Priceline Hotel: July 26 - July 30 Manhattan

[Mehmet]

Hello,

I am new to PRICELINE and spend a lot of time reading your forum. It is a great source of information.

I currently have a reservation at Best Western Plaza Hotel which is located at Long Island which costs 470$ with all taxes and fees for 4 nights (2 adults) between July 26 - July 30. I can cancel this reservation until July 19 and I wonder if I can find an upgrade using Priceline for the same price. Is it too unreasonable to try 4 star hotels in the Manhattan island with 100$ bids? I see that the Best Western hotel is 2,5 star hotel but it has a 92% precent recommendation rate so do you have any advice? We are going to New York for touristic purposes and we will not have a car. So being close to city center and public transport is important for us.

Thank you,

Mehmet

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Unfortunately, bidding $100 for a 4* would not be realistic. However, $100 may be enough for a hotel at a lower (2.5*/3* rating.) Is your budget $100 + taxes/fees per night, or $100 "all-in" (taxes/fees included?)

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Mehmet]

My budget is 100$+plus fees and taxes.

I am not sure about trying 100$ for a 2.5-3 star hotel because, the one I have already booked which is Best Western Plaza does not seem bad for 100$. What do you think?

Thank you,

Mehmet

[thereuare]

I am not sure about trying 100$ for a 2.5-3 star hotel because, the one I have already booked which is Best Western Plaza does not seem bad for 100$. What do you think?

I usually don't recommend bidding less than 3* in NYC as while there may be some hotels at the lower star ratings which meet your criteria, there may be others which do not, and with PRICELINE / HOTWIRE you can't choose which type you will get. The issue here is that your back-up hotel is located outside of Manhattan, so it comes down to whether or not you're willing to pay for the convenience of staying directly in Manhattan, as well as lose some of the "vibe" of what makes NYC what it is. Assuming that all star rated hotels are created equal (they're not, but you have to make this assumption when comparing an 'unknown hotel') a hotel of the same star rating inside Manhattan would be 'better' (as well as more expensive) than one outside of the city.

So bottom line is that it comes down to price vs. location.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[Mehmet]

In another thread I have seen that someone has won a bid for 4* NYC (Downtown-Soho-Financial District) Millenium Hilton, $120 ... 7/15/10-7/17/10. I will try my chances with 100$ dollars for 3,5 and 4 star hotels in the Manhattan Island till July 19. Maybe I can include 3 star hotels at the last minute. This thing is as addictive as gambling :) I will keep you updated.

Thank you,

[thereuare]

There is no harm in trying... but rates are date specific, and you can't really apply the rates from somebody else's win to your own if their dates are different. For example, the priceline win you're referring to is for one midweek and one weekend nite vs. your stay which is for 4 midweek nites... weekends in NYC are usually less expensive than midweek nites.

As well, if you continue to search wins on the board, there is a BIG difference between bidding $100 vs. $120 for a 4* hotel; there are quite a few wins at the $120 and higher level... very few at sub-$100.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck! Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.