Neelee

Apologies for not following up to close the thread. Thank you for the reminder, Thereuare. I looked back on my 2012 travel records for this trip I ended up going with my backup plan - Hilton Garden Inn Times Square - using Tingo @ $156.00. The location was perfect for what we wanted to do.

Apologies for not following up to close the thread. Thank you for the reminder, Thereuare. I ended up using my backup - the Clarion Hotel at SeaTac - because my bidding strategies didn't work

Yes, I am looking to get into the DoubleTree Carson, if possible. Current rates are between $155 to $185. Hoping for 40-50% of that. Thank you very much

Looking to stay in Carson, CA for grand aunt's 80th Birthday. Relatives are staying at the Doubletree in Carson, which Priceline lists as a 3 star (zone 20 - Carson, Compton, Gardena). The zone list has grown quite a bit since I've last bid in the Los Angeles area. Any suggestions on bidding strategy?

Thanks again, Thereuare! Forgot to mention, with taxes, my backup plan (Clarion Hotel) is actually $169. But I can cancel before 7/26. Failed in my bids again (using previous strategy; last weekend) as well as trying for just 3* in SeaTac area (with 2 free rebids zones 14 & 17) Tried the link you provided for the 3* @ $117 but was greeted with "Pricing and inventory changes often and the deal you selected is no longer available. However, we still have the following deals below" I'll give it one more shot tomorrow before going to the Express Deals.

Good evening! My backup is Clarion Hotel Seattle Airport, 3000 S. 176th St.,Seattle, WA, US, 98188 Thank you, as usual, for being so responsive!

Struck out again this time going with 3.5 star which gave me 7 rebid zones. Started at $50 and incremented $5 from there. P/L says average is $290. Thanks for the RefundableRates link. My back up is booked at $143 total (including tax) and I'll get my airlines miles. That's still less than the 3 to 3.5 star Express Deals and RefundableRates I'll try bidding tomorrow. Maybe start at $60 which will still keep me under $100. Thank you for the assist.

Hello Thereuare! Thank you so much for confirming my options. I ran through it all today and all bids rejected based on the above strategy. I know summer is a busy month and it's all a long shot. I'll give it a whirl again tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll look for a backup plan. Thanks again!

Hello everyone, It's been a while since I've been here so I'm a little rusty. I'm trying to stay below $100 for the night since I'm arriving late and leaving early, so just there to sleep. But I need to be at SeaTac Sea-Tac is 4 stars. If I'm doing this correctly, I have "bunches" of rebids in the 12 other zones that are 3.5 or lower. On the Zone Map #2 (Pike Place area) and #4 (DT area) are the only 5 stars. #6(Bellevue) & #15 (Kirkland) are the other 4 stars. I've scoured a several pages of the WA Forum, but didn't really see any recent strategies for SeaTac. Does any one have any strategy suggestions they would like to share? Thank you!

Just checking in - still no luck winning with the last strategy. I'll keep trying. Half tempted to try for Times Square 3.5* or 3*. But I'll be patient

Thank you, Thereuare, I have backup reservations at Hilton Garden Inn @ Times Square for $156/night. I can't remember why I didn't include ESB. Do you have a strategy you would like me to use for either a 3.5* or 4*? If not, I'll do the best I can and report back to the board. I cannot thank you and other advanced members enough for all you do to ensure we all get a great deal. You all ROCK!

I want to stay in the Times Square Area and have bidded on the following 4* areas using the 7 rebids: 1 -TS Times Square - Theatre District 2 - MTW Midtown West 3 -MTE Midtown East 4 - CPS Central Park South Again, based on a previous suggested bid thread (which I now know is a no no).

Thank you for that advice. I was just hoping to avoid wasting anyone's time. Do you have a suggestion for this time frame? I booked the Ink48 as you suggested as a backup (with free cancellation).

