Scooterpig123 Posted October 24, 2010 Report Posted October 24, 2010 Hi,Newbie here, really hope you can help with a bidding strategy for Priceline.OH and I are travelling to NYC for the first time on 11/17, and staying for 4 nights (leaving 11/21). Interested in trying to get a 4* star in the midtown west area. I'm not totally fixed to staying there, it just seemed to be really central and hopefully easy to get around from there, but I'm open to other suggestions too.I have a maximum budget in mind of $200 a night, does this seem reasonable.Many thanks in advance for your help.
thereuare Posted October 24, 2010 Report Posted October 24, 2010 Welcome to BetterBidding!My guess is that $200 will likely fall a bit shy for a 4* hotel for these dates. We can certainly suggest a strategy to give it a try, but before doing so, my suggestion would be to include other zones in your bidding... the more zones you include the better chances as it gives more hotels the opportunity to accept your bid. At the 4* level the MTE, MTW, TS, CPS and ESB are generally considered centrally located and work well for the average user (if you ultimately need to lower your star level there are some zones which i'd exclude, but at the 4* level all the 'known' hotels are considered to be well located)We'll suggest a strategy for whatever you'd like, but including other zones too would be my suggestion. Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Scooterpig123 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Posted October 25, 2010 Thanks, I tried a cheeky offer of $150 for MTW and then added Times Square, unsurprisingly these were rejected. How should I proceed from here? Should I add in the additional areas first then try increasing the offers?If I was to drop down a star level, which zones should be excluded?Also, do I need to wait a full 24 hours before bidding again, or can I just do it the following morning?Thanks!
thereuare Posted October 25, 2010 Report Posted October 25, 2010 How should I proceed from here? Should I add in the additional areas first then try increasing the offers?As per above, if you let us know which zone(s) are acceptable we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.Also, do I need to wait a full 24 hours before bidding again, or can I just do it the following morning?The lock-out period is 24 hours from your last rejected bid, but you can often use re-bid zones (see Priceline Re-Bidding Explained) to continue bidding within the 24 hour lock-out period. HOWEVER, as it appears you're new to re-bidding, it's highly recommended you ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before using this strategy.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Scooterpig123 Posted October 26, 2010 Author Report Posted October 26, 2010 Oops sorry, the good zones for us would be Midtown West, Midtown East, Times Square, Central Park South, Empire State Building. Downtown/Soho would maybe be okay too. Would prefer to avoid Hell's Kitchen/Madison Square Gardens area as we've heard a horror story about that part of town (but I am prepared to be corrected!!). Thanks!
thereuare Posted October 26, 2010 Report Posted October 26, 2010 Downtown/Soho would maybe be okay too.Downtown is often one of the least expensive zones, but it's also a bit south of many of the midtown tourist areas and can be a 20-25 minute subway ride to some of the areas you may want to visit in midtown... it's not the most convenient, but for the right price, certainly do-able for the right price (especially if some of the things you want to do are Downtown). Do you want to include this in your bidding or not?Would prefer to avoid Hell's Kitchen/Madison Square Gardens area as we've heard a horror story about that part of town (but I am prepared to be corrected!!).Horror stories in terms of the neighborhood or in terms of quality of specific hotels in this zone? I wouldn't necessarily agree with either... there are currently no 4* hotels offered in the MSG zone so that's not even an option at the 4* level... no hotels have been reported to the board in the Hell's Kitchen zone but it's believed that at least one possibility at the 4* level is the Ink48 which is a new, very well reviewed property, but the location is a bit far west and it could be a moderate walk to the subway, which is a reason some choose to avoid this zone.Let us know regarding Downtown and we'll advise accordingly.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Scooterpig123 Posted October 26, 2010 Author Report Posted October 26, 2010 Hi,Hadn't realised Downtown was quite so far out. Think I'll exclude it just now.I want to exclude MSG/Hell's Kitchen because OH was sent to New York for work a while back - he ended up in an area which was so bad he actually advised the corporate travel agent never to send a female traveller there as he felt he was so unsafe. He's an experienced traveller and stayed in all sorts of places - if he says something's bad it must have been really bad!!
thereuare Posted October 26, 2010 Report Posted October 26, 2010 Well MSG and Hells Kitchen are two different areas/zones, so i'd be curious to know exactly where he was.So to recap you're ready to try for a 4* hotel in any of the following zones with a maximum bid of $200/nite:Midtown West, Midtown East, Times Square, Central Park South, Empire State BuildingAt the 4* level you have FIVE 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...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 close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* 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 close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* ESB, CPS, MTE, MTW...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* ESB, CPS, MTE, TS...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, ESB...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS, ESB...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $200Any questions feel free to ask.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Scooterpig123 Posted November 3, 2010 Author Report Posted November 3, 2010 Well MSG and Hells Kitchen are two different areas/zones, so i'd be curious to know exactly where he was.So to recap you're ready to try for a 4* hotel in any of the following zones with a maximum bid of $200/nite:Midtown West, Midtown East, Times Square, Central Park South, Empire State BuildingAt the 4* level you have FIVE 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...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 close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* 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 close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* ESB, CPS, MTE, MTW...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* ESB, CPS, MTE, TS...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, ESB...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* MTE, MTW, TS, CPS, ESB...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $200Any questions feel free to ask.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Good luck and let us know how it goes.Back again, I had no luck with my bidding - I went as high as $250. I did bottle out of using the rebid zones and instead rebid over several days.As I was unsuccessful at the 4* level, I want to try again dropping down to 3 1/2 *. What should my strategy be for this - I want to stick with the same areas as before - MTW, TS, MTE, ESB, CPS (probably in that order). If possible, I'd like to stick to $200 a night, but could push it to $250 if I had to. I'm getting a little nervous as I need the room quite soon - dates are 11/17 - 11/21.Thanks in advance!
AaronJB Posted November 4, 2010 Report Posted November 4, 2010 Are the Hilton Manhattan East and Millennium UN (two 3.5*'s in MTE that are far E in MTE) and the Hudson (a 3.5* in CPS that has rather infamously small rooms) acceptable?Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
Scooterpig123 Posted November 5, 2010 Author Report Posted November 5, 2010 Are the Hilton Manhattan East and Millennium UN (two 3.5*'s in MTE that are far E in MTE) and the Hudson (a 3.5* in CPS that has rather infamously small rooms) acceptable?Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.The two in MTE sound ok from reviews I've read. The Hudson sounds terrible and I think I'd want to avoid it if at all possible!
AaronJB Posted November 7, 2010 Report Posted November 7, 2010 In terms of 3.5* in MTE, MTW, TS and ESB, I'd start at $140 and work higher by $5's.Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
Holls Posted November 10, 2010 Report Posted November 10, 2010 Did you find any luck with booking the Hotel yet?
Scooterpig123 Posted November 10, 2010 Author Report Posted November 10, 2010 Did you find any luck with booking the Hotel yet?Hi,No, I bid up to $220 but didn't get anything. Gave up at that point as my OH got a couple of recommendations for the Eastgate Tower hotel and we managed to book it for less than $180 per night.Not entirely sure what I'm doing wrong, or whether I've just picked an expensive city at an expensive time. This was my second attempt to use Priceline for a trip - I tried it last year for London in December and couldn't get anything there either.
yellowdog Posted November 10, 2010 Report Posted November 10, 2010 Scooterpig123Thanks for the follow-up and closing this thread.You have not done anything wrong. With PRICELINE is everything about supply and demand. You just hit an expensive period. Please check and use our links (if possible) in the support page for your hotel direct purchases. Welcome back!Yellowdog.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.
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