Priceline Hotel: Need bidding help

[KatyD]

I am planning on travelling to NYC this coming March, and I hope to purchase my tickets through Priceline or Hotwire.

Here are the details...

2 rooms needed(6 travelers)

3 nights (March 4th-7th)

Hotel should meet these minimum requirements - *clean*, private bathroom, free continental breakfast

Area: Ideally Midtown East, but any area within a 20 minute subway ride of Midtown east will do

Here are my questions:

1) What would be a good bid to aim for optimistically?

2) What areas should I avoid?

3) What star rating would meet my requirements without giving me the risk of booking a crappy hotel?

4) Should I bid for a smaller, more ideal area as a first bid? Will this hurt my chances later?

5) What other tips would you offer?

Thank you so much for your help!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, after that it's at the discretion of the hotel, and you could receive a room(s) with only one bed. While you can call the hotel you win and request a room with two beds, the hotel may not be able, or willing, to honor your request. This is generally considered somewhat riskier in NYC than in most other locations as rooms in NYC are typically smaller than average and most hotels have a higher percentage of rooms with only one bed (and at many hotels rooms with two beds is considered an upgrade). If this is not a risk that you're willing to take, HOTWIRE may still be an option as they allow you to search for up to quad occupancy and ensure sleeping accommodations for everyone you include in your search (although this usually means two beds, the second 'bed' could be a sofabed, rollaway, etc)

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

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