ntuitive1

After much bidding and gnashing of teeth, I finally won the Westin for $170 for the 3 nights. I am thrilled with the result. I held out for $160 for the longest time but then eventually realized I'd either have to go higher or lower my star level. I went up to $165 with no bites, but then at $170 it came through on the first try. Thanks for all your help!

Thanks for the advice. The only thing that puts me off about J.C. is not the area but the fact that it connects you to lower Manhattan. I don't plan to go farther South than the Village, if that. I'll take your word for it that the hotels are better but I guess for my purposes I'd rather come into Manhattan further uptown, and the hotels being cheaper in Secaucus helps too. THANKS!

Yes, thanks. I might have to go up to $170, but not just yet. Actually I am considering booking a regular reservation in Secaucus as a backup. Don't know why but Jersey City doesn't appeal as much as Secaucus. And there are always the outlets in Secaucus too, which I haven't been to in about 10 years...Secaucus is less expensive than Jersey City and pretty accessible to Manhattan by bus to the Port Authority. It is only 5 miles from Manhattan. And I'll have my car and will be able to drive in to Manhattan if I want to. I am not crazy, I just know where to park, that's all! :)

Your thoughts on this?

Well, I meant I'd cancel the trip if I was unsuccessful finding a room period, not necessarily a 4* room. I'd be willing to come down to 3 stars, but only if and when I get desperate, and I am not close enough to my dates to be desperate. From what I am hearing a lot of people bid up to the same price for weeks and then get lucky within the 10 day window, so I won't get desperate until I'm far closer to my dates. I would also consider another zone, like the downtown zone, but again, only when I am getting desperate. As far as splitting the itinerary, I'd do that too but only closer to my dates. I might consider trying for one night in one zone and one in another if it looks like one of the dates is problematic, as Thursday is beginning to look. I am really looking to go no higher than $150. I suppose I was curious as to whether an extra $10 was going to make a difference, but it did not.

No, I won't do that. I might as well just cancel the first night of my trip as drive in all the way from there. I only live 2 hours away!! I have plenty of time and surely there are better alternatives than that, such as coming down a star level for that night or considering staying in lower Manhattan for the first night, etc. I'd rather hear what thereuare has to say about this first before doing anything.

Two things - From doing spot checks at certain hotel websites that give separate rates for different dates, like the Intercontinental/Barclay and the Grand Hyatt, it seems as though there might be a problematic date in this itinerary - Thursday is showing as about $30 more expensive than Fri. and Sat. at the Hyatt and it's just not available at all at the Barclay, although Fri. and Sat. are still available. I am thinking that Thursday might not be available at other hotels or inventory is low for that date, and that is why I got rejected all the way up to $160, not because I am not bidding enough. Rates in MTW for those dates are all between $230 and $240 except for the Westin, which is $294/night. Perhaps it's time to split my itinerary. I await your advice, thanks! :)

Well, I bid all the way up to $160 now with no luck. I am fresh out of ideas unless you have any. Should I split my reservation? I'm not sure how much useful advice you will give me now if you were already ready to ship me off to New Jersey before.... :)

I thought that the situation changes daily. If I give in and keep raising my bid just to get a room today and the price decreases tomorrow, I will have overbid. From what I am reading here and eslewhere, I can't assume that prices are static and will only get worse as time gets closer to my dates for a Priceline room. I have heard that people keep bidding every day up to the same amount without a bite and then one day all of a sudden get a room. If a block of rooms that was reserved is released a few days from now I might get lucky. Of course it is a gamble, but I didn't expect there to be any sure bets in this business.

Well, it seems that there is no best time to bid, judging from the responses in that thread. It depends on a lot of factors that we can't really psyche out. I thought the whole point was to have nerves of steel and not engage in "What if the prices go up?" kind of thinking. I am noticing as many people getting prices within my range on those dates as not, so why not try for it? I am not desperate. I only live 2 hours away from NY and I can go there any time. I drive there and so I don't have to get those exact dates. And no, no Jersey City for me, thanks. I can afford up to $150 and judging from what I've seen here I don't think I should have to go above that. If that happens to me it would just be the luck of the draw on those dates, so I'd just go back to the drawing board as far as my dates go, that's all.

