Priceline Hotel: Bidding help please

[lgrundy]

Hi, Can you help I am new to PRICELINE, new to Betterbidding and this will be the first time in your country. I would like to book a NY hotel 3 1/2* or 4* for 4th Sept to 11th Sept, I don't mind splitting the dates. Looking at previous advice MTE, CPS, ESB and MTW seem to be the areas to go for. How much do you think this will be? Can you provide me with a strategy. Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

At the moment i'm guessing a 4* would likely go for $225-$275 and a 3.5* about $175-$225. Of course these are guesstimates and any strategy we suggest will start lower and increase gradually. What is your expected budget for this stay? Are you willing to pay more for a 4* vs. a 3.5* OR is your goal the least expensive 3.5* or better for this stay?

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

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.

[lgrundy]

Based on those prices our goal is the least expensive 3.5* or better if possible. We can go up to $225 if we have to.

[thereuare]

Few caveats when bidding the 3.5* level...

In the MTE is the Millennium UN, a hotel which generally gets good reviews but is about a 15 minute walk to the subway... fine for some but too far for others, would this be an acceptable outcome? Also, in the CPS zone is the Hudson Hotel, a 'young hotel with a vibrant scene' but has notoriously small rooms, would this be acceptable?

Lastly, at the 3.5* level the MSG zone comes into play... is this an acceptable area? Also, i noticed you've not include Times Square in your bidding zones, is this an area you don't want to stay?

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

[lgrundy]

The Millennium UN and Hudson Hotel would be acceptable. MSG and TS are also OK. Our main concern is that we are able to obtain a twin room, we understand this isn't guaranteed but any strategy to improve our chances would be appreciated. For example Sheraton Hotels seem to have a good number of twins available would it be worth trying to concentrate on the areas they are in? Thanks

[AaronJB]

The problem with NYC is that rooms with 2 beds are rather scarce (many rooms in NYC are very small - the rooms at the Hudson, for example, are somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 sq ft, and there are other hotels with similarly sized rooms), and often command a premium when available.

Additionally, winning a hotel with double bed availability is not a guarantee of getting double beds, especially in NYC - a user a couple of months ago won the Grand Hyatt. The hotel had availability of rooms w/2 doubles, but said no to the request (I'm guessing because of either hotel policy and/or the hotel thought it could sell the 2 doubles rooms at full price). There's no way of improving chances to win a particular hotel using PRICELINE.

HOTWIRE is a better choice for bedding beyond 1 bed (either 2 beds or 1 + sofa, etc) as you can indicate more than 2 people in the room.

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

[thereuare]

Are you more than double occupancy OR just double occupancy and don't want to share a bed?

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

[lgrundy]

We are double occupancy and prefer not to share a bed.

[thereuare]

There is no way to target a particular hotel or a hotel that will be more likely to offer you two beds in the room, although i would advise avoiding the CPS zone at the 3.5* level as the Hudson Hotel is a 'known' hotel with notoriously small rooms and rooms booked there thru PRICELINE or HOTWIRE only have one bed and no room available for a rollaway. I would think that a 4* would give you a slight edge in getting your two bed room request honored (given a higher level of customer service) but there are numerous hotels at all star levels (including 4 stars) in which 'standard' rooms only have one bed and no room for a rollaway.

Your best bet to ensure 2 beds is to search HOTWIRE for 2adults/1child as this would ensure separate sleeping accommodations (the second 'bed' could be an actual bed, pullout sofabed, rollaway, etc), but when doing so in NYC the price often goes up substantially (since in many hotels you're no longer in the 'standard' room class) and the closest thing i see to your budget is a 3.5* hotel in the Chelsea zone for $263 or the World Center Hotel in Downtown Manhattan for $222/nite thru Hotels.com

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed.

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

[lgrundy]

We are thinking we will book World Centre Hotel for 9th and 10th September then for the first 5 nights we will risk bidding on Priceline up to $175. If no luck then we will try Hotwire. We will drop CPS zone as you advise

[thereuare]

What is the rate at the World Centre Hotel for Sept 9-11? Why split the stay... have you already tried bidding for the complete stay?

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

[lgrundy]

Through Hotels.com the inclusive rates are

nights

[lgrundy]

Sorry I had worked the above rates out per person they should be doubled.

[thereuare]

I asusume the posted rates are not including the 2 nites you already booked??

Please post the room rate in US dollars so i can easily assess and compare the rates.

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

Thanks.

[lgrundy]

World Center Hotel -I have been all over the place trying to sort this out, the rate varies according to number of nights booked and of, course, to the type of room booked. The upshot of it all is I have booked us into a Studio not a Standard room for 7 nights for $1860 including tax. The hotel has confirmed by Email that we are booked into a room with two double beds We may have won something cheaper on Priceline but could have been stuck with one bed.. As I said our one concern is how convenient the location is for moving around, do you think it will be OK?

[thereuare]

I'm really not following your post(s)... how many nites did you book? What service did you use to book? Are you still looking for additional nites?

If you used Hotels.com (note that we're an affiliate please be sure to check the support page for your hotel direct purchases) did they state the room type?

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

[lgrundy]

I think I must have confused you because I asked a question about a booking I have already made. However, yes I have booked the full 7 nights and we do not want any more nights. I booked through Hotels.com, the total price including tax is $1,860, that is for a studio room. In addition I have spoken to the hotel who have confirmed that the room will have two double beds.

Thanks for your help and your suggestions, I was wanting to receive a comment from you on the locality and do you think it is a good price.

[AaronJB]

In terms of location, this property is not centrally located and is pretty far South. While a nice area, it's a trek to Midtown, either using public transit or taking a long walk. While I am the first person to say walking through NYC is awesome - you stumble onto an amazing local restaurant, small neat store, etc. - there's always a gem around every corner. However, if I was planning to do a lot of sightseeing in Midtown and had to make the trek every day (and back) for a week, it may become tiring and there's added cost in terms of transit and time.

Two suggestions:

1. The Affinia Manhattan is $202.79 (initially it showed at $217.59, then it adjusted down on the next screen, saying "Great News! The Price of Your Hotel Has Gone Down!) for a studio suite w/2 beds on Travelocity; that's a non-refundable special, and a FAR more central location than the World Center. The total would be $1633.01.

2. If you do decide to stick with the World Center, I'd suggest Expedia. I'm seeing this property on Expedia for a studio room for these dates for an after-tax total of $1827.49, plus coupon code 10RELAX takes $10 off each night, for a total after tax of $1757 and change. That would save a little over a hundred bucks.

Personally, I'd choose the Affinia without hesitation, as it's just way more convenient and less than the cost of the World Center. The Affinia deal is non-refundable, but with only a month away from the trip, that may not be as much of an issue at this point.

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

[lgrundy]

Thanks AaronJB for all that info. I have looked on Travelcity at the Affina Manhattan but it says the studio suite has one queen bed only. The details then list a rollaway bed as included in the room. The World Centre Hotel room has two doubles, I'm not sure what the rollaway bed is like but I would have thought two doubles would be better. So we will stick with the World Centre Hotel thanks.