Priceline Hotel: Advice needed for priceline and NY hotel bidding

[Mr d]

Hi,

My partner and I are due to visit New York from the 20th Sept to 26th Sept and would like to stay in Manhatten as I'm going to see Shakira at Madison Square on the Tuesday. I'm travelling from the UK. I've never used priceline before, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately I have a limited budget to book a hotel of around $100 per night. Basically i was wondering;

1) I'm expecting that hotels are expensive during that period and that realistically I'd be lucky to get 3star hotels at that price bracket. Am i correct? If so is bidding in that price range for 3 or even 3.5 star unlikely to be successful.

2) If I go for a 2 or 3 star hotel, are there are areas in manhatten that I should avoid, and am I taking a risk potentially booking lower 2/3 stars as they might be in a bad area?

Many Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Unfortunately these are expensive dates in NYC and i don't think you have much of a chance of anything in Manhattan for sub-$100/nite... especially if that is an 'all-in' rate including taxes and fees. You might find some budget hotel in the northern end of UES, UWS (which i'm not a fan/advocate of) or perhaps Downtown, but i still think it's a less than 50/50 proposition.

If your budget is firm i think you're going to have to look outside of Manhattan... what is the best rate you're able to find thru conventional booking channels?

Which airport do you fly in to?

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

[Mr d]

Hi there, thanks for the reply. I think I'm resigned to the fact that I'll have to increase the budget in order to get something remotely decent. I've decided to increase my budget to up to $200 per night which should hopefully open things up.

We are flying to JFK. I agree that the previous budget would limit us to staying outside manhatten.

Do you think we could get a 3.5* on that budget. Typical I chose the more expensive period to visit NYC lol.

Cheers,

Duraid

[thereuare]

If your budget is $200 'all-in' (including fees and taxes), that's equivalent to ~$165/nite bid, and i'm guessing you'll still likely fall a bit short for a 3.5*. At a $200 bid, you may have a chance if you include Downtown in your bidding, but far from a sure thing landing a hotel at that price.

Generally speaking most visitors prefer the midtown areas as they tend to be the most convenient as a 'launching pad' to head elsewhere in the city. For the right price, Downtown is do-able, but typically less convenient then midtown... figure about 20-25 minute subway ride to get from Downtown to Midtown (alhtough of course there will be some things you'll likely want to do Downtown, for which you'll already nearby for them... but things like the Theatre, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, etc. figure about 20-25 minute subway ride)

We'll suggest a strategy for however you'd like to proceed, and even though i think it would be a tough win, you could certainly try up to your limit for midtown only, then if rejected try again while including Downtown, but the above are my thoughts based upon current prices... let us know your own thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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