Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (Times Square-Theater District) Millenium Broadway

[pblanck]

First off, I want to thank you again. You helped me and my family land 14 rooms in Vancouver back in 2009. $75 for $300 rooms. Had to do it over a 3 day stretch as the max was only 6 a day.

Secondly, I just booked all my airfare through priceline, but I came to this site first and used the link so hopefully you got credit.

Now it is time for some rooms. My wife is adament about not staying in any hotels that have been reported for bed bugs. I have done my research and read your advice regarding centralized New York. I have narrowed it down to 2 areas, maybe 3.

Looking at ESB, all the 4 star hotels checked out fine for bed bugs except for Affinia Dumont. But looking through several pages of back posts, I have not seen Affinia Dumont accepting anybody's bid. So I am wondering if Affinia Dumont is really still involved with Priceline bidding? I am familiar with the success calendar, but I was wondering if you keep track of how many hotels have offered an acceptance in the past 12 months? Has Affinia Dumont accpeted anybody's offer in that time frame?

Same question with TSTD, all 4 star hotels check out with the exception of the Hilton Times Square (and frankly they had so many positive responses compared to the one or two negative that I am not really sure that I don't want this hotel). Is there any way I can tell how active the Hilton Times Square is in accepting bids?

The last area is MTW. They have 3 or 4 questionable hotels which make it almost an immediate rejection, but looking at past winners for when I want to travel, everybody seems ot be getting Algonquin for very low prices. I would love to land in the 4 star Algonquin for $150 a night. So it is tempting, but I don't really see how I can take that risk, even knowing that Algonquin has been the most active at accepting reservations.

Any help?

[thereuare]

Welcome back :)

My initial thoughts are that you're putting too much faith in your best guess as to what you will win based upon past results... you simply can't pin it down that closely. If you enter 'Affinia Dumont' in the QUICK SEARCH box in the blue banner at the top of the board you'll see all related wins for that particular property (as recently as last month). Similarly you can enter 'ESB' for all wins pertaining to the Empire State Building zone. However, i'll stress that i think you're putting too much reliance on your observations.

Based upon your needs i would sooner go with HOTWIRE where you can at least take a guess as to the hotel you will likely receive. There will still be an 'unknown' factor and no guarantees, but at least you'll be able to take an educated guess and try to target hotels accordingly. The trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, but given your circumstances, how much of a deal is it if you end up at a hotel that your wife isn't happy with :)

Are you only looking for 4* hotels? What is your expected budget (per nite before fees and taxes) for this stay?

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

[pblanck]

Thanks for hitting me over the head with a dose of reality. As I recall I was pretty sure which hotel I would get in Vancouver and I was wrong then. But I loved the hotel I got.

I looked at the 4 start hotels in the 3 districts again. I realized that the only district where I am comfortable with all of the 4 star hotels is the Times Square ditrict. I had my wife check them out and she is comfortable with all of them as well. So for that district I don't care which 4 star hotel I get, I would be happy with any of them.

That being said, do you see a problem bidding on them?

I did use the search box like you suggested and I was disappointed to see that there has been very little success for any of the 4 star hotels in the Times Square District. I am afraid that maybe none of the 4 star hotels there are really participating anymore. I think only one of the six hotels has even accepted a bid within the past 3 years.

But assuming I was going to bid on them, where would you start the bidding? What districts can I add that don't have 4 star hotels so that I can keep rebidding?

You asked about my budget. I don't really have one. I know that I am only willing to bid on 4 star hotels. If the price gets to $300 I will probably just get a room at the Embassy Suites in Newark and take the bus over each day.

Thanks for any additional help you can provide.

[AaronJB]

I definitely don't think it's an instance that hotels are not participating, I think it's actually an interesting shift. Times Square is certainly the most popular and expensive area, and I think the shift you're seeing (at least on the PRICELINE side of the board, there are a few TS wins on the HOTWIRE side of the board) may be people focusing on other, nearby zones because they're still near TS and can save money versus staying in TS. If people can save $25-50 (it can certainly vary a lot, but just to offer an example) by staying in MTE vs TS, they are choosing to do so.

Additionally, as noted by some, TS is certainly busy and some may find TS better to visit than have to stay within. However, I think you're also seeing a shift in people seeking more reasonable prices in nearby areas - it's not that these properties are no longer participating.

Please read this thread about Priceline Rebidding. Let us know if you need further clarification.

I think you're likely looking at the high $100's ($175-205) for a 4* TS win for these dates, but you have enough time to start significantly lower. I'd suggest starting at $135 for a 4* in TS.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

Given your needs/wants for this stay, and price not the primary driving factor (although still important)... why not the HOTWIRE route where you have a bit more control over where you'll likely be staying?

