Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* NYC (Chelsea-MSG) The New Yorker Ramada Plaza

[ghost dog]

Hi,

First of all just wanted to tell everybody how awesome this forum is. This forum is awesome!

I'm going to NYC on Tuesday, October 18th. Thinking about staying for 1-2 nights (still planning the trip). I heard the place to stay is Midtown to be close to the sites.

I'm a real novice user when it comes to Priceline. Do you think it is possible to get a 2 star or 3 star hotel in Midtown during those days for under $200? I was hoping Tuesday would be a slow day.

If so how should I go about bidding. Special links? or Process?

Thanks,

Ghost

Update: I tried to bid $150 for 4 star for Midtown East for one night on October 18th, since I saw a post that a person got the Grand Hyatt for a couple of nights starting on October 1st for only $140. Did this person get lucky? Or am I just unlucky? LOL. I knew $150 was too optimistic. Maybe Tuesdays are popular times? :)

Any suggestions? Why was the pervious person so lucky with the bid of $140?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding! (and thanks for the compliments on the board)

Please start by reading your messages.

Rates are date specific, so rates for when the other user was successful at $140 are likely lower then for your own dates.

We don't typically recommend bidding under 3* in NYC unless you have a very good idea of what it is that you may likely get, as quality, even within the same star rating, in NYC can vary so much.

With the above noted, we're happy to offer a strategy for whatever you decide you want to try for, but since you're still in the planning stages and your plans appear to be somewhat flexible, if you can visit on the weekends (Friday thru Monday) rate are generally (exceptions due apply) better then coming mid-week.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[ghost dog]

Thanks for the super help. I know you are providing a great service, so I appreciate your time and effort in creating this forum! :)

Looks like some other people are looking for a hotel around the same time.

My plan is to stay 2 nights in Manhattan checking in Tuesday, October 18th and checking out on Thursday, October 20th.

Looks like middle of October is more expensive than the beginning of October when this person was able to get 4* NYC (MTE) Grand Hyatt, $140 ... 10/1/11-10/4/11 on another thread. I'm envious. =)

I guess I would like to spend $150 per night for a 3 star hotel, but no more than $200 a night. Need to remember there's allot of hotel taxes ~18%. Just looking for a clean place to stay close to the subway since I'm flying in from the West Coast.

Would like to stay in Midtown, but open to staying anywhere in Manhattan as long as I'm 10min walk from Subway station. I saw you came up with a process in this priceline hotel bidding thread.

Any suggestions for me? Can you provide me with a bidding proces? Or a way I can snag a good deal on a clean place to stay close to subway.

Thank you for your time! This forum rocks!

[thereuare]

I don't think the rate difference you point out above is necessarily due to the beginning of October vs. end of October, but more likely day of the week specific. Generally speaking (as there are certainly exceptions), weekends in NYC are typically less expensive then midweek nites... 2 out of 3 of the nites in the date range above are weekend nites, whereas your stay is all midweek.

Would like to stay in Midtown, but open to staying anywhere in Manhattan as long as I'm 10min walk from Subway station.

To confirm a few points in order to suggest a strategy...

At less then 4*, some hotels in the MTE zone can be up to a 15 minute walk t the subway, would this be acceptable OR would you prefer to not include this zone in your bidding?

As well, at the 3.5* and under level the CPS zone contains the Hudson Hotel which has notoriously small rooms, would this be an acceptable outcome?

Are you willing to pay more to stay in Midtown vs. other areas of the city OR is price ultimately the most important factor and the least expensive 3* or better hotel within your other parameters is your goal for this stay?

Lastly, while you mention being willing to say anywhere within Manhattan, at the lower star ratings i wouldn't recommend UES and UWS as it goes a little too far north for my liking, and if you end up in the northern part of either zone, it's not really that convenient for the average visitor to the city. Downtown is out of the way but do-able, especially during the week as it's busy with Wall Street, but on the weekend gets very quiet. So given you're trying to stay within a budget, i would likely include Downtown in your bidding, but exclude UES and UWS, but ultimately it's up to you.

Let us know the information above (or ask any questions you may have) and we'll move forward with a suggested strategy to follow.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[ghost dog]

Hi,

Thank you for your help. Just now I tried to bid for 2 nights in 3.5 star from October 18th through October 20th:

*Midtown East for $150 for October 18th rejected.

*I saw a previous post that a person was able to get a 3.5 star in MTW for $133 a night from October 17th through the 19th, so I tried to bid $145 for 3.5star in MTW and was rejected. I'm not sure why my bid was rejected if I was going to pay more? Priceline NYC Hotel win.

As for your questions:

1.) 15min walk to the subway is OK. Can't be picky on my budget.

