Priceline Hotel: 3.5* NYC (MTE) New York Helmsley

[iredy]

I am planning a trip to New York June 11-21. Wondering when I should bid on 4* in Midtown East. Am hoping to pay approx $100/night. :)

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding :)

There is no general answer to your question, but this is a good link:Should i Bid Early or Close to Arrival Date

You have a longer stay. And if this was my stay would i try to close this on the "early side" to keep it simple and avoid to split the stay. If you don't want to stay in 2 diffrent areas?

also take a look at HOTWIRE to get a feeling for the current rates. PRICELINE is general cheaper but you have the "unknown" factor with them.

Please post with any question.

YellowDog.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Let us know once you decide you're ready to bid, but i'll suggest that it will likley take more than $100 for a 4* hotel these dates and, unless there is a hotel you're tying to avoid in other nearby zones or you have a reason that you need to only be in the MTE zone, to consider adding other midtown zones.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[iredy]

Thanks for the advice. I will do some pricing research and bid in the next week. I will let you know how I make out.

[iredy]

3.5* NYC (MTE), 6/11/09 - 6/21/09

Bid $90 MTE, asked to increase bid by $22.

Bid $95, $98, $101, $103, $105, $107 & $110. Not accepted.

I have been bidding up to $120 4* MTE once a week for the last month & thought I would try 3.5* but still no luck.

Suggestions?

[thereuare]

Are you willing to pay the 'suggested' $112/nite for a 3.5* property in this zone?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[iredy]

Yes, I would be willing to pay the $112 suggested, but from my research I thought that if I bid half of the suggested increase I would probably be accepted. $95 seems to be the average rate for 3.5* MTE. Do you think the length of stay is a problem? Would I have better luck if I split the bid?

[thereuare]

Half the counter-offer is often enough to success... but not always, and obvioulsy for this particular stay at the time you bid, it wasn't enough. I have even seen, although certainly more the exception than the rule, where accepting the counter-offer is still rejected.

At this point your bids are not that high for this market, but since your stay is 10 nites, SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID could help in a better rate... how much would you need to save in order to make changing hotels worthwile?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[iredy]

If I paid $90-100 for 3.5* MTE I would not mind changing hotels. Is it unusual to split a bid and win the same hotel for both bids?

I always use these PRICELINE links to bid.

[thereuare]

Is it unusual to split a bid and win the same hotel for both bids?

It happens, but it should not be expected (as more often than not you receive a different hotel)

Before moving forward for a 3.5* in the MTE zone up to $100, from above, is the MTE zone the only zone you're bidding? (do you have reason to only be in this zone, as more midtown zones work fine for the typical visitor) Also, note that at teh 3.5* the Millenium UN is a possibility, and while this is a nice hotel that genernally gets good reviews, it is a bit east and is about a 15 minute walk to the subway (although there is a bus nearby that you can take to get to the subway and/or elsewhere in Manhattan)

Let us know your thoughts regarding the above and if MTE is the only zone you wish to bid, we'll then suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your bidding.

[iredy]

I would prefer to stay in MTE. I have stayed at the Intercontinental Barclay and liked the area. I agree that the Millenium UN is farther east than I would prefer, but I do a lot of walking when in NYC. I have not seen any recent wins for the Millenium UN.

I have a cancelable reservation for New York Helmsley at $155/night.

I was wondering if you would recommend bidding $95 3.5* MTE for 10 nights and rebid reducing dates by 1 day, if not successful?

[thereuare]

I have not seen any recent wins for the Millenium UN.

Could be because, generally speaking, rates for 4* hotels are the cheapest they have been in years, so more users are opting for 4* properties. As well, most are bidding multiple areas, and a 3.5* in other areas may have cheaper rates then the Millenium, which make those hotels purchased fist, thus reduding the number of times the Millenium UN is awarded.

I was wondering if you would recommend bidding $95 3.5* MTE for 10 nights and rebid reducing dates by 1 day, if not successful?

At the 3.5* level you have THREE re-bid zones. I would use the following bidding sequence:

Select 3.5* MTE...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $93, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95

And cycle thru the following date combinations:

6/11/09 - 6/21/09

6/11/09 - 6/20/09

6/12/09 - 6/21/09

6/11/09 - 6/19/09

6/13/09 - 6/21/09

6/11/09 - 6/18/09

6/14/09 - 6/21/09

6/11/09 - 6/17/09

6/15/09 - 6/21/09

6/11/09 - 6/16/09

6/16/09 - 6/21/09

Any questions feel free to ask.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[iredy]

Followed your bidding advice but was not accepted.

[thereuare]

What are your thoughts/gameplan from here?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[iredy]

Was thinking I might increase bids go $97 or $99 following your bidding strategy.

I am open to suggestions. :)

[thereuare]

So you gameplan is to increase your bid... the "tipping point" has to be somewhere so you can certainly give it a shot, but personally i would grow a bit tired of going thru the bidding process hoping that i previously missed it by $2 or $4. As i've noted above, if staying within budget is a primary objective my own gameplan would include expanding to other zones, but you know your needs and plans for this trip better than i do (as well as your desire to be in this zone vs. budget)

Thanks for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your bidding.

Keep us udpated and let us know how it goes.

[iredy]

I have been bidding 3.5* MTE & adding Chelsea, Long Island & Upper East Side for the last few weeks. I have bid between $93 & 110, but only bid up to $110 on May 30 & 31 & today. I have also split the dates but was not successful at a lower price.

Today I won New York Helmsley (MTE) for $110 June 11-21. This is the hotel I preferred to stay in so I am very pleased. :)

Today the HOTWIRE price June 11-21, 3.5* MTE was $148 - probably the New York Helmsley.

June 11-21 $1100

Taxes & Service Fees $219.67

Total = $1319.67

I used the PRICELINE link here.

[thereuare]

Congratulatiosn on your success!

Glad to see you were successful, receving a nice deal on the hotel you were hoping for! It can often be difficult to get 10 nites at one property and still get a nice deal, glad to see you won't have to change properties during this stay.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICLINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.