I figured I'd wait to see if I could get something cheaper before going all the way up to $150 as that's my ceiling. I was afraid I'd get something for $150 right away if I didn't give it a few days to see if I could get something cheaper than that. I figure $150 and possibly higher will be when I'm getting desperate, LOL. Is that not a good idea in your opinion?

Followed your suggested strategy but got rejected every time even with adding the rebid zones. I suppose I should keep doing the same exact bidding every 24 hours for a while but how many days do you think I should I do that before I give up and go higher than $135?

I just followed thereuare's bidding strategy from Aug. 24-27, w/Aug. 27 checkout, and I went as high as 130 but got rejected every time. I'll have to try again tomorrow. Not going higher just yet! If this happens after a few tries I will give in and go higher.

As long as you stay below CPS you will be in the best zone for the subway, although you are never more than a few blocks from a station anywhere in Manhattan, and you can always connect from one line to another in Midtown. Most of the hotels in Midtown are concentrated near the subways so you should be OK.

Ah, I get it now! Thanks very much! I will post here with the details when I win something.

Hi, thanks so much, this is great! One stupid question (forgive my ignorance), but is it true that if rejected after adding the rebidding zones, can I can start a whole new bidding session immediately after closing the browser and reaccessing Priceline, or do I have to wait the requisite 24 hours before doing so? Or is there something I'm missing here (as usual)? I'm happy to have found this site! I think it's great that you offer this service. If I win something I will definitely post it here.

Thanks for replying. OK, I guess I thought you might know the information about which zones have 4 star hotels or not offhand, but that's OK, I figured it out for myself. I wasn't getting anywhere for a while but then I realized I had to open a page as if I am starting the process of bidding. That wasn't specified but I figured it out anyway. I found out that UW does not have any 4* hotels, like I suspected, and neither does UE. The rest of the zones listed all have 4* hotels. So that answers that question (and yes, I have read the instructions about rebidding). As far as the order of my preference goes, you're right that the three zones you mentioned are my top pics but not in that order. I'd keep them in the preference order I originally put them in, like this, unless you think I should change that based on my price preference: MTE UM/CPS MTW Anyway, I await your suggested bidding strategy in my price range. If you think I will have to bid at a higher price level than I am hoping for on my specified dates, don't hesitate to tell me I'm dreaming and recommend a higher price range. Thanks!

Hi, I am new to this board and Priceline and I need a little advice on bidding. I am a native New Yorker displaced in Hartford and I'm going to be a tourist in my home town over the long weekend mentioned above. Here is the situation: I am looking for a 4* hotel - One room, two people in the room. The areas I would consider (in order of ideal preference) are: MTE UM/CPS MTW UW MS UE From your last reply it looks like MTE and CPS might be out of my price range as I am looking to go no higher than $150, and in reality would prefer lower (more like $120), but then I saw you recently advise someone to start bidding at $110 or $115 for these areas, which is confusing me. Also, can I even hope to find a room in MTW in my comfort zone of $120 or am I dreaming there too? I wouldn't mind MTW if I could get a better price there, but since I am a native I don't have my heart set on staying near Times Square (been there done that and who needs the crowds, LOL). I am also not looking to stay in lower Manhattan, and Midtown South and the Upper East Side are not really high on my list either. Also, I have read all the info. about how to tell what star ratings are in which neighborhoods on Priceline, but I'd like to get a general idea of that before I start and have to make a quick decision while hitting the forward and back buttons. For example, based on prior research I have a feeling that finding a 4* hotel in the UW is not really possible, nor is it possible near JFK, but I am not sure what Priceline considers a 4* hotel. I'd like to know which neighborhoods are commonly used for rebid purposes that don't have 4* hotels so I know what to expect. I realize this information changes but if you could just ballpark it for me for educational purposes, I'd appreciate it. :o Can you help clarify and give me a bidding strategy based on the above mess? :) Sorry for throwing a lot at you but thanks so much for your help! :) P.S. By the way, I've never tried Essabagel, but thanks for the tip. I usually like Tal and H&H myself.