Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (MTE) InterContinental The Barclay

[Chameleon]

I wrongly posted on another section of the board. I hope to have got things right this time:

I am looking to take my wife on a "second Honneymoon" for our 10th wedding anniversary in Manhattan from the 12th to the 18th of August 2005.

I travel quite a bit for work but it is her first time out of Europe.

I'd really appreciate some advice as to how I can give her a great holiday (without ruining our finances).

I would like to get her something central ( 5/10 mins. walking distance from Times Square), with good beds and quiet rooms, a budget around 150 US$/night, a touch of class and some of that New York Atmosphere....

I understand things get pretty hot around that time of the year so decent A/C and a nice lobby to chill out in would be welcome. I don't really need any fancy amenities like restaurants or exercise rooms.

This is my first time on a forum like this so please forgive any etiquette errors of mine.

Thanks a bundle for any help,

Chameleon

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Are you familiar with RE-BIDDING? If not, please read PRICELINE RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED and feel free to ask any questions that you may have and/or confirm your re-bids with the board (hint: at the 4* level you have 2 re-bid zones available... see if you can figure out which two they are).

Once we know you're "OK" on re-bidding we'll suggest a strategy to move forward. If you don't understand re-bidding, don't get frustrated, ask questions here and we'll explain anything you don't understand or get you around any stumbling blocks you encounter.

[Chameleon]

Hi thereuare,

WOW! lots of information to digest for a newbie so before I sink myself into this , a couple of questions:

1) any country limitations?: I notice most users are either from the US or UK. DO you think there might be some limitations for an Italy based bidder? I would be using my Visa card with at least 2,000 US$ limit. Never had any credit problems with it in the past.

2) is this the right bidding season?: I am just under 3 months away from my due date. Is this the right time to bid or should I wait a little longer?

thanks,

Chameleon

[Blueskies]

Look under Priceline tips under Tips and Tricks for Priceline and Hotwire.

Both areas covered. Just do a search.

[thereuare]

Here are two threads on the subject (there are likely others):

BIDDING TIPS FOR CANADIANS (same applies to those from Italy)

SHOULD I BID EARLY or CLOSE TO ARRIVAL DATE

Let us know if you have any additiona questions as well as if you understand the re-bidding referenced earlier... we'll then be in a position to suggest a strategy whenever you are ready.

[Chameleon]

Hi Thereyouare, Hi all,

I am travelling to the Big Apple for a romantic few days with my wife from the 12th of August through to the 18th.

I have never bought anything using a bidding web-site, however, I have spent the last few hours reading the forum and I think I understand the basics.

I already have a cancellable booking with the 2

[Chameleon]

I may have been a litlle long winded in previous posts, so, to summarize my request so you can suggest a bidding strategy, I am looking for:

NYC - MTE, UM or MTW 4 to 5 star dates 08/12 to 08/18 bidding around 120 to 150 US$.(slight preference for the Astoria).

I have read the re-bidding system but thought I'd to aks for help defining a strategy before I launched myself.

Thanks.

Chameleon

[thereuare]

I don't think you're going to be able to gear your bidding towards a 'historic hotel'... most of the participating hotels are from large chains so the odds favor you will get a typical, business-like, modern hotel. You can certainly purchase a historic hotel on your own, but of course it will likely cost you much more... that is the trade-off.

If you are willing to give up the historic hotel you are looking for for a great price, this is how i would proceed:

Select 4* MTE...

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

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

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW...

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

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

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select UM/CPS...

Bid $115, if rejected add MTE...

Bid $120, if rejected add MTW...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select UM/CPS and MTE and MTW and re-bid zone2 (ie- the one you didn't use immediately above);

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $140.

I would start with the above... any questions feel free to ask.

Let us know how it goes.

[Chameleon]

Hi thereuare, Hi all,

First of all thanks for the kind strategy you gave me.

Unfortunately, despite following your instructions to the letter, I reached the final bid without catching a sale. I even went one bid further by adding MTS and 145 US$ to the list.

So, where do we go from here?...... I'm ok to go up by up to a further 30 US$/night if necessary (ie. 185 US$/night).

1)Is there any value in giving it couple of days rest and trying again in case things have changed?

2)If I want to continue bidding right away, what is my strategy to avoid getting caught in the 72 hour waiting list?

3) Are you surprised by the results ? Could this have been expected?

thanks for your help.

Chameleon

[thereuare]

Be patient...

Rates are not high for your dates, so i would not rush to immediately raise your bid amount (unless this is going to be on your mind and you will worry about it, then the extra money would be well spent to put your mind at ease). Perhaps you should book a cancellable back-up to also put your mind at ease?