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

[pblanck]

Hotwire wanted $245, still limited me to 6 rooms at a time and still only narrowed it down to 4 potential hotels. That is no better than I was with Priceline. Priceline is also going to limit me to 6 rooms at a time and only narrows it down to 6 hotels. Since I am now comfortable with all 6 hotels on Priceline, I might as well bid on Priceline and get the better price.

So just to confirm:

I will make my initial bid for Times Square.

If it is not accepted I will add Brooklyn and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will add Long Island City and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will add Madison Square Garden and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will wait 24 hours and start all over again where I left off the previous day.

Is that correct? I am safe adding those 3 locations because they do not have 4 star hotels.

Do I raise my bid $5 at a time or $10?

[AaronJB]

Just to confirm first,

How many rooms do you need (6?) and if multiple rooms, how many are going to be in each room/do you need two beds? Additionally, only 6 4*'s have been reported to the board in TS on PRICELINE and 9 on HOTWIRE, but there may be new hotels reported to the board at any time.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[pblanck]

3.5 NY hotels to match amenities, Looking for 6/10 - 6/13

According to Hotwire there is a 3.5 star hotel in the Theatre District for $211.

The amenities are Boutique hotel, Restaurant and High speed internet.

The problem is that I don't see any 3.5 star hotels listed that match those amenities in the Hotwire hotel list thread.

Does that mean it is new or recently changed ranking maybe?

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread... if you ultimately use HOTWIRE we'll move the entire thread to that section of the board.

A property with this amenity combination has not yet been reported to the board... there is no way to know if this is a new hotel not yet reported OR a hotel previously reported but with a new amenity set.

How many rooms/adults/children are you currently searching for?

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

[WillTravel]

The fact that you have not seen a review indicating bedbugs probably does not mean that a hotel does not have them.

In NYC, I'd be very surprised if any hotel of any size has not had bedbugs at some time or another. What's important is how well they respond to them.

Even if you get a hotel with no bedbug reviews now, it easily could by the time of your stay.

[pblanck]

thereuare - I have been looking all over for my hotwire thread, I just now realized that you moved it here. Thank you for your response.

To answer other questions:

I am looking for a total of 10 rooms:

4 rooms 6/10 - 6/13

5 rooms 6/11 - 6/13

1 room 6/12 - 6/13

All of the rooms but one just need to be for 2 people. I am willing to take my chances on the room for 4 people and will find a way to accommodate the extra two people elsewhere if need be. I am willing to take my chances that the bid for the 5 rooms will end up at a separate hotel from the first 4 rooms. I am willing to take my chances that the 1 room ends up at a different hotel. While I am comfortable with all 6 hotels listed as 4* in the Priceline hotel thread, I am willing to risk that a new 4* is added that I don't know about.

Bottom line is that I am talking about a combined 23 room nights. The extra $50 that I would spend at Hotwire is over $1,000. For that kind of money, I will take may chances with Priceline.

I want a 4* in TSTD (for reasons mentioned earlier in this thread).

So just to confirm:

I will make my initial bid for Times Square.

If it is not accepted I will add Brooklyn and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will add Long Island City and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will add Madison Square Garden and raise my bid.

If it is not accepted I will wait 24 hours and start all over again where I left off the previous day.

Is that correct? I am safe adding those 3 locations because they do not have 4 star hotels.

Do I raise my bid $5 at a time or $10?

[scottlevin]

Couple things:

The question about whether to raise by $5 or $10 is yours to answer. Do you have the time to raise by smaller increments? Then do it. Seems like you'll save a lot of money considering how many rooms you're buying.

Also, you can buy two blocks of rooms on the same day if you book one under you and one with your wife's credit card.

I find it funny you eliminated hotels based on reports of bed bugs. First, some people could be making up the bed bug claims to try to hurt a hotel's business. Hard to put much weight on TripAdvisor nasties.

Lastly, I count 6 rebid zones that don't have 4* hotels. Using a method such as this, you could get all your bidding done in one day:

A, AB, ABC, ABCD

AE, ABE, ABCE, ABCDE

AF, ABF, ABCF, ABCDF

That's 12 bids in one day already. I could go further but you get the idea.

[thereuare]

The extra $50 that I would spend at Hotwire is over $1,000. For that kind of money, I will take may chances with Priceline.

My suggestion towards HOTWIRE was in regards to your previous comment: "My wife is adament about not staying in any hotels that have been reported for bed bugs." since with PRICELINE you can receive any hotel in the zone.

It also appears you're assuming that you'll be able to win a 4* hotel in the TS square zone for $160/nite, and i'm not so certain that this is likely.

