!! :)
Like all Marriotts, this is a nice property and they are usually pretty good about accomodating guests. I would definately sign up for the Marriott Rewards program and although you will not earn any points for this stay, you should tell the clerk upon check in that you're a member. It could help you get the room that you want. Your stay is on a weekend and the occupancy levels should be down (unless Rutgers is having a graduation !!) You can also call the hotel directly and request your desired room type. You really got a terriffic rate @ $35 a night.
looks like Circus Circus is available for $125 and the San Remo is $129 on EasyClickTravel travel, you can use the link above. These are both 3* properties and not exactly "anniversary" quality. The Orleans is $170.00 for your two nights, this is off the strip to the west. Sunday night, rates drop like a rock.
Sikittles, have you considered the area of Long Island City or LaGuardia airport? Both are in Queens, and not exactly close to Brooklyn, but these locations have properties which have been identified. The other area is JFK Airport. The Best Western is perfectly acceptable as is the Doubletree Club JFK. I would never book a one week hotel stay on the basis of a photo on a website. I can list plenty of hotels that have terriffic photographs of their properties on the websites, but you might not want to stay there, these include, but are not limited to:
Holiday Inn Express, Long Island City; Herald Square Hotel, NYC; Ramada Inn, Newark Airport, Sheraton Four Points, Newark Airport; and last but not least, the Holland Motor Lodge, Jersey City. Yes, I must come clean, I did stay here about 5 years ago and can live to tell about it. :)
The hotels in Secaucus (Harmon Cove, Mill Creek developments) straddle the NJ turnpike and busy route 3, I would always get directions from the hotel rather than mapquest. That being said, I have had good luck with Google's maps and MSN Maps & Directions. Priceline also offers a map of the winning hotel as well as a phone number so I print it out when I get a win a bid for an unfamiliar hotel.
When it comes to a room that is not clean, I ask for a room change and speak to the manager on duty at the time.
Staying in the Secaucus area may be an alternative when Jersey City hotels are either not available or too expensive. The following link will download a schedule for the Route 320 bus into Manhattan. Many of the Secaucus hotels located in Harmon Meadows/Mill Creek are shown on the map, these include the Prime Suites now La Quinta Suites, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Marriott Courtyard and Amerisuites. The fare is currently $2.60 each way into the Port Authority Bus Terminal. NJ Transit Route 320
I came across the following link on the PATH website. Click the link and it will download a 14 page pdf file and list several parking options for each station. Better yet, it has a map that is in scale showing the stations as well as the light rail stops. Looking at the map, one will realize just how convenient the Jersey City hotels, especially the Hyatt, are to Manhattan.
More failed bids in Philly Nov/Dec
in Priceline Hotels - Pennsylvania
Posted
The Doubletree is a nice hotel but its location is on Broad Street/Avenue of the Arts, close to several theaters and easy access to the Broad Street Subway to Lincoln Financial Field. You will also be close to the oldest, continuously operated bar in the city: McGillins Old Ale House established in 1860. You'll be close to the Nodding Head brewpub as well.