jennferkb

UM/CPS stands for Upper Midtown - Central Park South, correct? We live in NJ and have been to NYC many, many times. I just didn't think to add the UM/CPS so thank you for that recommendation. Based on research, I know that $150 a night would be our maximum bet (we would stay two nights). I just need to tell my husband this average price because he was not aware of what the rooms would cost a night on average through priceline verse the hotel's regular rates. Would you be able to help me with the bidding based on this: - Dates are September 29-October 1 - 1st choice MDW - 2nd choice MDE - 3rd choice UM/CPS - Preferably a 4*, but if it is much less for a 3* then we will opt for that Thank you!

Is this the Hilton Times Square or Hilton New York? I'm just curious because I'm planning on bidding in the same area. Thanks!

Hello, My husband and I are planning on taking a short weekend trip to NYC on Sept. 29-Oct 1 (2 nights). We are mainly interested in the MDW area, but will settle for MDE if need be. We would like a 4* hotel, but would settle for a 3* if it was in the MDW area. This is my first time using Priceline (I've already read all the tips and faq) so I'm hoping for some bidding assistance. What are your recommendations? Would you recommend that I attempt a 4* hotel in the MDW area a couple of times? Is $125 a decent starting bid? I've seen bids accepted in the $150 range for September, but I'm hoping I could get a bit lower. Am I being unrealistic? Also, I will not be bidding today because my husband is in the military and deployed. However, I will be bidding tomorrow after I can pass this info. on to him. I just didn't want you to think I was wasting your time so I wanted to bring our situation to your attention. Thank you!

Do most people tend to book airfare (not necessarily through priceline, but through other options such as a travel agent or from other websites) first and then with those dates, book the hotel through priceline OR vice versa? I'm interested in using priceline for the hotel only, but I don't know if it is better to book that first through priceline and then book my flight through other websites. If they don't have a flight for the specific hotel days I bid on through priceline then I wouldn't be able to get there! I'm guessing that I should book the airfare first and then book hotels through priceline. The only thing is that we have a flexible two week period we can choose from in January and I don't know which week would be cheaper. What do you think? Thanks!

Just for research, I went to the priceline.com site and searched for hotels (not bidding yet through name your own price) and typed in Thistle Marble Arch first with Jan.3-10th 2007 and then another time for Jan. 8 -15th. Both times, it came up saying there is no hotel available with that name. Does this mean that the Thistle Marble Arch has not published its rates for Jan. 2007 yet OR does it mean that all the rooms are booked up for the first two weeks in Jan. 2007? I cannot imagine it to be that they are all booked up since it is so far away. I am just worried that if it does not show up through the regular hotel search that it will not be a hotel option when I go to "name your own price". I am really interested in booking this hotel for the 1st or 2nd week in Jan. 2007 so I am hoping someone could tell me what the problem could be. Thanks!

I wasn't sure if this question has already been answered so please excuse me if it was. Does anybody know if the VAT tax is included in the priceline bid? I'm not too familar with what the VAT tax means, but isn't it a tax that any non-Europe citizen gets when they travel to Europe? I'm assuming once you accept a bid, a final adjusted price comes up that includes all the taxes and fees...does that also include the VAT tax? Thanks!

Hello, I am currently reading the explanation of the Priceline re-bidding strategy. The visual pictures were a great help and I really have a great understanding of how this all works now. I haven't used priceline yet so I'm just basing this on assumptions. I'm assuming when you place the bid, a separate/new window comes up with whether or not your bid was accepted. Is this correct? In this case...After your offer is declined and you are given the chance to re-bid, is that when you close that new window immediately? Upon closing that window, do you just type in the same requirements you want (with the added lower star rating area) on the original window and re-bid with the strategy? Also, we are pretty flexible in our dates (either the 1st or 2nd week in January) and I was wondering what strategy would work better for us. Just say we wanted a 4* hotel in X area during the 1st week of Jan., but the offer was declined and we were given the chance to re-bid. Would you recommend changing the date to the 2nd week of Jan. and keeping the same area with the 4* hotel OR would you recommend keeping the 1st week of Jan date and doing the above mentioned strategy of finding hotels that are lower than the 4* in different areas. Which strategy is the least risky one? I guess what we are trying to say is that we are more flexible in our timeframe than we are with the hotel rating. Lastly, are you always given the chance to re-bid or is it completely random? I read somewhere that not everyone gets a chance to re-bid right away and just has to wait the 24 hrs. to try again. Thank you!

Thank you so much! You are so much more helpful than the other message board. All they simply said to me and others who had some questions was to read the faqs. I'll definitely be staying over here! :)

Hello, I am a newbie to this forum and have previously been on similar site (I'm sure you can guess which one!), but the moderators were pretty cranky if anyone asked something they think was "common sense". Anyway, I found this site and was hoping for some help from more experienced and kind travelers. My husband and I are planning on traveling to London for 6-7 days during the first or second week of January 2007. I am very interested in using priceline for a great hotel price, but have never used it before. I've read the faq, but had some other questions. My question is if you think it is way too early right now to bid for a January 2007 trip. Also, on average and based on past experiences, it seems like people were able to get low rates at places like Thistle Marble Arch for around $50 USD. Is this usually the case for January? Also, I didn't see many posts with 3 star hotel bids and bookings. Do most people opt for the 4 star hotels because they will wind up being around the same price as 3 star hotels? We're on a budget so I'm just curious to get an idea of how much price difference it usually is between a 3 and 4 star hotel. Of course I realize it depends on the dates and availability. On the priceline site it says under the terms and conditions that said something like this about being upgraded...You are bidding for an area and a quality/star rating level and if the area you are bidding offers a higher quality/star rating level than you are bidding, you could be upgraded." I wasn't sure if this is a positive thing..meaning they will accept your bid for say a 4 star hotel and then wind up giving you an upgrade for a 5 star for the same price. OR does it mean that they have the right to charge you extra? I was confused about that. Okay, last but not least, there are so many areas in London and I was hoping for experienced travelers recommendations on where a first time traveler should go in London. We are looking for an area that is close to the popular tourist attractions. Thanks so much for your help!