I am safe adding those 3 locations because they do not have 4 star hotels.

As pointed out above, you actually have SIX re-bid zones available at the 4* level... are you able to determine all six?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases (and please click this PRICELINE link before replying)

[pblanck]

I am not assuming I will get a room for $160. Hotwire shows a price of $243 for a 4 star in Times Square. Since somebody guessed that I would get a room through Priceline for roughly $175-$205 I figure that is around $50 savings per room. I realize there is no guarantee I will get one in that price range, but I am willing to try.

No, I was only able to identify 3 zones. Could you please tell me what are the 6 re-bid zones that I can use to bid on a 4 star hotel in TSTD?

[thereuare]

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases (and please click this PRICELINE link before replying)

[scottlevin]

How were you only able to identify 3 zones? What method are you using?

[pblanck]

I was able to find the following zones to use:

TSTD - This is the area I want

Brooklyn - They do not have any 4 star or better hotels

Long Island City - They do not have any 4 star or better hotels

Madison Square Garden - They do not have any 4 star or better hotels

What areas am I missing?

[thereuare]

Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like this thread re-opened.

[pblanck]

Would either of you please tell me what the 6 areas are?

I will be sure to link from this site when bidding and then to report back to this site the final price.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

You need/should know how to check your re-bid zones yourself since new hotels are added and others are upgraded all the time, and therefore need to be checked before starting each bidding cycle to reduce the chances of you ending up in a zone you didn't intend.

If you've read the Priceline Re-Bidding Explained thread and are confused, try this approach:

1) Use the PRICELINE search box on the upper right of this page, enter New York and your dates, and click "GO".

2) List each zone that is offered in this region.

3) Next to each zone list the highest star rating offered in the zone. The way to determine the highest tar rating offered n the zone is by selecting the first zone i the list, then scrolling down to see the highest star rating selectable (ie- not greyed out). NEXT UNcheck the selected zone, place a checkmark in the next zone, and repeat the process for each zone in the region. Each time you take note of the highest star rating in the zone, make sure that only ONE zone is selected above.

4) post your findings and we'll take it from there

If you don't follow the above just post back and we'll break it down further.

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

[pblanck]

That is AWESOME!!!!

I was just trying to figure it out from your hotel list thread. Now I understand.

So I came up with 6 areas:

Brooklyn

Coney Island

Long Island City

Madison Square Garden

Queensboro

Upper East Side

In theory, if I check this each time before a bidding session, I will not end up in the wrong section of town. The only way I could get burned is if they change the rankings after I start my bidding.

So am I correct about these 6 locations?

Thanks for your help!!!!

[pblanck]

Scottlevin,

Reading through your post again I understand how you got so many bids out of just 6 extra re-bid locations. The combinations are certainly more than anybody could really need.

I used your suggestion and started bidding at $135. I got all the way up to $210 without an acceptance and without a counter-offer.

I stopped there until I talked to my group.

I think my plan is now to book some rooms at full rate, that are cancellable, just to make sure we have rooms somewhere. Then as the date draws closer I can try again. And then keep bidding every week or so until I get rooms or until I have to use the hotel that I already booked.

Is that the best way to go about it at this time?

[thereuare]

How many rooms are you currently bidding on? (in your latest round of bidding)

HOTWIRE does have a 4* hotel in the Times Square zone for just $151/nite (6/10-6/13)... but unfortunately it is only appearing when searching for one room. No telling if you purchase the room if it will then continue to appear for future one room searches.

Also, HOTWIRE has a 4* hotel in the MTE zone for $206/nite when searching for 4rooms/8adults (6/10-6/13)... best guess is the InterContinental Barclay or the Grand Hyatt.

If you need to book a back-up reservation please check for and use the links in our support page if/when possible.

[pblanck]

Ok, took a break to see what would happen to prices. They just droopped today, so I need advice regarding Hotwire.

I am looking for 4 rooms for 6/10-6/13, Times Square, 4 star

The price dropped considerably and there is an offer at $177.

The amenities include: Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center and High Speed Internet Access

.2 - 1.0 miles from city center

Recommended by 80% of Hotwire customers

Checking out the Hotwire hotel thread, the amenities narrow it down to:

Inter-Continental Times Square

Millenium Broadway

Hilton Times Square

Crowne Plaza

Is there any way to narrow it down more based upon the distance from city center or by the customer recommendation rate?

Thanks for your time.

[AaronJB]

The tripadvisor rating showing on the detail page is 4.5/5. Searching on tripadvisor, the Hilton TS and Intercontinental TS are a match. However, the tripadvisor rating on HOTWIRE is not updated "live", so while those two properties are more likely, it's not guaranteed, if there have been recent ratings changes.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.