Priceline Hotel: Some help with NYC, please and thank you!

[liquiddemons]

I've had success with Priceline before in my Canadian bids but feel a bit overwhelmed by NYC. I was hoping that someone more familiar with NYC could guide me.

I won't be taking the trip myself ... I'm actually looking to book some rooms for my family. They will be visiting from the 22nd to the 25th of June 2010. My parents will be travelling with my sister, her husband and their toddler. That leads to two variables in my mind: booking 2 rooms and ensuring that the hotel is "baby-friendly". I have never had those type of concerns on Priceline before.

My sister has her eye on the Greyline bus hop on and off so seeing as they will book such a tour, I figure they can stay pretty much anywhere on the island? Am I correct in that assumption? My sister had her heart set on staying in the Times Square area but I think the escalated prices have scared her away. She had stayed in Chelsea previously and found it was "too far" from anything and wanted to stay closer to the action this time.

So with all that do you think that PRICELINE is the way to go or would we be better scouting out more easily recognizable hotels on HOTWIRE and/or conventional hotel sites? I'd hate to book rooms only for them to find out that the hotel is not "baby friendly" upon arrival. Any thoughts?

[thereuare]

Not sure exactly where in Chelsea your sister stayed previously, but if she found Chelsea 'too far from anything' then i would not advise her that she could stay "anywhere on the island" as obviously some areas (including Chelsea for her) are not acceptable.

While the Hop On Hop Off Busses are good for an overview of the city, they shouldn't be used as your means of commuting. If she's interested in the Bus Tour i'd suggest doing that for one day (near the beginning of the trip) to get an overview of the city and then decide what area(s) they would like to explore further. Please direct her to HopOn-HopOff.com for more info on these tours.

Let's start with this... what is her desired star rating and expected budget for this trip and how old is her toddler?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (please direct your sister to this site and have her use the link on the board here if she will be the one making the purchases) THANKS!

[liquiddemons]

Thanks, Thereuare. I'm sure it can be quite the challenge to help someone book through a 3rd party so I appreciate your patience. I'll be doing the booking as I'm the priceline/hotwire "expert" and I'll be sure to use your links. They'd like a 3 or 4 star hotel for a "good price". I'm thinking $150 or so. The toddler is a one (and a half) year old. May I ask why you feel they should not use the hop on hop off as a means of commuting? And I'll try and find out what she has against Chelsea. Perhaps it was a remote part of that location? I dunno, I've only been to NYC once in my life ... back in 1981.

[thereuare]

The Hop On-Hop Off Tour Busses are a good way to get an overview of a city, not really a primary means of transportation. The buses drive at a speed in which passengers can take in the sights, photos, etc. As well, at each stop, it can take awhile to get the passengers off who are looking to exit the bus and then get the new passengers on. Lastly, if you're trying to get from point A to point B, the tour bus is not likely taking the most direct route (more like a route which goes thru tourist-y areas) and you never know what the traffic will be like on any given street... which is why the subway is the best means to get around Manattan.

You an get can unlimited daily metrocard (i think ~$7 now... a weekly is available as well) which gives you unlimited rides on the subway and city bus (not the tour buses, but the city owned buses) which is a much cheaper, and quicker, way to travel than the tour busses.

[liquiddemons]

Thank you, thereuare. That totally makes sense. I've spoken to my sister about this and she seems content to take the busses to get a feel for the city and not as a primary means of transportation. I think they'll just cab around for other things seeing as there will be 5 of them but I shall be sure to inform them of the metrocard. That's a wicked deal for a single traveller!

So, I have credit card in hand! Would it be too early to begin a bidding process for June? They've agreed to open up the bidding areas to more than Times Square. Even ... Chelsea! I think I'd like to begin with 4stars at a $150 ceiling (plus taxes and fees). Any help you or others could give me is greatly appreciated and I'll certainly do my best to pay the board back with my areas of "expertise". And of course by following your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

[thereuare]

I doubt that $150 will be enough at the moment for a 4* hotel, but to give it a try, which zone(s) is she willing to accept at the 4* level? Are MTE, MTW, TS, CPS and ESB all acceptable?

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[liquiddemons]

Thank you, thereuare. Yes, let's give a go with those areas. What do you feel is a more reasonable ceiling at this moment?

[thereuare]

I'm guessing that a 4* is likely going to be closer to $200 than $150, but we can start with the above and give it a try.

At the 4* level you have SIX re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS and ESB...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $150

Any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[liquiddemons]

Thank you very much, thereuare. The first attempt was unsuccessful but there's still plenty of time to try for a splendid deal. I was curious about the Hell's Kitchen location. It seems to be close to TS. Was there any reason we wouldn't want to also include the Hell's Kitchen region?

[AaronJB]

There are few hotels that fall within the new Hell's Kitchen area and none have yet been reported. Some of the possible hotels in this zone are somewhat out of the way, but if the area in general is acceptable, it could be added to bidding.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[liquiddemons]

Thank you, Aaron. I wouldn't mind stepping out into the great unknown if it were for me but seeing as it's for my family I should probably just stay the course.

[liquiddemons]

To close out the thread, I ended up booking them with hotels.ca at the Roosevelt. It looked like a super deal as I got the two rooms all-in with taxes and fees for just over $1000 (Canadian) with a 10% discount on top. Booking them through hotels.ca allowed me to specify that one of the rooms had 2 adults and an infant child so that was a load off my mind. To the mods, sorry I wasn't able to utilize your advice more fully but your direction was of great help in organizing my thoughts. I vow to use this line again and again and to give back in anyway I can. Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Glad you found something that works for your needs.