If you are willing to SPLIT YOUR BID you can try again immediately, otherwise you will have to wait the necessary 72 hours.

Bump this thread near your 72 hour waiting period and we'll take a look at current rates and re-suggest a strategy to follow (or if you're willing to split your bid let us know and we'll advise accordingly).

[Chameleon]

Thereuare,

thanks for the feedback.

Please consider:

1) I have a back-up cancellable booking for a 2 1/2 star at 140 per night, so there's no anxiety or worry.

2) I can split-book if absolutely necessary.

However, I think (?) you are suggesting it is best 72 hours to get a better deal (I'm not quote sure, why?).

Therefore, I will bump the thread on Monday and kindly ask you for a updated strategy.

meantime, take care,

Chameleon

[Chameleon]

One more question!

If I decide to split blid:

are Friday, Saturday and Sunday "cheap nights" and Monday to Thursday "expensive"? (or is it vice-versa.)

what price ranges should I go for in the cheap bracket and what range in the expensive?

Thanks,

Chameleon

[thereuare]

If you decide you want to split the bid we'll put together a strategy for you.

It's not always as cut and dry as midweek vs. weekend....

Rates may be consistently high throughout your stay and splitting the bid may not help at all. On the other hand one hotel may accept lower rates for the first 3 nites of your stay (but be sold-out or have higher rates for the last 3 nites of your stay), while a second hotel may have low rates for the 2nd half of your stay (and be sold-out or have higher rates for the first half of your stay)... then again this condition may exist when using a split if 4 nites/2 nites or 2nites/4nites. Then again it could be as simple as midweek vs. weekend... but nothing can be determined until each nite of your stay is looked at individually.

If you'd like to help out, and to give you an example of why we don't to put together such a strategy if it won't be utilized, select three or four 4* hotels at random. Now go to their website and list the lowest rate for each nite of your stay (not including AAA or senior discounts) and post them as a reply to this message. We'll then use this information to consider if and how to split the bid.

[Chameleon]

Thanks for the answer.

If you don't mind, I'll bump up this thread on Monday and ask you for a fresh strategy.

If you then recommend the split bid I'll follow your advice.

Chameleon

[Chameleon]

Hi Thereuare,

I'm finding out that this bidding lark is addictive as heck! I'm not sure about really wanting to wait the 72 hours until Monday.

I tried the split bid research on hotel web-sites you suggested on 2 hotels: the Beekman and the Astoria and I split between weekend days (in Friday 08/12 out Monday 08/15) and business (in Monday 08/15 and out Thursday 08/18).

Interestingly they had opposite results:

the Beekman was cheaper on business days @ 168 USD/night against 183 US$/night on weekends

the Waldorf was cheaper on weekends@ 249 US$/night against 299 in business days.

So what do you suggest as my next strategy? Do I build up a split bid along those lines and slowly raise the stakes @5 US$/night?

How high do you think I should go?

thanks for your help,

Chameleon

[blindman]

I have PM'd you with a suggestion. :)

[Chameleon]

thanks blindman, but it's gotta be Manhattan.

[thereuare]

The Beekman does not participate with Priceline or Hotwire, and i assume you got those prices from EasyClickTravel (or did you get them from the hotel's website?) Is the Beekman a possibilty for part of your stay or would you stick with the Sanford (which is in 'Koreatown')

I would try the same strategy as abovefor the weekend dates of your stay and then report back. This will not 're-set' your 72 hour clock from your original post as the two different set of dates consider them to be two entirely different set of bids.

Let us know how it goes.

[Chameleon]

Hi Thereuare,

1) I bookmarked the savingsbarn link and cancelled the direct PRICELINE link to avoid any confusion.

2) Beekman hotel actually I got the name from various post of yours recommending it. Can you tell if you think I'm getting a good deal @168 US$/night for a Suite for the business days (i.e. 08/15 to 08/18)through EasyClickTravel? Would I get a better deal from their invidual web-site?Is EasyClickTravel a reliable web-site?

3) split bidding, ok I'll proceed as per your instruction and let you know.

By the way, are you Manhattan based?

that's all for now, take care,

Marc

[thereuare]

I'm a big fan of The Beekman Towers... although i have never stayed there the reviews are excellent and thru EasyClickTravel the rates are often an excellent value.

The Beekman is not a 5-10 minute walk to Times Square as you originally requested in your first post, it's more like a 15-20 minute walk... but there are busses right near the hotel and a subway station about 7-8 minutes away.

