Priceline Hotel: 4* New York (CPS, MTW, MTE, TSQ, UWS) 5/21/11-5/25/11

[mlofroos]

Hi everybody,

I've been trying to bid for a property in the areas mentioned in the topic (Central Park South, Midtown West, Midtown East, Times Square and Upper West Side) for some weeks now; my Excel file tells me 2/15 was the first time I tried bidding. I've on occasion also included all other 4* areas in my bids, and I've ranged anywhere between $80 and $155 per night. The lower end of the range is surely very unlikely to happen, but I wonder, after looking at succesful bid here and elsewhere, what, if anything, am I doing wrong, since I haven't had any luck getting a bid accepted yet.

Is there a big convention in town that I'm neglecting? Should I break my bid down into two separate bids, one for the weekend and another for the two weekdays (I'm travelling alone and light so switching hotels is a possibility)? Is there a convenient method of public transportation (i.e. a direct bus) from the 4* hotels on the New Jersey side of the Hudson to JFK, which is where I'm flying into and out of? How do you feel the timing of my bid will affect results; is there a chance for a last minute deal in mid-May, or should I just bite the bullet and bid upwards of $155?

Any help is always greatly appreciated; I will naturally keep you posted on any results I get :)

Cheers,

Mikko.

[thereuare]

My guess is that you're just experiencing very high rates due to seasonality factors... this is one of the most expensive times of year in NYC.

You can try SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID, but i don't think it's going to help very much. You can also try waiting until the last minute, but there is no telling if rates will drop between now and then... or continue even higher.

If you're referring to the Jersey City-Hoboken area of New Jersey you have a few options:

1) Local Taxi Service: $65 + toll ($8 or $13 depending upon route)

2) PATH train ($1.75) to Manhattan then add:

Taxi $45

Shuttle $15

AirTrain/LIRR $7-$12 depending upon time of day

I'm guessing a Jersey City hotel can be had within the bids you have already made... a 4* NYC property will likely be closer to $185-$200.

Let us know 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.

[mlofroos]

Hi thereuare,

thanks for the breakdown on the NJ transportation costs... doesn't seem all that bad. I guess I'll keep that in reserve. I just had a look at the median retail prices as shown by Priceline, and they've dropped to the lowest level since I've started bidding. DTS is down from a high of $269 to $220, CPS 368->314, Chelsea 375->278, MTE 331->286, MTW 368->314, and so on. I'll try a few rounds of bids right now, one for DTS and another for my top-5 preferred zones, we'll see how it goes!

Thanks!

[mlofroos]

Tried CPS, MTW, MTE, TSQ, UWS from $110 -> $150, in $5 increments; no luck.

[thereuare]

I wouldn't use the 'average retail' cost shown by PRICELINE as a factor in your bidding amounts/strategy as the information is usually not accurate enough to be meaningful.

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

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.