imean Posted February 18, 2012 Report Posted February 18, 2012 Hi everyone! I've read the topic posted on bidding strategies for Priceline, but am still a bit confused as to what would be a good way to approach the bidding process. Do I go bid zone by zone, or can I group some in the same bid? If anyone could give me a straight up bidding suggestion I would be so appreciative, as I'm not very good at visualizing things without detailed instructions... Anyway, I'm interested in finding a 4* hotel in NYC for the dates of 4/5 to 4/9, and I'd like to pay about $150-160 max to allow for my budget to be a max of $200 a night including taxes, fees, etc. My main choices for location are: Central Park South, Empire State, Madison Square Garden, Midtown East or West, Times Square, Upper East Side. Least preferable locations, but still acceptable would also include Chelsea and Soho. If nothing for 4* goes through, I'd be willing to go down to maybe 3.5*-3*, but I would not be willing to increase my price. Do ya'll think I have a chance for a 4*? Please let me know if you can help me out with a bidding strategy, I appreciate all of your efforts at helping us out!
thereuare Posted February 18, 2012 Report Posted February 18, 2012 Welcome to BetterBidding!The zones with a strikeout do not currently offer 4* bidding:Central Park SouthEmpire StateMadison Square GardenMidtown EastMidtown WestTimes SquareUpper East SideIf you want to bid the zones first before considering Chelsea and/or Soho, you can bid as follows:At the 4* level you have SEVEN 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 4* ESB, MTE, MTW, TS, CPS...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...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 add re-bid zone...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150I doubt the above will be successful, but you can give it a try... i think you do have a chance if/when you add Soho and Chelsea, but we'll cross that bridge once we get there, as if the above is rejected i'm not sure if you would prefer to try for a 4* in the alternate zones OR a lower star rated hotel in the original zones above.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
imean Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Posted February 18, 2012 Thank you so much for your prompt response! I appreciate all your help. I am not 100% ready to start bidding today, but I will let you know as soon as I do, and if I end up with anything... Fingers crossed! I'll also use your links to PRICELINE & HOTWIRE, thanks!
AaronJB Posted February 18, 2012 Report Posted February 18, 2012 Thank you for keeping us updated and please let us know if you have any additional questions before bidding.Thanks for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.
imean Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Posted February 19, 2012 Hi again! So I tried bidding for the preferred areas I had posted above, and nothing went through, so I added SoHo, Chelsea, and the Financial District Area. I tried starting my bid at $120, but it told me I had to be at least $36 above that, so I bid for $146, and got the Marriott Financial Center for that amount. It says I saved 46% on the purchase, was this a good deal? It told me it was giving me a one time "opportunity" or something like that... And I am not sure if I was tricked into purchasing a specific deal. I feel like I got overly excited and therefore gave in to the amount they suggested. I'm happy with the purchase though, as I'll still be in Manhattan. But what do you all think? Thanks!
AaronJB Posted February 19, 2012 Report Posted February 19, 2012 Congrats on your success. :)Just to confirm, did you take a counter-offer from the service for $156?With Expedia showing $279, I'd certainly say this is an excellent deal. In terms of "counter-offers", they do not have to be accepted - the amount required to win is often somewhere between your last failed bid and the counter-offer.Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.Enjoy your stay.
imean Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Posted February 19, 2012 To tell you the truth I'm not sure what happened... It said it could not accept my offer for $110, but I could start my bidding again at $146. I'm not sure if that was a counter offer or if I'd just used too many tries trying to get hotel in my preferred areas. However, this was the first time I'd tried bidding for my second choice locations, so this was really confusing. I was kind of disappointed that I kind of "gave in" to what Priceline suggested, but all in all it seems to be a good deal, just far from central Manhattan... but hey, at least I found a hotel during high season, in my budget, in Manhattan! Thanks for all your help!
thereuare Posted February 19, 2012 Report Posted February 19, 2012 It appears you did receive a counter-offer, and for your future bidding, you can read more about these here: Priceline Suggests Price to PayIf you're looking for a casual dinner (or lunch) one day not too far from your hotel (less than 10 minute walk) i really like this place:Adrienne's Pizzabar54 Stone Street New York, NY 10004(212) 248-3838Excellent pizza (it's a restaurant, not a slice shop) which is reasonably priced considering the quality... stick with the 'grandma' rectangular pizza which is what they're best known for.Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
imean Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Posted February 19, 2012 Thank you so much for the restaurant suggestion! Will definitely try it out. And in noticing your profile picture, GO BLUE!
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