I used the suggestions mentioned in this post Priceline NYC Looking for backup hotel, now, as suggested

The $149/nite hotel is no longer available. It was the Hilton Gardens and the price is now at $189. I've been unsuccessful so far in diligently using the suggested bidding strategy. I'm thinking about booking a 'refundable' backup at Wyndham Gardens currently at $169. Yes, that's more than I want to spend, however, if I book directly I get airline miles as opposed to doing via PL. Thoughts?

Used bidding strategy 3 times this week. Still no go. Thinking I might book a backup at this point. I'll keep you posted

Started bidding 03/25/2012 with $10 for Compact, Standard, Midsize, Full, & Convertible....just to feel out the water Continued bidding every other day raising $2-$3 each day, but removing Compact when it got to $14/day. Finally today, they accepted. Your Offer Price: $20.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 9 days(8 days and 19 hours) Subtotal: $180.00 Taxes and Fees: $116.49 Total Charges: $296.49 Not bad because backup reservations with a Costco discount was $346.80 for Intermediate with Budget. And with Discount Hawaii Car Rental for standard was $327.72 with Alamo. Cancelled both without penalty. Happy travels!

Went thru the previous mentioned strategy. Took me almost 45 minutes because I wanted to be very careful not to mess up. All rejected. Found an acceptable hotel for $149. I might just take that instead of stressing. I'll give it one more try after my 24 hours are up.

Nope...looks like I have to go to at least $150 if I want to play. Working on the bidding strategy now. It's so nerve racking, yet exciting!

I've been studying the forums all week. I think I'd like to try for the 4* - looks like people have been most successful in that category because of the number of rebids. Still interested mainly in the following zones in order of preference. Zone - Area 16 - TS 12 - MTW 11 - MTE 2 - CPS Unless anyone has a better suggestion, I'll start with the strategy I found common in the Help Request for 4* in NYC (example: post #155082)

Before bidding the zones above, note that: MTE - when bidding less than 4* in this zone some of the hotels can be up to a 15 minute walk to the subway, would this be acceptable? Would prefer to be a little closer to subway since I'm traveling alone with a child. We need to take the train/subway to JFK for departure CPS - this zone contains the Hudson hotel, which while well located has notoriously small rooms (~140 sq. ft.) would this be acceptable? Would like to try to avoid small rooms. I saw that was mentioned in a different post. At less than 4* the MSG and Chelsea zones are also frequently bid, so i would consider these too if they should work for your plans/needs this trip. Would you suggest starting with 4* and sticking with the same zones? Based upon the above please confirm the zone(s) you want to include in your bidding, or ask any questions you have about the area, and we'll advise accordingly. Also fell upon a site called Tingo which promises to refund money if the rates drop. One place I saw that might be interesting is Yotel @ Times Square. Might be good for a backup plan,but I have to see what their cancellation policies are.

I'm planning a first-time trip to NYC 7/1/12 to 7/4/12 on my way back from NJ. I'm on a limited budget (up to $125/nite) and was planning on 3*. I searched hotels.com and tripadvisor.com for the prices and areas I'm interested in and settled into either MTW, MTE, CPS, or TS. Looks like my only free rebid zone would be CI. I've reviewed your link on NYC Zone Descriptions and NYC Hotel Star Ratings, and another on why you shouldn't just look for places in Times Square. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I'm sorry - I forgot about the Hotels.com link through this site. Don't worry though - I have a lot more trips planned this year so I bookmarked the link. Thank you!

Just an update...we decided not to chance a room w/o two beds, so we booked a room with Hotels.com. I'm not usually a weenie about using PRICELINE, but I just didn't want to take that chance in such a popular area. I've always received two beds in all the other places I've bid with P/L but this time I'm not traveling alone. Thank you every one for your help. Happy travels!

Just wanted to provide an update to my original post rather than keep everyone hanging. We decided to not take the risk of a room w/o 2 beds and booked the Chelsea Savoy through Hotels.com for $125/night. I want to thank every one, especially Thereuare, for your patience and advise. Now on to trying to find things to do in New York!