The advantages of the Beekman are that it's not in the center of it all, it's actually in a very quiet area near the East River, yet still convenient to get anywhere you need to go (NYC is actually quite small and condensed). Additionally, most NYC hotel rooms are notoriously small... the Beekman (and other Affinia hotels) are converted apartment buildings turned into hotels. So the 1BR suite at the Beekman will provide you with a true 1BR hotel room (separate BR and LR) and give you more space than most NYC hotel rooms... as well as a kitchen (good for buying soda/water/etc from the supermarket rather than a can/bottle everytime you need it from the corner store)

EasyClickTravel is legitmate, if we suspected they weren't, or if there were recurring problems, we wouldn't affiliate with them :) While ECT itself is fairly new, their parent company has been around awhile and a 'player' in the hotel industry.

I'm located just outside of Manhattan on the Hudson River... a 10-15 minute commute on the PATH train.

[Chameleon]

I split-bid and won the Intercontinental The Barclay @175 US$/night from 08/12 to 08/15.

I checked with the hotel web site and could have got it for 199 US$/night, so not an amazing deal but still better than a kick in the pants.

Did I get a good deal?

what do you suggest I do with the remainer of my stay 08/15 to 08/18? what would be my bidding strategy?

here's the bidding history of this first win:

Selected 4* MTE...

Bid $130, added re-bid zone...1

Bid $135 added re-bid zone...2

Bid $145, closed browser

Selected 4* MTW...

Bid $140, added re-bid zone...1

Bid $155, added re-bid zone...2

Bid $160, closed browser

Selected 4*UM/CPS...

Bid $165, added MTE...

Bid $170, added zone 1

Bid $175 and WON!!!!!!.

looking forwards to your comments,

Chameleon

[thereuare]

Few comments (because you did ask)...

Not a very good bidding strategy :) . You didn't follow the strategy we provided at all and with the way you bid, you never gave yourself a chance to win a hotel in MTE at a price of $150 or above, nor a chance to win a hotel in MTW at a price of $160 or above... so you may have been able to get an acceptance at lower prices in the MTE or MTW zone.

As well, the strategy we provided was based upon the $150 maximum bid you had previously mentioned... if you were willing to bid higher than that we would have suggested a different strategy.

Lastly rates are not high for your dates, and i suspect that as this check-in date approaches you will see lower bids accepted around this timeframe.

So after priceline's fee you probably saved a total of about $50, which is still an extra $50 in your pocket that you can spend however you see fit, but in this situation i think a little patience and sticking with your gameplan (ie- maximum bid, the strategy we suggested, etc) could have eventually landed you a better deal.

Please start a new thread for the balance of your stay.

EDIT to ADD: one point of confusion and i may have to take some of the above back... as you presented it, your last bid was only for UM/CPS (and the two re-bid zones)... but the hotel you won was the Inter-Continental which is in the MTE zone. Did you add MTE as one of your re-bid zones? or perhaps not bid as described above?

[Chameleon]

Hi Thereuare,

I do want to learn where i went wrong.

However, if you look at my second to last bid which included MTE (and was my favourite Zone in the first place), you see I was turned down @165 night.

I then got a little restless and jumped up 10 US$ and won the bid. Oh well, I'll learn!

By the way speaking of learning, are there similar sites to yours for destination outside the US?

Thanks again for all your help.

Chameleon

[thereuare]

Sorry, i didn't see the MTE in the last post (didn't look closely enough and figured it was re-bid1, re-bid2, etc)

Bottomline though is that you asked for a bidding strategy based upon a certain price and then abandonded that limit and (somewhat) hapharzardly bid. It wasn't a total failure, for as you say it's "better than a kick in the pants', but for bidding strategies to work you need to be systematic.

Do you understand the points i had made above? For example, let's assume you were accepted when you had added MTE at $165.... it could have been available for much less since you had never included that zone in any of your bids from $145-$165. Do you see the difference between the strategy you used and the one that was presented previously?

We have a non-US section under the US area and can help with whatever you need, but you can also try cleverbidding.co.uk.

[Chameleon]

Here's my pitch:

After 10 year, two kids and three mortages we are looking forwards to 6 romantic days and nights in NYC.

We want to do "grown-up things".

Don't anybody tell her, but I want to "romance her off her feet".

I've read qite lot of threads and guide books but I thought I'd ask for fresh input from contributors.

Can I ask for tips on secret and unusual stuff that you don't find in the guide books?

ps. I'm on a bit of a budget (150 US$/day + hotels)

Thanks,

Chameleon