sneadheaern

Will offer my two cents only because I'm on this board of late and am a long time PRICELINE customer and like to be helpful. PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals as of this writing for your weekend: 4.5* in Rockefeller Center zone is likely the Omni Berkshire @ $163. TripAdvisor rated 108 of 463 4.5* in Central Park South is likely the Warwick @ $195. TripAdvisor rated 89 of 463. 4.5^ in Midtown East is likely the San Carlos @ $199. Trip Advisor rated 47 of 463. Hotel includes minimal free breakfast offering as a perk. No guarantees, buyer beware. Best of luck to you and will let Aaron or others chime in as well.

Thanks for the prompt feedback. It's very much appreciated. Given your information, there's some incentive to consider the Express option if one is relatively confident in the specific hotel associated with the offer. It's a bit of a trade-off against a lower rate that might come via the Name Your Price offer. Under that option, however, any hotel could turn up, as you state, or I could see an upgrade to the next star level. I get occasional promo codes emailed to me from PRICELINE that would give me an additional savings off a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal. That could reduce the net cost of the Express price somewhat. Regarding your suggestion to consider the 4.5* in the Madison Square Garden zone and the Even Hotel, yes that offer is compelling as well. That zone is not quite as compelling a location, but is reasonable nonetheless, as I will depart the city via Penn Station and could walk from the hotel to the station. The neighborhood is not as nice in my opinion. There might be some incentive to try bidding in that zone for the 4.5, as an earlier check showed no availability at the other 4.5 hotel in that zone for one or both days of my stay, (TRYP Times Square South). As a result, securing the Even Hotel is more likely. I noted some winning bids for that hotel on this forum from $136=$199, although some might reflect a less in-demand season or weekend stay. Is there any rhyme or reason to the sweet spot out from the date of stay? If I wait until I'm say 30-60 days from my stay, will the reduction or discounting be any greater? Today, there are few Express deals showing savings greater than 30%. I will certainly use the PRICELINE links on your site for all bidding and will update this thread once I have secured something. Regards.

First, many thanks to the moderators on this board and the excellent work that you do. I'm planning a two night trip to NYC next April, (4/11 check-in, 4/13 check-out). My budget is likely in the range of $150-$220 per night and I'd like to maximize hotel quality While I've used Priceline for years and consider myself a skilled user, I'd appreciate feedback on a few issues. 1) If i correctly identify a likely winning hotel using the Express Deals option, is there a decent likelihood that I'll be awarded the very same hotel should I decide to use the Name Your Price option trying to undercut the Express Deal price? Case in point, there's a $175 Express Deal today in the 4* category in the Empire State Building zone for my dates and It appears the hotel is likely the St. Giles-Tuscany....a well reviewed property on Trip Advisor. If I opted instead to Name My Price and undercut the Express Deal, are chances good that the same hotel will be awarded, or could it well be an alternative and lower rated hotel 4* hotel in the same zone? Any feedback on this would be appreciated. 2) Curious if Priceline routinely upgrades Name Your Price bidders to the next hotel Quality level in the New York Market. This is always a risk and I've encountered this in other markets. Case in point, the 3.5* hotels in the Midtown East zone are generally highly rated, whereas there are some less desirable hotels in the 4* category in this zone. if I bid in this zone with the goal of securing a 3.5* hotel, it's feasible that Priceline could "reward" me with an upgrade to a poorer quality hotel in the 4* category. While I believe Priceline rules do permit this, it can be a negative to some folks using the Name Your Price option. Also, I assume they will not upgrade you to the next higher category if one opts for a PRICELINE EXPRESS selection where you select a quality level. Is this correct? Thanks in advance.

Lewisburg, West Virginia has three 2.5* rated hotels and each showed a retail rate of around $105. The Priceline Express Rate for my date was $79 for 2.5*. Two early bids failed at $66 & $70, I was finally successful at $74 on my third attempt, knocking 29% off the rack rate. I'm happy enough with this deal, as the hotel has solid reviews and overall rates are generally high in small market communities with limited competition. (Lewisburg has <5K population). This forum needs an "ALL OTHER" state bucket to show winning hotels in small cities. A suggestion for the moderator. I used special PRICELINE link.

First two bids of $42 & $44 failed. Hit on third attempt at $46. Best available retail rate on Hilton website was $109, so good overall savings. For others interested in securing lodging in Richmond's western suburban area, the 3* hotels in Priceline's Innsbrook zone offer the most consistent quality, versus the West End or Short Pump zones, where winning 3* hotels have shown mixed results in customer satisfaction from Internet reviews. Thanks Better Bidding for this great resource!

Hit on first attempt @ $47. Best available on Holiday Inn site was prepaid rate of $97 or $115 standard rate. Thanks to Better Bidding for all that you do!

No success in the Ankeny or Racetrack zones for 2.5* or 3* with bids up to $55, so I added the Urbandale zone and hit @ $53. Best available retail was $115. Used the requested PRICELINE link, as always.

First attempted to secure 3* and bid as high as $60 with no success. Switched to 2.5* and hit on first attempt @ $51 for the Fairfield Inn. Retail rate on Marriott site was $120, so good overall savings with Priceline as always.

Anticipating either the Hampton or LaQuinta when bidding, but surprised with the Best Western Center Inn. Initial bid of $39 failed and then hit on my second attempt at $43. Hotel's 7 day advance pre-pay rate was $69, best available flexible rate was $89. Arriving late, leaving early, so this should be fine for a short stay.

Needed a place close to the airport for an early AM flight. Secured the 3* Holiday Inn Norfolk Airport for $45. Earlier bids failed @ $40 & $43. Successful at $45. Hotel had a prepaid rate of $76 and refundable rate of $93, so still decent savings with Priceline.

Successful with first bid attempt for Hyatt Place @ $46.00. I've secured this hotel on several occasions with Priceline, always from $45-$52. Best available retail rate was $99, so good overall savings.