mtbscott

Okay, I'll elaborate. I did search and only found three entries I think for the last two years, not much data to go by. All of the "intown" Durango hotels seemed to be in the same range, around $75-125 a night for the 2* chain hotels, $175+ for the next tier up. I'm coming to ride my mountainbike so I wanted something as central as possible so I can ride from the hotel to the local trails. I ended up at Econolodge for $89 a night and have some ChoiceHotels member credits that will take $100 off my total. I just didn't think NYOP could give me that much savings to make the surprise factor worth it. It is good to know that the more remote retail hotels aren't included in the NYOP area, that may make me more willing to try it in the future. Thanks for the info.

Just got the Renaissance Hotel 57 for $120 for last night of a 3 night stay, using rewards points for the first two at a LIC hotel. I went in asking for a 3* at $120 and got this "upgrade" on the first shot. Looks and sounds decent, but makes me wonder if I should have started lower. C'est la vie!

I decided not to use PL for Durango, you can close this thread. Not enough history for this market and too much risk of getting something not really in town. Savings would have been negligible in this case too.

I want the nicest hotel I can get for a max of $75 a night. I'm just skeptical as Durango NYOP doesn't seem to have much history. Some of the hotels listed on the retail sites are as much as 25 miles from town, don't want to end up at one of those.

Has anyone used NYOP in Durango successfully? I'm taking kind of a last minute trip there solo for the nights of September 3-6. I can find rack rates ranging from as low as $60 going up to $200ish for some of the boutique hotels. The midrange chains are averaging around $100-125 a night. Hoping I could get a nice 2-3* chain room for maybe $70-75 a night. My experience has been mostly in New York where there's lots of participating hotels, what are my chances here? Thanks for any experience.

Have a last minute trip to Austin this weekend, needed to be there Sunday morning. I figured I'd drive up then unless I could get a room for less than $50. Tried everything from 4* on down without luck, finally got the Red Roof Inn. Basic hotel, acceptable location, cheapest listed rate was $89 so I'm good.

Just sayin', September is high season in New York. Nice weather, UN General Assembly, Fashion Week....$150 won't buy much that time of year.

I just got a priceline hotel win at the 2* Days Hotel Broadway for $110 a night for June 29-July 2. No guarantees you'll get the same but it's worth a try. It's in the Upper West Side, only a 100 yards out the door to a subway entrance, and in a real neighborhood with lots of restaurants, etc. I've stayed there before and am totally okay with its amenity level. I would just try clicking through the PRICELINE link here, and ask for 2* in UWS for that price. Look over the PL hotel list for Manhattan, lots of areas don't have 2*'s so you could use them for rebids at a higher price. LIC is a good option for a budget traveller, but not all of the hotels there are well located so I've avoided that zone on my NYOP bids.

Sorry. Exact dates are May 30-June 2.

I did my own little version of bidding strategy and got the 3* Residence Inn Marriott Hoover for $55 a night. Their website quotes a minimum of $114 a night for my dates so less than 1/2 price! It's a bit further from the park where my activities are centered but shouldn't be more than 15 minutes away. I'm happy. (BTW, this hotel is/was not listed on the Priceline hotels list here, should be added)

I just won 3 nights at the 2* Days Hotel Broadway for my upcoming trip. I won this hotel last November for a similar price and was very happy with it. Not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but quiet, comfortable, and with a supurb location. It's in a real neighborhood where New Yorker's live, so lots of restaurants and shops nearby, and the subway station for the 1/2/3 is literally 100 yards out the door. I had been bidding up to $115 a night for 3* in all Manhattan zones except Morningside/Harlem (too far uptown)and $110 for 2.5* all zones with no luck. Started over with just the zones with 2* and got this on my first try.

Good advice. The "nicer" hotels are in the Hoover area, still within 5-10 miles from my site. The chain motels are all closer and on PL's retail list, including where I have my current reservation. I think this is a case where the potential cost savings may not be as much since they're pretty reasonable to begin with.

