Priceline Hotel: NYC 3* and up for 4/12/12 to 4/19/12

[belblade]

hi

first of all, it was great to find this board

our honeymoon is going to be in nyc (we've been there in march of 2010 and fell in love with the city)

We have already booked our flights and the hotel we stayed at last time ramada long island city

it was actually quite good and not too far from the subway on the bridge and was pretty quiet at night...

we paid 110$ per night (excluding taxes) this time which is not too bad...

and now for the question: since the hotel can be cancelled without fee we are going to try and get and even better hotel (price and/or location) through priceline / hotwire but are wondering: what is a realistic / ideal time to start bidding ? April 2012 is still a while ;-)

interested in zones CPS, TS, ESB, MSG, MTE, MTW, UES and UWS... (will narrow it down or put them in order later :-))

3* or higher and around 150 - 160$ (price you bid is without taxes right?), is that realistic in these zones ? i checked this years april-calendar and it seems to be possible...

thanks for any help / ideas

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding... we're glad you found us too :)

Please start by reading your messages.

Mid-April is when rates usually start to go up for the Spring Season... sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later; so you're right on the cusp of low/hi season and it's unknown at this point how the hotel business (or the economy for that matter) will be 6+ months from now.

Generally we recommend to start bidding as soon as your plans are firm, using the low end of the reasonably accepted range, and then gradually increase your maximum bid as you get closer to check-in. For a further discussion see the related 'Bid Early or Late' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

I'll add that UES and UWS are usually not the most convenient for the average user, but if you do like these areas, HOTWIRE currently has a 3.5* hotel in the Central Park area which is an 'outlier' in that it's priced at $122/nite and much lower then similar offerings. The amenities shown are Boutique, Restaurant, Internet and this matches previous reports for The Bentley so that would be my best guess for this one. If you are interested in this property, this price would seem very reasonable and something to consider locking in now, imo.

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

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[belblade]

Thanks so far

This is the order of preference so far:

CPS, MTW, EBS, MSG, TS

I'm going to aim a little higher at 4* and look up some rebid zones...

I'll be back :)

[thereuare]

This is the order of preference so far:

CPS, MTW, EBS, MSG, TS

Are you willing to pay more for a hotel in your first choice of zone vs. second choice... pay more for your second choice vs. third choice, etc, etc OR is the goal the least expensive hotel at the star rating (or higher) that you choose?

I'm going to aim a little higher at 4* and look up some rebid zones...

I'll be back

Let us know once you're ready to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[belblade]

hey,

the difference in zones is not that important so price is the primary goal

i've noticed that msg only has 3,5* max so i'm going with these primary zones:

1) CPS 2) MTW 3) ESB 4) TS

and these as rebid-zones:

MSG - CI - LIC - QBB - UES (3,5 * or less)

if i understand rebidding correctly i could go like this:

1) Bid X (eg 100$) on CPS + MTW + ESB + TS

2) Rebid X + 5 on CPS + MTW + ESB + TS + MSG

3) Rebid X + 10 on CPS + MTW + ESB + TS + MSG + CI

etc ... with all the rebid-zones added one by one

is that more or less correct?

is there a minimum amount needed for a "higher" bid ?

when do i need to close the browser and restart from the link here?

thanks for all the help !

edit: 100$ is not realistic ... what should i start with for 4* ? don't want to end up too high (200+) but then 4* in these zones is probably not realistic...

[thereuare]

You have your re-bid zones correct, but you can do a little better in the bidding strategy. So that we don't suggest a strategy higher then you're willing to pay (at this time), let us know your maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Few other commetns:

At the moment i'm guessing a 4* hotel will cost you in the mid-$200's, but given the time before your stay, i (personally) wouldn't bid that high at the moment.

Is there a reason you're avoiding MTE at the 4* level?

What is presumed to be the Bentley which i mentioned previously, is not appear on HOTWIRE... it's 3.5* rated by HOTWIRE, and the location is not ideal, but at just $101, it's something i would consider.

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.

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

[belblade]

hi

thanks again for your help. Much appreciated as I am new to this :-)

MTE can be added as well but maybe at the back of the line

maybe easier then to split it up: my 3 favs are :

1) CPS 2) MTW 3) ESB

followed by TS and MTE

max price for now is 180$ per room - might get higher as the date approaches

if you think that's not realistic for a 4* room then i'd be willing to lower to 3,5* or something but maybe a little later . Maybe i'm lucky :-)

kind regards

[thereuare]

Using your FIVE re-bid zones...

Select 4* CPS, MTW, ESB...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* TS and MTE...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* CPS, MTW, ESB, TS...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $150, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* CPS, MTW, ESB, MTE...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $150, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* CPS, MTW, ESB, TS, MTE...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $180

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.