Priceline Hotel: Bidding late or bidding early?

[MartinH]

Hello,

i'm looking for the best bidding strategy on priceline.

We are planning a trip to NYC in september 2012 for 7 nights. What is better? Bidding early or bidding late e.g. 4 weeks before the planned trip?

Out last trip to NYC was in february 2011 and we (a couple) payed 99$ plus tax for the 4* Roosevelt hotel (with a promo code).

What's the average price in Manhatten (MTE, MTW, CSA) or something else near time square for a 2,5*, 3*, 3.5*, 4* hotel that we have to pay when using priceline for september?

tia

MartinH

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

The PRICELINE FAQ discusses in detail purchase timing. September is traditionally one of the more expensive times of the year in the city and can be quite high. Jan/Feb is traditionally the cheapest time of the year.

What are your exact date/s of travel and desired budget per night?

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[MartinH]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Thanks :)

What are your exact date/s of travel and desired budget per night?

The date is not fix yet but we are planning 7 days in the last two weeks of september (17th of september till 1st of october 2012).

Our planned budget is 145$ per night (tax included). Anything possible with that budget?

Thanks

Martin

[Romelle]

You could explore the rates for different 7 day ranges by checking Hotwire (left corner above). You might be able to determine if there were some events that were making rates higher, and then avoid those days. You could also use the HOTWIRE rates as a max for your bidding. But keep in mind Hotwire is sometimes a little more generous with its stars than PRICELINE is.

Romelle

[MartinH]

Hi Romelle,

thanks for the hint with search for events. But when i search on HOTWIRE - the cheapest hotel in manhattan with 3* i found was $ 185 plus tax.. a bit over my budget...nothing cheaper in NYC?

Martin

[Romelle]

HOTWIRE can run a little higher than PRICELINE, although not necessarily so. Sort of what one pays for knowing the amenities going in. Regarding whether you will find something cheaper on Priceline, you can look on the Calendar of Wins (Tools menu up above) to see if another member has reported anything on your dates. The only other real way to find out is to actually bid. No crystal ball.

There are lots of links to hotel sources on the Support page, and also the Maps and Hotels link (Tools menu again). It is pretty amazing! Knowing the rates from conventional reservations is useful.

It can be a good idea to make a cancelable back-up reservation, then continue bidding for a better deal until the last minute.

Everybody's budget is different. A while back, my son and I wanted to go to New York and rates were out of sight. We opted to stay clear out at a Newark airport hotel. Shuttle/airport train/city bus and train to get downtown New York. It was still a fine trip.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Are your dates not yet confirmed or so flexible that any 7 days in the month of September are acceptable? If the latter you'll likely do better near the beginning of the month vs. the end of the month, but September is usually a more expensive month in NYC than February (which is considered 'low season')

Is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID and/or staying outside of Manhattan and commuting into the city an option to save some money?

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

[MartinH]

Everybody's budget is different. A while back, my son and I wanted to go to New York and rates were out of sight. We opted to stay clear out at a Newark airport hotel. Shuttle/airport train/city bus and train to get downtown New York. It was still a fine trip.

This might also be an option... how much did you pay for commuting between new york city and the airport hotel? did you have a week pass? or did you pay for every ride between hotel and city extra?

Martin

[MartinH]

Are your dates not yet confirmed or so flexible that any 7 days in the month of September are acceptable? If the latter you'll likely do better near the beginning of the month vs. the end of the month, but September is usually a more expensive month in NYC than February (which is considered 'low season')

Is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID and/or staying outside of Manhattan and commuting into the city an option to save some money?

we are flexible in september that we can book when we found a good price for flight and hotel. splitting the bid is a good idea i haven't considered yet.

staying outside manhattan: if it is worth the price but then there should be a good bus/subway connection to get into the city.

i already thought about services like airbnb or 9flats. but have no experience with it.

[Romelle]

This might also be an option... how much did you pay for commuting between new york city and the airport hotel? did you have a week pass? or did you pay for every ride between hotel and city extra?

Its been a couple years, so I really don't remember what we paid. It was only for 3 nights, so no weekly pass. I'm sure I was insisting upon "senior" rates when available. I'd guess maybe $10-$15 apiece a day, although my non-senior son may have paid somewhat more.

Newark airport is of course the furthest out (translation - worst) possible choice of the three main airports, but my son found some sort of package deal whereby the flight from MSP and the 3 nights at the hotel was only a couple hundred $$ apiece. It made a little transportation aggravation make sense.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific with the details.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Commuting from EWR there are a few options, and while do-able, none of them are great, imo:

First you need to take the hotel shuttle to the airport (time waiting for shuttle, then travel time to airport). From there your options:

AirTrain: ~$12 each way per person (terminal monrail to train, then train into the city)

AirTrain and PATH: not sure, but perhaps $6-$9 each way per person (i'll research it if necessary, but for reasons discussed here there are better options, imo)... adds a bit of time to the AirTrain only option above

Shuttle: $15 each way per person (takes a coach bus into the city... commute time highly dependent up on traffic... could take 30 minutes... in extreme situation could take 90 minutes)

Bus to PATH: take the NJ Transit bus to Newark Penn Station. This is the most affordable option at ~$5-$6 per person each way, but figure over an hour commuting each way (and you don't want to be wondering or standing on a street corner in Newark at nite waiting for a bus to pick you up.

My 'outside of Manhattan' suggestion would be focused around the 4* hotels in the Jersey City-Hoboken area which provide easy access to Manhattan, as well as are nice areas with things to do in the immediate area in their own right.

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

[MartinH]

Commuting from EWR there are a few options, and while do-able, none of them are great, imo:

First you need to take the hotel shuttle to the airport (time waiting for shuttle, then travel time to airport). From there your options:

AirTrain: ~$12 each way per person (terminal monrail to train, then train into the city)

AirTrain and PATH: not sure, but perhaps $6-$9 each way per person (i'll research it if necessary, but for reasons discussed here there are better options, imo)... adds a bit of time to the AirTrain only option above

Shuttle: $15 each way per person (takes a coach bus into the city... commute time highly dependent up on traffic... could take 30 minutes... in extreme situation could take 90 minutes)

Bus to PATH: take the NJ Transit bus to Newark Penn Station. This is the most affordable option at ~$5-$6 per person each way, but figure over an hour commuting each way (and you don't want to be wondering or standing on a street corner in Newark at nite waiting for a bus to pick you up.

Seems that the "airport hotel solution" is not so good...i could pay $12+$12 a day more and have a better hotel insted of paying train/bus fees.

BTW is there a website where i type in two places in New York and it tells me what trains/busses to take in order to get there?

My 'outside of Manhattan' suggestion would be focused around the 4* hotels in the Jersey City-Hoboken area which provide easy access to Manhattan, as well as are nice areas with things to do in the immediate area in their own right.

To use your 'outside Manhatten' solution, i only have to check "Jersey City" - What about Hoboken? - there's no checkbox for that..

Thanks

Martin

[thereuare]

To use your 'outside Manhatten' solution, i only have to check "Jersey City" - What about Hoboken? - there's no checkbox for that..

The Jersey City zone extends into the city limits of Hoboken. The only hotel in Hoboken is the 'W Hoboken'.

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