cute0206

"name your own price" is not available anymore? at least in NYC? It just goes to its regular listings when I try.

no matter how I tried it, It only took me to the regular hotel listing or express deals page, not the "name your own price" page I've got before.

PRICELINE EXPRESS deal at the time showed 208/night. saved 10 bucks/night by using NYOP, i guess.

honored and had a king room on the top floor too, although it's only the 14th/fl..

please advise.! thanks

yep. i checked express deals first where it said $41, first i thought i might have accidentally clicked on one star or something, but i didn't. so i proceeded to NYOP and wanted to see how much lower i could score. started at 30, after 3 tries, got accepted at 40. the express deal actually stayed there for at least another couple of hours after i won. so i assume it was either a computer glitch (like the Delta incident not long ago) or intercontinental is really having a slow sunday this week lol. the deal is gone now, it shows 108/night, i'm pretty certain that it is the roosevelt hotel since it's got no ratings (PRICELINE EXPRESS deals seem to leave ratings empty when it's below 7)

i hope this is not a computer glitch. stayed there once for way more, didn't like it much, it's too old for my taste, but for this price, i'll stay here every time from now on

got it at first try. listed under express deal for 139/night at the time, but the rack rate on the retail page is only 159/night, so not a huge saving

simple, but requires a little maths. when you search hotels for specific dates and in this case, under express deals it had one 4.5 star hotel with a 8 rating for 138/night. next to it, it also tells you the approximate percentage you would have saved. do a simple calculation to get the approximate retail price. ok, now go back to the retail page--list view, narrow down your search to midtown east-- 4.5 star, in this zone, there are about five 4.5 star hotels, out of which, only Waldorf Astoria New York, hyatt 48 lex and the benjamin are in the 8 rating range, now look at their individual listing prices, compare your earlier calculation result to the listing prices of each of the three hotels above. you should be able to pinpoint the hotel by now most of the time---the one with a price a few dollars higher than your calculation results. it's easy with 4.5 star hotels coz there are only handful of them. 4 star hotels require more work as there are way too many of them and overlap of zones. Disclaimer: lol.. whatever mentioned above is solely based on my own observation and bidding experience, by no means, it's a guaranteed system, it's just worked for me so far.

in my opinion, rooms are pretty standard for a 4 star property, quite spacious though. rooms do have a small kitchenette area. with microwave, mini fridge. last time i was in a king bed room, it was literally like a studio apt..

express deals have one for the zone at $138/night, with a priceline rating of 8, i was pretty sure it was the benjamin. won at first try, might have gotten it at around 105.

yes, you always do, but you can't extend longer than the duration of your original reservation. if you booked one night, you can only extend for one night(not guaranteed accepted though), although it does allow you to try extending the other way, meaning, you can try moving up your check-in date by one day instead of your checkout date. as i previously stated, before i bid, i always check out the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals first as a guidance, if rates there are high, i'd suggest not bother low balling, it'd be a waste of time. i tend to start bidding 20-30 bucks below what i see in express deals for a particular zone. ps. i just won the benjamin hotel 4.5 star for this sunday Aug.11th for 110/night as i'm typing. i'll post the win soon.

i only travel with one bag most of the time, so i tend to almost always book one night at a time. nyc hotel rates could vary significantly from one day to the next. say, on a wednesday a 4 star hotel could go as high as 300-400, then the next day could be scored at about a 100/night. i've come to find that thursdays and sundays' rates tend to be the lowest from my personal observation. if you saw my previous winning bids, that explains why i was able to score 4, 4.5 star hotels at such low prices. so yes, if you travel light, i think shorter stay reservations have a better chance of getting a lower price, in case your extend stay request doesn't get accepted. you can move without too much hassle. in this original post though, i was both lucky and intuitive, had i chosen to use the extend stay option, i'd have ended up paying 20 bucks more. but at the same time, i could've very well gotten a different hotel. so it's all about risk vs. reward, which i was well aware of. hope it helps

was going to extend the stay at my yesterday's win's price--$110, but after checking express deals, decided to take a chance and rebid since the midtown east one seems to be the westin. turns out i'm right:) started at 85, got it at 90.

used code "summer" as well, saved another 5.5 bucks. average 4" hotel in my opinion.

started at 90, i believe. used code "summer", saved another 4.75, lol. ask for a renovated room on a higher floor. i enjoyed it. especially the size of the bathroom, i suspect they gave me a handicap room:)

forgot what price point i started at, but took about two tries. the price is good for a 4 star hotel, the hotel is not. old small hotel rooms in desperate need for a makeover

surprised that i got it on the first try. must've been a slow manhattan night. love the room i got, btw. it's like a studio apt. i always ask for a king bed on a high floor wherever i go, most hotels accommodate especially when you're only staying for one night. if they don't, i ask for two double beds. from my experience, a queen bed room is almost always smaller and subpar..

started at 110. i think staying one night generally bodes well. longer stays get iffy. so if you don't have lots of luggage. split your stays if extending the stay doesn't work.

started at 100, adding one more zone at $5 each increment. my strategy is to use priceline express deals as a reference. if i see a good deal in a particular zone. start bidding 20-30 bucks below the deal price with gradual increase. i'll post more of my wins in the last month.

after reading some reviews, this place seems even iffier, i hear a lot of " no way this is a 4" property", lol..

bid 63+ the $7 dollar bonus cash today. was hoping to get the hyatt regency since i won't have a car, oh well..

So you're going to stay at the backup hotel you have booked?

i'm still working on those dates, anyone else to share thoughts? really don't want to go over 150/night for a 3 star in downtown area.

anyone having success bidding for these dates yet? please share..