I'm going to Pelham next weekend for a mountainbike race at Oak Mountain State Park. Already have a room booked at the Pelham Quality Inn, 3 nights for $62 plus taxes. I'm guessing it's considered a 2*. I'm toying with the idea of trying for something nicer for the same price or less. Using the Priceline NYOP map, Hoover area hotels go up to 3.5* and there's a list of several available. No info on the Pelham NYOP area that only goes up to 2.5*. Before I start bidding, any ideas what hotels might be included in the Pelham area? Thanks. (I've only done NYOP for New York and Austin before via this site and had good results.)

I'll let the moderators help you with bidding help, but I will tell you LIC is completely okay to stay in, and the Verve is pretty nice. You will walk from there to the 39th Avenue subway station two blocks, and the 2nd stop is Lexington/59th in Manhattan, very convenient. I always book a LIC hotel first that's cancellable, then try Priceline to see if I can something in Manhattan for the same price or less. If I don't, I stay in LIC and it's fine.

I just got the Holiday Inn Midtown on 57th St, 3*, for $90 a night for this weekend. Started bidding all areas of Manhattan except for Morningside Heights/Harlem with this price max about a week ago. "Regular" prices listed start at around $135 so a bit off. Hotel gets decent reviews on TripAdvisor, my only reservation is it's a bit further from the subway than I'm used to. I'm a frequent NYC traveller and my philosophy is to make a cancellable reservation somewhere at a price I can live with, then try to bid for something a bit nicer for the same price. So far I haven't been disappointed doing this. Will report back after my stay.

I've been bidding (through these PRICELINE links) for the same dates all week stopping at $90 for 3*'s. All areas of Manhattan except for Morningside Heights/Harlem, so far no luck. I've got a cancellable reservation at a 2/2.5* UWS hotel I've stayed at before that is perfectly acceptable, so I'm not willing to go higher in price. I'm hoping I might get a slightly nicer place for the same price as the dates get closer, but it would appear that your $100 for a 4* is too optimistic.

Last November, a relatively busy period, I was bidding up to $120 a night for Manhattan 3*'s. I had a cancellable reservation for a decent LIC hotel but was hoping to get something in Manhattan for the same price. I finally dropped to 2*'s a week or so out and got the Days Hotel in UWS for that price. It gets mixed reviews but I was happy with its cleanliness and service, and the location couldn't be beat. BUT, and I think it's a big BUT, I got lucky. Some of Priceline's 2*'s are illegal hotels, most notably the Marrakech, I could have gotten it and been stuck in a bad situation. I think if I were you, I would either bid a bit higher for Manhattan 3*'s on Priceline, or go through more traditional channels for a LIC or Brooklyn hotel that you could probably get for close to your budget for your dates. I go to NY frequently, and lots of folks on this forum have very unrealistic expectations of what they can get through PRICELINE. As thereuare noted, it's an expensive city.

Rack rate for that night is $149 so basically 1/2 off. Been trying the same maximum price for only this zone and only 3*+ for over a month, and they just now accepted.

You are looking at absolutely THE highest rates for the year at almost all Manhattan hotels, and many of them will be fully booked already. I would suggest checking through some regular routes, i.e. Priceline or Hotwire non NYOP, to see what some going rates are for areas you want then try bidding maybe 75% of that although honestly I don't think there will be any bargains on those nights.

The NYC Marathon is on November 4, you are coming at one of the most expensive single weekends of the year. Your budget is not realistic for a 3*, probably not enough for 2*.

September is the UN General Council, Fashion Week, 9-11 ceremonies, just to mention a few. Most travel guides put September and early December as THE most expensive NYC hotel times.

September is generally even higher than October, so no to getting better rates earlier.

Just to let you know the Z Hotel in LIC is pretty far from the subway. There are other decent hotels in LIC that are better located, The Verve or the Vetiver are also kind of "boutique" hotels, although I don't think either has shown up here as a Priceline win yet.

September is probably the busiest month of the year for NYC, $100 is too low for that period. I recently got an accepted bid for a 2* at $120 in November, that after a couple of weeks of trying for higher star levels up to $135. For September, I think you're going to have to raise your price even for a 2*.

As has been noted, September is quite possibly THE busiest, most expensive time of year for Manhattan hotels. Beginning of fall season, UN General Council convenes, Fashion Week, etc, etc. Sounds like you're both going to have to bid higher or lower your star rating expectations.