mr.drew

Hi all, Started the bidding for 4* at $57 for downtown only, then went up to $59 and added Hollywood, then up to $63 and added Santa Monica, then to $68 and added Bev Hills.... accepted at $68. Total for 3 nights was around $242 with fees and taxes.

Sorry I left that out, yes, it was my first bid... I guess if someone else wants this area, they might try a little lower first. And, of course, I did use the link through Savingsbarn.com

Not exactly the hotel I wanted in this area, but I guess I will have to settle. I was hoping for Rubens or Victoria Park Plaza or Jolly St Ermins. Oh well. Total was about $125 with taxes and fee. Not bad reviews, and in a good area, so I guess it will be ok.

Read some bids, put this in, accepted first try. Going to London first, then staying in Brussels one night, now trying to get the Hilton Paris for 4 nights...

Looked at the board, put in a bid for $54 first, accepted immediately. 3 nights. I am excited!

Hi folks, I was trying to get one night(for 10/7/05) at the JW Marriott in NW Vegas, to go along with the night I already had booked via Priceline a few months ago(for 10/8/05). I bid up to $165, and no go, so I could get a better deal by going to easyclicktravel.com through the link on this site, which I did for $176, and with taxes and fees, it came to about $192, which was better than what priceline would have been. That said, I started to book the room, and hit accept, but the confirm never came up, and the message saying the session had timed out came up(it took a while). So, I did it again, and booked the room, this time it worked fine. Now, I go to easclicktravel, and there seems to be two reservations for that night, and I don't see any way to contact the website. Can anyone help? Thanks, Drew

Your options would be pretty much the same. Vegas on the weekends will cost you, and so you will need to lower your hotel standard(may or may not help much), or raise your budget. You could go for a place like the Westin Casuarina, which is slightly off the strip, near Ballys, at $146 a night through quickbook, or maybe Circus Circus if you can handle that level of hotel. Otherwise, some of the Caesars hotels(directly through their site) show for $160+ tax etc for Fri, but will be $190+tax etc for Sat. If you want to book something through quickbook, use the link through this site, which thereuare can provide. Good luck!

You know, I can't recall exactly, but I don't think I had included this zone in my previous bids, so I possibly could have gotten it for less. I honestly added it as a re-bid thinking I might get the strip area. So if anyone tries that zone, I would suggest they try a bid significantly lower than mine. My hope was to get a Strip or UNLV/Conv Center hotel, as I will be staying at the Hard Rock Hotel on that Sunday night. Ah well. Looks nice, and my wife will enjoy the big tub. It is ranked #1 in Vegas on tripadvisor, so I guess that's a good thing.

I was trying to get a 4 star somewhere without spending too much, and after many combinations, $144 was accepted. Website for the hotel shows $195 as the lowest rate, so I can't complain. Hopefully, their pool is at least somewhat warm.

I will have to do that. This new screen didn't start coming up until today.. I tried a different bid yesterday, and nothing had changed. Odd.

I put in a request for a Las Vegas hotel room for 10/8/05, and it was rejected, but a different screen comes up now. What gives? Is that just me? I want to change zones and re-bid, etc, but it seems that I can't now.

Started in Downtown at $50, four stars, but rejected. Then added Santa Monica re-bid zone(which I knew I wouldn't get), and went up to $59. Accepted at the Omni. Total is about $74 with fees and taxes

Indeed, it is a [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=45]PRICELINE EXPRESS[/url], not the regular Holiday Inn. Here are the details: Holiday Inn Express Palm Desert Check-In Date: Friday, September 2, 2005 Check-Out Date: Saturday, September 3, 2005 Your Offer Price: $42.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $42.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.14 Total Charges: $54.14 The Address: Rancho Mirage-Indian Wells-Palm Desert 74675 Highway 111 Palm Desert, California 92260 760-340-4303

Bid was for one night the Friday before Labor Day weekend. I already have the Marriott Champions Resort for Sat and Sun, but after talking with my wife, we decided that getting there Friday would give us the entire day Saturday to enjoy. Started at resort level for one night, 9/2/05, wanted just a cheap nite, so bid $65, rejected, so went down in level to 3 star, and price down to $50, rejected, so lowered to 2.5* and $42.. accepted. Holiday Inn Express in Palm Desert, about $54 total with taxes and fees.

