Priceline Hotel: 4* New York City (Midtown East) Intercontinental The Barclay

[dylio83]

Hey there,

I'll be in NYC end of March and need to book a hotel from the 28th to the 30th March (2 nights Wed-Fri).

Preferred location in order. (If the areas are on the same line it means I don't mind them in any order.)

TS, MTW, CPS

MTE, HK

MSG, ESB, Chelsea

SoHo

Ideally 3.5* to 4* and up to $125 (before taxes etc). I could go to 3* but I've been reading some scary reviews about the hotel quality etc. I don't care if the concierge doesn't smile at me or any of that superficial stuff, as long as its a good clean hotel.

The location isn't too important as I'll be shuttling a lot between TS area and Wall Street so anywhere in between is fine (and I know my way around NYC quite well too) - just would like to avoid Wall Street/Financial district area and Lower East Side.

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

Welcome ot BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages

Then please clarify:

1) To avoid any confusion, please let us know the zones you're willing to accept, by PRICELINE name

2) did you want to try for a 4* first up to your limit, then if rejected try for a 3.5*... OR is your goal the least expensive 3.5* or better for this trip

3) are you willing to pay more for a hotel in your first zone group selection vs. your second zone group selection, etc, etc... OR is the goal the least expensive of any of the acceptable zones?

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

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.

[dylio83]

Hi,

I've read my messages and will use PRICELINE links from this site to bid.

Then please clarify:

1) To avoid any confusion, please let us know the zones you're willing to accept, by Priceline name

TS (16), MTW (12), CPS (2)

MTE (11) , HK (7)

MSG-Convention (10), ESB (6), Chelsea Area (3)

SoHo - Tribeca (15)

I've added the numbered zones within the Priceline map.

2) did you want to try for a 4* first up to your limit, then if rejected try for a 3.5*... OR is your goal the least expensive 3.5* or better for this trip

I want to try 4* to the limit then if rejected try for a 3.5*. Goal is best value for money.

3) are you willing to pay more for a hotel in your first zone group selection vs. your second zone group selection, etc, etc... OR is the goal the least expensive of any of the acceptable zones?

Goal is least expensive of any acceptable zones.

[thereuare]

So to confirm, first plan of action is the least expensive 4* hotel in any of the acceptable zones. If this is correct you can try as follows (NOTE:: there is currently no 4* bidding in the MSG zone which is why we excluded it from the strategy below):

When bidding 4* in NYC 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* TS, MTW, CPS, MTE, HK, ESB, Chelsea, Soho...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $123, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125

Any questions feel free to ask. If the above is rejected post back and we'll revise to try at the 3.5* level (and include MSG)

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[dylio83]

Hi,

Thanks for the above. It seems its still a no go. Could you please provide a similar strategy for 3.5*?

Just an FYI, the strategy you provided is excellent! A friend of mine leaving for NYC this thursday - saturday (8th to 10th March 2012) tried booking hotels using the above strategy and scored the 4* Sheraton Hotel & Towers for just $118 last night.(I made her use the PRICELINE link from this site).

The dates just depend on luck I guess.

Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Thanks for having your friend use the links on the board... perhaps you can get him/her to share their win as well??

Before bidding 3.5* note:

MTE - a few hotels at 3.5* and under can be up to a 15 minute walk to the subway, is this acceptable?

CPS - has the Hudson Hotel, which while well located, has notoriously small rooms (~140 sq. ft.).. is this acceptable?

Please confirm if we should include/exclude these two zones in your bidding strategy and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[dylio83]

Sure will try to get her to post it when she gets back.

The Hudson Hotel room size is not a problem. But I would like to move MTE to the last preferred. So the area preference would be as follows:

TS (16), MTW (12), CPS (2)

HK (7)

MSG-Convention (10), ESB (6), Chelsea Area (3)

SoHo - Tribeca (15), MTE (11)

Once again thanks so much!

[thereuare]

...I would like to move MTE to the last preferred.

If you look at the previous strategy all zones were included in the first bid and this allowed the hotel with the lowest price available to be the one to accept your bid.

You can either not include MTE in the bidding up to a certain point (either your maximum bid or some amount lower) and then start over for just the MTE zone at a lower price... OR include it and let lowest possible price prevail and you'll deal with any walk that might be involved in exchange for the lowest possible price.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[dylio83]

I think in that case we'll just proceed to include MTE and let the lowest price prevail. I'm not bothered by the walking distance that much.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

At the 3.5* level you have SIX 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* TS, MTW, CPS, HK, MSG, ESB, Chelsea, Soho, MTE...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $123, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[dylio83]

Excellent strategy. Got the Intercontinental Barclay's for $135 from 28th March 2012 - 30th March 2012. (Upped my budget today without even trying for 3.5* too)

Used the strategy above generally for the last few weeks every couple of days and didn't managed to secure any hotel even when I went up to $140 once 2 weeks back. Wasn't too worried about not getting a room but from experience I've found being flexible with price/star rating when the time comes was essential in getting a really good deal. While I'm not necessarily recommending it, I generally always get the best Priceline deals a day or two before leaving.

Thanks for your help - used your link to access PRICELINE while bidding.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you were successful at a rate even lower than you had previous tried.

You're also near my often recommended Ess-A-Bagel (Third Ave at 51st St) which has one of the best bagels in the city, makes for a nice, and relatively inexpensive, breakfast among local NYers.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.