Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (MTW) Sheraton New York

[suntex]

Hi,

So I was wondering what might be a more reasonable price those two zones around 9/17~9/20? And also what would the strategy be if I only wanted MTE, MTW, and TS ?

BTW how is rebid zones different as well?

Thanks

[suntex]

A little more detail to my plans:

Travel date :

9/17~9/20

City: NYC

Number of Rooms : 3

Priceline Zones: MTE, MTW, and TS.

What would be more reasonable price around this travel date? $180 maybe?

Just curious, in this situation, would it be better to start off with individual zones instead of all three zones together?

Would this get more free rebid? Or would it not matter? For instance would MTE + MTW be a subset of MTE and MTW if I had already gone through the two zone individually?

And I'm kinda confused as to what is the difference between PRICELINE zones and re-bid zones.

Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Just curious, in this situation, would it be better to start off with individual zones instead of all three zones together?

Would this get more free rebid? Or would it not matter? For instance would MTE + MTW be a subset of MTE and MTW if I had already gone through the two zone individually?

The disadvantage of biddig one zone at a time is:

Bid MTE from $125-$160 and successful on last bid at $160... what if, unknown to you at the time, there was a MTW hotel available for $135; you never had a chance to win that at a lower price since you never included that zone in your bidding. You have enough re-bid zones at the 4* level that you shouldn't run out of bidding opportunities and, assuming all zones are equally acceptable, i would bid them together.

And I'm kinda confused as to what is the difference between PRICELINE zones and re-bid zones.

PRICELINE divides this area with the following zone (ie- priceline zones):

1 Brooklyn

2 Central Park South

3 Chelsea Area

4 Downtown - SoHo - Financial District

5 Empire State Building Area

6 Long Island City

7 Madison Square Garden - Convention Area

8 Midtown East

9 Midtown West

10 Times Square - Theatre District

11 Upper East Side

12 Upper West Side

Re-bid zones are the zones above that only contain star levels lower than the star level you are bidding. So in your situation above, your re-bid zones would be the zones that ONLY contain 3.5* rated hotels and lower. To determine the highest zone avaialble in each zone, use the following technique from Priceline Re-Bidding Explained:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a PRICELINE page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time. (NOTE: for most users Priceline has updated their interface making the above process easier... simply check a zone and note the highest star rating available within each zone, UNcheck that zone and checkmark the next zone, repeating the process)

Any questions feel free to ask. See if you can determine your FIVE re-bid zones available at the 4* level and we'll confirm them for you OR if you're confused by the above let us know and we'll break it down further for you.

Once we're set on the above we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[suntex]

Oh, I thought that when you said rebid zones don't arent the same as priceline zones you meant that priceline draws different zones for rebids.

I was able to get 2 rooms at Sheraton Hotel and Tower for $200 per night.

I wonder if that's a bit high. I tried up to $190 at both Midtown East and Time Square but wasn't able to get anything. Hopefully it isnt' as bad as some review claim it to be.

Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on yoru success!

You did do better than a conventionally booked room, but it doesn't appear that you use a sound bidding strategy (assuming you were rejected for MTE and TS together and then added MTW and raised your bid)

Feel free to ask for help before bidding for your next opaque purchase.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[suntex]

Yeah,

I kinda panicked because I'm suppose to attend a wedding and was booking for other people as well. I didn't want to screw things up because quite a few people would get upset if I do. Maybe next time I'll try a riskier strategy. And plus I already had to cancel one unintentional successful bid because I wasn't paying attention to detail...another long story. PRICELINE was kind enough to let me cancel but at a price of $25.

But again, thanks for your help. This forum has definitely helped me and I will be here more often!