Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (MTE) W New York

[txtrvlr]

Hi - Just wondering if you've got any thoughts on a better bidding strategy for these dates. I've used this site before and am familiar with the basics.

My initial plan was to rebid in $10 increments up to $150 (willing to go up to $200/night if there's no success after several days), but then I read about bid splitting and realize I'm not likely to get a relatively low price accepted for all five nights. I'd probably be willing to change hotels once (but not twice), but I'm not sure how to split given the days I'll be there (Wed to Sun night).

When I click on some of the links on this website for discounts on hotels (without having to bid) I see up to 3 different rates for the days I'm looking at. Wed night is the highest rate, Thu Fri and Sat are usually a diff price and then Sunday night is yet again a different rate (usually the cheapest). Is splitting even a realistic option for these dates?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

Eric

[txtrvlr]

Sorry, I didn't clarify the areas I'm looking at. I'm looking at Times Square and MTW. Willing to expand to MTE and maybe a few other areas after several days if I don't have any success.

[thereuare]

My thoughts...

At the moment i don't think $150 will be enough for this complete stay (the first nite of your stay is the most difficult). For 6/16-6/20 you could get what appears to be the W New York for ~$170/nite... then look to fill-in the last nite; but this last nite is going to be very expensive, likely a little over $200 for a 3.5* or 3* property.

Alternately what i'm thinking will be the W New York on HOTWIRE can be had for $198/nite for your complete stay.

If you prefer the MTW zone vs. the MTE above, you're probably looking at similar prices for 6/17-6/20 (4*) or 6/16-6/20 (3.5*)... but then you're still left with the remaining one or two nites which will likely be quite expensive.

You can use the prices above as a baseline to decide how you'd like to proceed, then if you'd like try to do a little better with PRICELINE, but how much you may save over the above is unknown given the price differences over your stay.

Based upon the above what are your thoughts and how would you like to proceed?

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

[txtrvlr]

Thanks, I appreciate the info, and glad to know I should be able to find something around the $200/night mark. I will probably try priceline for a few more days and up my bids. If nothing comes up I'll try HOTWIRE - I've never used it before. Thanks, again, and I'll post my results. I'll start with the links on this website. I always start from these links but for some reason the last time I used them for a trip it didn't seem to register that I started here. I must have done something wrong.

[txtrvlr]

Hi, I have a question about Hotwire. When I try Hotwire for my dates I get a Midtown East Hotel 4* for $210/night. The amenities are Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet, and Spa. It looks like this could be the W hotel, but in the description for the W hotel (on the list of hotels on this website) it says "same as Omni or Doubletree". Does this mean it could be any one of the three hotels - W, Omni, or Doubletree? Just want to make sure I'm clear before I book it. Thanks.

[txtrvlr]

Through Priceline I finally got a room at the 4* W Hotel in MTE at $180 night for June 15 - June 20, 2011. I used the PRICELINE link from this website.

As a comparison, on HOTWIRE, what appeared to be the W Hotel was available for $210 a night for the length of my stay.

I tried for six days trying to find at least a 3.5 hotel on the west side bidding mostly under $200 (but also up to $210) with no luck (this included splitting my bid to take the most exp nite (Wed) out of the equation). I was willing to stay in Chelsea, Time Square, MSQ, MTW, CPS, UWS. This was a lot of work.

At the moment I'm disappointed with the location but pleased with the price and the hotel. I didn't realize June was such a popular month in NYC, so all in all I think it worked out well.

Also, one more thing to note. As I mentioned, I tried to stay on the West Side. The first time I expanded my bid to MTE was this afternoon and it was accepted on my first try at $180.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Sorry to hear that you're disappointed with the location, but glad to hear you're satisfied with the price. June unfortunately can be on the expensive side in NYC - July is when rates start to come down as the weather gets hotter.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[thereuare]

You're also near my often recommended Ess-A-Bagel (Third Ave at 51st St) which has one of the best bagels in the city, makes for a nice, and relatively inexpensive, breakfast among local NYers.

Have a great time in the city!