Priceline Hotel: 2* NYC (MSG-Convention) Best Western Convention Center

[antrob]

I am trying to find a hotel room in NYC over the Thanksgiving weekend, specifically the dates of 11/24 - 11/28. My neighborhoods are Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen and I have expanded to the area of MSG-Convention area. We've been to NYC before and know we will do most of our activities btw Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, hence wanting a room there. My minimum star is 2, (unless there are favorable hotels in the 1 star category in those areas). I've been using priceline for the last week with no luck. I know about the re-bid zones and tried that and price has gone up to 136 at this point. Any help/pointers?

NYC

11/24-11/28

Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, possibly MSG

at a minimum 2 stars

thank you.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I know about the re-bid zones and tried that...

There are no re-bid zones at the 2* level in NYC, so not sure if you previously bid for a higher star rating, but if you're using re-bid zones at the 2* level please clarify and/or confirm your re-bid zone with the board.

Surprisinglyl rates are less than i thought they would be for these dates, but i still think $136 is going to be too low for this complete stay... is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?

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

[antrob]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

There are no re-bid zones at the 2* level in NYC, so not sure if you previously bid for a higher star rating, but if you're using re-bid zones at the 2* level please clarify and/or confirm your re-bid zone with the board.

Surprisinglyl rates are less than i thought they would be for these dates, but i still think $136 is going to be too low for this complete stay... is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?

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

I used the re-bid zone for Chelsea using Coney Island for all my bids above 2 stars. Once I was down to 2 stars, I logged out and logged in just using the 2 stars for Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. Any suggestions beside raising the price above 136?

I wouldn't be opposed to splitting my bid (but not more than twice).

[thereuare]

I wouldn't be opposed to splitting my bid (but not more than twice).

I'm not so sure how much it betters your chances, but it's simply an option if you're not willing to bid higher.

HOWEVER, before trying to split the bid, if you're not willing to bid any higher, what will you do if you're successful for the first set of split dates you try and then are rejected for the balance? (are you prepared to bid higher and/or is this an optional trip which you won't take if it ends up being beyond your budget?)

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

[antrob]

This is not an optional trip. If splitting my bid will not increase my chances, then I'm not doing it.

[thereuare]

I can't say for certain if you will/won't do better by SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID, but my guess is that rates for 11/24 will be most expensive, 11/25 a little less expensive, and then 11/26-11/28 being cheaper than the previous two nites. I would try bidding 11/25-11/28 to see if you can get a win, if that is not successful, try 11/26-11/28... if you're successful for either then you can try for the other one/two nite(s), which i suspect will be somewhat more expensive.

My concern with splitting the bid was if this was an optional trip, or if you weren't willing to bid any higher then you had already, and then you win a hotel for the first purchase but the remaining nites are prohibitively expensive. However, since this is not an optional trip, even if rates are higher you don't have much choice other than to find the best deal you can (even if it's above your previously bid amount)

Given your previous rejections are there are other zone(s) besides Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and MSG which you're willing to accept?

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

[antrob]

Thanks for the bid splitting advice. I would (and did for previously rejected bids) add the Times Square area. I would add Midtown West but I don't want to get any hotels on its most eastern side. The priceline map has midtown west surrounding the times square area on the north, west and east. I would not want a hotel on the east side of Times Square. Most if not all of our activities would be on the west side of manhattan.

[thereuare]

To walk from the east side of the MTW zone to the west side of the MTW zone is less then 10 minutes... it's not really a far distance at all, and given your previous rejections, it comes down to price vs. location. You can go up in price to be in one of your preferred zone(s) OR compromise on location a little to be within your desired budget.

As per above your other option is to try your current bidding and zones again and for a subset of your stay, first trying 11/25-11/28, and if that is rejected try 11/26-11/28.... if successful then work on picking up the balance.

I'd be a bit more concerned about the quality of a 2* NYC hotel than i would an extra 10 minute walk, but you know your needs for this trip better than i do.

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

[antrob]

Thanks. I am not sure how accurate or up to date the PRICELINE hotel list is (the pinned forum listing of PRICELINE hotels by location and star rating) but the 2* hotels listed for the areas I am bidding on seem to have good reviews. But I am not sure if that is a definite list and there could be other hotels in the 2* rating that are not listed and don't have such good reviews.

But I will add MTW if it'll increase my chances for a winning bid around my price points. Thanks.

[thereuare]

See the comments at the top of the Priceline Hotel List... due to additions/deletions/upgrades/downgrades, which we only find out about when reported to the board, the lists should never (nor will it ever be) considered finite. You could always get a hotel not yet reported (or already reported but at a different star level) and this is especially true for the zones and/or lower rated properties which we don't see too much bidding on.

Adding additional zones (such as MTW) will give more hotels the ability to accept your winning bid, so be definition it can't hurt.

Let us know if you want to stick the the 2* rating or not and we'll advise accordingly from there.

[antrob]

Ok, I'll add MTW and stick with the 2* rating minimum.

[thereuare]

Since you haven't bid the MTW yet and you have a little time before your stay i would try one day of lowball bidding just to make sure there isn't any low-hanging fruit...

With no re-bid zones i'd try as follows:

Select 2* MTW...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 2* HK and Chelsea...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and HK...

Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and Chelsea...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and HK and Chelsea...

Bid $115

Any 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.

[antrob]

Since you haven't bid the MTW yet and you have a little time before your stay i would try one day of lowball bidding just to make sure there isn't any low-hanging fruit...

With no re-bid zones i'd try as follows:

Select 2* MTW...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 2* HK and Chelsea...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and HK...

Bid $105, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and Chelsea...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select MTW and HK and Chelsea...

Bid $115

Any 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.

I tried those but no luck. Thanks for that strategy - at least I know there are no hanging fruit. Should I use that same strategy but with higher amounts?

[antrob]

I tried those but no luck. Thanks for that strategy - at least I know there are no hanging fruit. Should I use that same strategy but with higher amounts?

Actually I did have some luck with a different strategy. I decided to split my bid.

I bid on 11/24 - 11/26 and added MSG-Times Square for 2*. I won with a 135 bid and got the 2* Best Western Convention Hotel.

Now, my question is for my remaining trip, 11/26-11/28. Do you suggest the same strategy you gave me for these remaining days. Or are the prices generally going to be lower or higher than the wed-fri of thanksgiving? Thanks for your help.

[yellowdog]

antrob

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Can you please start a separate topic for the second leg of this stay and we'll have a look at this.

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.