valentinabear Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 I've been a long time lurker and thought to join your awesome forum and contribute. I'm looking into a 4* hotel through Priceline.com from April 21 - 26 (5 nights) and was wondering what the rate would be like? I understand that I have 5 rebids, so I would like to get this right. What should I start the bid at? $90? $100? $120?Any advice is greatly appreciated and I'll keep you updated on my progress. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Welcome (officially) to BetterBidding!Which zone(s) are you willing to accept? What is your maximum bid for this stay?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 Link to comment
valentinabear Posted January 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 My preference would be Times Square, Midtown East, Midtown West but I'm open to the other 4* areas. Just want to have a good convenient location and price!I'm hoping to stay $120/night during this time (April 21 - 26) but I understand that's pretty positive thinking. Even $150-180/night would be decent. Link to comment
Romelle Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I'm just a member, but a few suggestions while you and thereuare (or one of the other moderators) are sorting out a strategy for you:Maybe you could post back what you believe the free rebid zones are so they are confident you know how to determine them. The areas need checked each time you bid, because things change regularly and you won't be happy with a win in - say - Brooklyn - because PL just got a 4* there.If you haven't bid on Priceline before, it wouldn't hurt to just do some practice bids - something really lowball safe like $60, 62 and 64 for the three areas you mention as being sure you want. A warm-up exercise, and you might find you have another question or two before you start using serious $$ numbers.Have you found the Calendar of Wins yet? Center of this page. Put in your dates and select New York - Priceline. Maybe someone else has already gotten a bid for one or more of your areas?? Good clues as to what you might have to pay.Then select New York - Hotwire, while your dates are still set up in the calendar. If you find some results there, they could indicate what your upper limit might be. Hotwire tends to be a little more expensive than Priceline. However, one can predict with pretty good accuracy just what hotel one might get. You could also plug your dates directly into Hotwire and see what comes up. More clues. Hotwire areas are named differently and have different boundaries but you can still gain some information from the process.Romelle Link to comment
AaronJB Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 While you do certainly have time to lowball, Spring in NYC is a fairly busy time and unfortunately, $90 is probably going to be unlikely for a 4*. $110 would be a more realistic start for a lowball bid. HOTWIRE is showing a number of Midtown 4*'s for $199-250, including a 4* in MTE for $199 that may be the Grand Hyatt or Intercontinental Barclay. At the 4* level, MTE is probably your best bet out of the zones you've mentioned above. As mentioned above, while it's worthwhile bidding at lower levels this far in advance to see if a hotel may accept at lower-than-expected levels, but I'm guessing a more likely neighborhood where a bid may be accepted in MTE is $150-170.Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 I'm hoping to stay $120/night ... Even $150-180/night would be decent.How high are you willing to bid at this time?Is ESB and/or CPS also acceptable?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 Link to comment
valentinabear Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm willing to choose ESB and CPS as well. It's pretty central, I'm planning to visit Times Square, Rockafeller Centre, WTC, Chinatown, Wall Street, 5th Avenue and maybe watch a Broadway show, see the Statue of Liberty, and go on a Circle line cruise. I should be okay if I choose ESB and CPS.In terms of the hotel, the highest I'll go is $160/night. I'm hoping to pay $120-130/night (before fees+taxes) but we'll see.I'll probably start the bids/rebids in the next couple of days, will keep you posted. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Let us know once you're ready to begin bidding and we'll suggest a strategy based upon the most current rates.Please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your bidding. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
valentinabear Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 My dates are from April 25-29 for 4 nights. I put in a bid through Priceline and started with CPS, Chelsea, ESB, Hell's Kitchen, MTE, MTW and TS. I really did try to lowball and started with $87 and went up in $10 increments. In the end, I got rejected at $147.I started with all of the listed areas above and rebidded in the other zones (except for Downtown-SOHO and Upper West Side). Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Is $147 your maximum bid at this point in time?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 Link to comment
valentinabear Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Nope, $147 is not my final max bid. I'm trying to keep my costs low as possible. It would be nice to get a hotel at $160/night before tax. Do you think I am close? Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hard to say if $160 will be enough at this point in time... HOTWIRE has a 4* in the ESB zone for $189/nite but not sure if it's also a PRICELINE participating property or not.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 Link to comment
valentinabear Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I got the Hudson, A Morgans Original for $134 from April 25-29. It's a 3.5* hotel. I also used the PRICELINE link on this board. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Congratulations on your success!Sorry to see you had to lower your star rating, but hopefully you're happy with the results. This is a pretty good rate for this time of year, and the location is great, but do be prepared for the notoriously small rooms at this property.Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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