Priceline Hotel: NY visit for St Patrick's Day 2012

[cookofthehouse]

Hello all. I have used this site many times to help plan and get budget ranges. And of course, whenever it's time to bid, I start my journey with the links here.

I have a question about something I've never done: split my dates

I am looking at a visit to NYC over the St Patrick's Day holiday next year. I would arrive Fri Mar 16th, and depart Wed Mar 21st (5 nights).

I am concerned about the feasibility of getting a decent rate at one hotel for the whole time. Would I be better served by bidding for Fri & Sat, and then trying Sun-Wed? Would I get a better deal on the second portion by not asking for a weekend rate to be included in my stay? Has anyone tried this on a regular basis to know how well it works?

I've visited NYC a few times, and am not picky about zone. I would bid anything on the island except CPWest and northward; no airports. Looking to bid 3*, but also wondering if 2.5* is safe? (safe= myself and husband, no kids, nonsmokers, not germphobes, traveling light)

I would so appreciate any anecdotes or hard-won advice. Thank you!

[thereuare]

Currently rates are not that high (i expected them to be higher) for these dates, although i would suspect that you may see rates creep higher closer to St Patricks Day.

My initial thought when reading your thread was that SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID might help you, but in looking at current rates it may not be necessary... what is your expected budget for this stay?

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

[cookofthehouse]

Thank you for the reply. I hadn't clicked around the board looking for Split Bid topics. After reading, it's pretty much what I thought. Not too many people out there with any real life examples. However, your comments got me thinking. For one, I shouldn't wait too awful long to get the hotel portion of the trip nailed down (if we manage to go at all.) The St Patrick's holiday will hit the hotels' radar, and prices will shift. And two, I should do price checking per day to get an idea of how much the price changes.

I've got no problem putting in time to save money. If $5 will be saved with an hour on the computer I'll do it - I'm cheap! :) As for budget, we were hoping to stay under $130 per night. Better if that was the tax included price.

Of course none of this will matter if airline prices don't go down - yikes. But that's another topic.

[thereuare]

There are plenty of examples on the board where users have split their bid... they're just not posted as such so no easy way to connect to the two posts; i probably see at least 3-4 posts per week where a user has split the bid, even if not posted specifically by name (ie- "the friday was more expensive so i bid that separately")

Let us know once your plans are firm and we'll try to assist further at that time.

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