2.) I would be willing to pay a little bit more to stay in Midtown. But I would be willing to stay at other places to save money.

3.) If the UES and UWS is too far as you suggested, I would be willing to stay in other areas that you suggest. So we can include other areas and exclude UES and UWS as you suggested. Downtown would be cool with me, since I can see all the Wall Street people.

4.) Small rooms are OK with me, especially if it is in a convenient location and a clean place.

My friend referred me to your forum. As such, I know that you have a good reputation. If you could provide a better bidding process for a tourist hoping to see the major sights in 2 nights that would be greatly appreciated.

I would prefer to pay $150 a night and the most $200 a night. But I understand that I may have to pay more than $150 especially for Midtown. Will this be difficult?

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Update: I Just used your PRICELINE link to bid $150 and lowered it to 3star for MTW and MTE and was rejected. So sad. Not sure how the other person got $133. So lucky!

[thereuare]

There are multiple possible reasons why your bids above were rejected vs. the winning bids you're comparing them to... your dates are not exactly the same for those who won. For example the user won 10/16-10/19... what if the nites of 10/16-10/18 are very cheap and the nite of 10/18 is very expensive, which brought the average cost of their stay down to the price won... you're only bidding on the expensive nite of 10/18. Other possibilities is that they hotel only offered a limited number of rooms at the price won and that inventory is now gone... or it's possible that the hotel has a 3 nite minimum for a deeply discounted rate for these dates and your stay is only two nites. There are other scenarios as well, but these are the easiest to explain and understand, so at least this gives you some insight rather than thinking it all comes down to luck or is some puzzle with no rhyme or reason.

Anyway, onto your bidding...

Assuming all the following are acceptable at the 3.5* level:

CPS, Chelsea, DT, ESB, HK, MSG, MTE, MTW and TS

At 3.5* in NYC you have FOUR re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, MTW, TS, ...

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

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

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* CPS, Chelsea, DT, ESB, HK...

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

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

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* CPS, MTE, MTW, TS, ...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* MSG, Chelsea, DT, ESB, HK...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* MSG, Chelsea, MTW, TS, ...

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

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

Select 3.5* CPS, MTE, DT, ESB, HK...

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

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

Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, DT, TS, ...

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

Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* CPS, Chelsea, MTW, ESB, HK...

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

Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, MTW, ESB, ...

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

Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* CPS, Chelsea, DT, TS, HK...

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

Bid $170, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, MTW, ESB, CPS, Chelsea, DT, TS...

Bid $175, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* MSG, MTE, MTW, ESB, CPS, Chelsea, DT, HK...

Bid $175, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3.5* CPS, Chelsea, DT, ESB, HK, MSG, MTE, MTW and TS...

Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $200

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.

[ghost dog]

Dang I lowered it to 3 stars and bid 190 a night and I still got rejected. So sad. what am I doing wrong? :)

[thereuare]

You're probably not doing anything wrong... just very expensive dates in NYC.

Which date(s) are you bidding on at the moment? (just 10/18, 10/18-10/20, or 10/17-10/19??)

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

[ghost dog]

Thanks for your help. Priceline didn't help. I bid up to $207 a night and no takers. I found on hotwire they had 218 a night for 3 1/2 star so I took that. It was the New Yorker Hotel. Strange? I guess some hotels find hotwire preferable to priceline. Maybe the more desperate ones?

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

The Ramada New Yorker is rated 3* by PRICELINE which would explain why your 3.5* bids were rejected yet were able to pick this up on hotwire at a similar price.

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the dates you decided upon for this stay (so this win can appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins) and the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[ghost dog]

Thanks for the reply. There seems to be no standard when it comes to the star rating then? If Hotwire says 3.5star and Priceline says 3 star. I read other threads that said the same thing about Hotwire star system. Oh well I'm going on vacation, so I'm not going to let this make me angry. Something that everybody should be aware of when using Hotwire to compare with Priceline. Also there's a pesky $20 booking fee that Hotwire charged me too.

$218 per night at the New Yorker from October 18th to October 20th.

Amenities: Fitness Center, Buisness Center, Internet, and Restaurant. Its next to Penn Station.

[thereuare]

Within the travel industry there is no standard for star ratings... every service uses their own criteria to rate hotels. Just as you're seeing a difference with PRICELINE and HOTWIRE, you could easily see Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. all have different ratings for any given property.

Thanks for the follow-up.

[ghost dog]

I stayed at this hotel. It was so-so. Service was so-so. But hey everything else was super expensive. The paint on the tiles were chipped and there were lines at the front desk. And the rooms were tiny. When I called to see how much addition it would cost to get a room to get a view I was quoted $20. But when I showed up at the front desk they wanted another $35. Also they charge to use the buisness center.