Won this bid today, put in Resort, and the Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells region of Palm Springs, $82 was my first bid, accepted first try. Don't have the exact numbers, but total with fees, taxes, etc. was about $191 Nice Labor Day mini vacation.

Just to throw my 2 cents in... if you are in Waikiki, while there are some patches of older buildings, and areas needing rehab, I don't think I have even seen what I would consider a "bad" area in Waikiki.

:) Looked at Hotwire, their lowest for 2* in the area was $64

Sweet. Nice hotel in a good location. Congrats!

lol.. beaten to the punch... thereuare is the king!

Thereuare is the host of this board, and an NYC resident, so he can help a great deal, but I can share what I know(also, I don't live in NYC, but did from 1998-2000). That time of year shouldn't be too busy, NYC is busiest in the fall. There may be special weekends, conventions, etc, that affect pricing on certain weekends, however. Your price range seems good enough to get a 4*, I would think. If you are familiar with the priceline zones, my favorite is Upper Midtown/Central Park South, followed by Midtown West, then Midtown East and Upper Eastside. You might be a little bit early for your dates, but you can try now if you want, but if you don't get anything, it can't hurt to try later at this point, as more rooms may be released later. Thereuare has some guides to NYC and info on re-bidding, etc, that you should read also. Good luck, and have fun. I went with my wife in late Sept, and we had a great time!

What's your budget? Is a nicer hotel very important, or are just decent accomodations ok? I think I looked at rates around the time of your stay, and they aren't too bad. You might get a room for maybe around $115-125 for a 4 star, and a 4 star in the UM-CPS area might be a bit more, but that is my favorite part of the city. If getting the most value for your money is the key, then try this: Start a request at 4* in the MTW area at $122 if rejected, add UM/CPS and go to $130 if rejected, add UES and bid $140 See if this gets you a room. If you want to walk to theaters, then these will be the 2 zones you want. (UES is a 4 star free re-bid zone)

Don't mention it! :) Thereuare would know about specific places to eat, etc, but I think the Empire State building is great, but you will be there at a COLD time of the year. My family once visited during X-Mas while I was living in NYC, and we went to the ESB, in 25 degree temps, which wreaked havoc on their So. Cal blood. St. Patricks Cathedral is a must, but getting in the mass at midnight on X-Mas may be tough(I am assuming that there is a mass). I never tried, but I would guess get there early, but don't really know much about it. Chrysler building is visible from many parts of the city, but there isn't anything to "see" there. It is just an NYC landmark is all. Go around the soho-tribeca-village area, it has all sorts of character. Try Katz' deli for the best Pastrami sandwiches ever. Upper east side is nice too, many quaint cafes, etc. there. Of course, check out 5th ave and the shops, as well as Rockerfeller Center. Shucks, this makes me want to go back....

Congrats on your win. For future reference though, I myself usually look at hotel sites directly, as well as Expedia, and find that Priceline is about 25-60 percent lower in some cases, but expecting to pay 1/3 of Expedia's rates, as you stated, is WAY optimistic. You seem new to Priceline, and while it offers some great deals, don't think that 1/3 of Expedia is what you'll be getting on your requests. You got a pretty good deal for the Hilton, $70+ bucks off Expedia per night... darn good. Have fun on your trip!

The rates for these days, or approximately these days, seem pretty reasonable. I used to live in NYC, and just visited there a month ago. My favorite area in Priceline is UM/CPS, then MTW, UES, and MTE. Thereuare would know the most, but I might suggest this: Bid at 4* in the UM/CPS zone, at $140.. it is worth it to stay in this part of town, in my opinion. If rejected, add MTW, and lower bid to $115 if rejected, add MTE, and bid $125 if rejected, add UES, and bid $135 I suggest Laguardia if you can, and no car is needed at all, like thereuare said. If you have questions about zones, etc. just ask, but click the links that thereuare provided. An Oz, I suggest the same strategy for you as well, but if you have any questions, go ahead and ask. And yes, there is that other board that is similar, but I keep wondering why they have it, as they really aren't nice to people at all. The opposite is true of this site, which is why we all love Thereuare!! Good luck!

Great. Thanks thereuare. If not NYC, then we may head to Hawaii, but will definitely be back to NYC soon!