alintz

1st bid $150 4* Boston common theater district - rejected 2nd bid $175 4* BC + Brighton - rejected 3rd bid $200 4* BC + Brighton + Fenway - accepted W hotel total price charged is $238.73

4* Boston Waterfront 1 night (We're seeing the Cirque on the waterfront and thought we would stay in town overnight instead of driving back to the burbs after the show). First bid $100 not accepted. PRICELINE then suggested we up our bid immediately without any other changes to $120 as a one time courtesy to us. I declined that, but instead immediately re-bid $110 (by adding the Brighton zone which has no 4* hotels), and that bid was accepted at Westin Waterfront.

I ended up on HOTWIRE. 4* in Downtown Seattle at $115 with amenities that matched either Hotel W or Hotel Monaco. I booked it and it was W. Just what I hoped for. Thanks for the advice. Amenities listed: Boutique, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet. So, Betterbidding hotel list was accurate. Thanks, Andy

I want a very good 4* for 4 nights in downtown Seattle 9/14-9/18. PRICELINE currently lists 9 hotels at 4*. And because there are lots of other areas without 4*, there are lots of opportunities to re-bid. Recent posts to this board suggest that Renaissance is a likely win at around $70. My problem is that the reviews and descriptions of Renaissance do not seem to be on par with the other 4* hotels like Monaco, Alexis, W, Hyatt at Olive 8, etc in this area. So, I do not want to bid on PRICELINE. I would happily pay $100-150 for one of those top hotels. But I can't seem to find a good deal on any of the traditional travel sites - seems like $200-250 is the going rate. Is there any other options to get something better than the Renaissance since I am willing to pay up to a $150 or so rate? Or am I being to picky? thanks, Andy

We had a great weekend in NY, and our stay at the Algonquin was great - well worth $250. On the other hand, it would have been even better if we paid only $150, like we did in March. So, my question is: Why did a 4* weekend in March go for $130 (Parker Meridian) and a 4* in May go for $250 (Algonquin)? Was the $130 rate in March a fluke, and the $250 in May more 'normal', or do prices always just vary a lot from day to day? Just wondering if any of you more experienced bidders can explain how to find those low cost weekend deals in the future. Thanks, Andy

Great advice, thanks. I finally understood the re-bidding process and was able to make about 15 bids in 1 hour. So, we ended up with a everything we wanted (Four star, Midtown West) except price. We are staying at The Algonquin for $250/night. Yes, that is quite a bit higher than I expected to pay given my success last March at $130/night, but on the other hand it's The Algonquin! We decided that since we are going to NY for 2 or maybe 3 plays within 2 days, we didn't want to be too far away from Times Square, so we kept upping the bid. $250 was going to be our limit for 4*, then we were going to drop to 3.5* and see what happened. But we are thrilled to be staying at a famous and historic hotel. Thanks again, Andy

Correction: I stayed at Le Parker Meridian in March for $130, not the Millennium. I was bidding for 4*. My max price for the room would probably be $175 or so (We already bought 2 sets of theater tickets for that weekend, so we definitely will need a room). Again, we prefer to be within 10-30 minute walk from the theaters, but not in Times Square itself. Sorry about the incomplete and wrong information in my first post. Andy

Planning a NY theater weekend. Prefer slightly outside of Times Square. Stayed at the Millenium (CPS) for $130 in March - very nice. Unsuccessful bids tonight: $125 Midtown West $130 MTW + CPS $135 MTW + CPS + TS What should I try tomorrow? Thanks, Andy

I just won my first bid of $130/night at La Parker Meridian (CPS). I guess I should have started lower.

I just realized that I never followed up on this thread to provide the conclusion. I know it is probably very old information now, but better late than never (perhaps). We ended up staying at the Hyatt Hotel in Jersey City for $135/night - reservations were made directly with the hotel. It turned out to be a reasonable alternative to the very high prices on Manhattan during the pre-Christmas season. The Hyatt is essentially at the PATH train station, so there was no walking once you get there. It does take subways and a transfer to PATH trains at the temporary World Trade Center to get back and forth.

Hello, I need two rooms (for 4 people) for two nights Fri and Sat March 19 and 20. We prefer MTW or CPS, with Time Square or MTE as possible second choice options. Can we get a 4* for $150 or so? Can you suggest a bidding strategy? Thanks, ALintz

I used your strategy and stepped my bid up to $400 without getting accepted at a 4 star MTE, MTW, MTS or UM/CPS. I have rethought the sanity of spending over $400 for a hotel room, so I stopped there. Now I am looking for other suggestions. This is a 3 day, 2 night sightseeing trip into NYC to see the Christmas lights, and a few NYC landmarks, maybe some shopping, etc. I will investigate the Hyatt Jersey City and the PATH trains as already suggested. Any other areas or compromises on my original plan that you would suggest? Thanks.

Yes, I would be willing to go up to $450 each for two 4 star rooms in midtown. I'll increment my bids in $25 steps instead of the usual $10 since the price is so high already. Where do I start?

I was shocked to find that the rates for December in NY are so high and lots are fully booked already. I want 2 rooms at a 4* MTE, MTW UM/CPS or MTS for two nights 12/7-12/9. Is $350-$400 likely? $450 is my maximum. Can you suggest a strategy? Thanks.