Priceline Hotel: First time using bidding

[French2010]

I will be in NY 09/18-09/23. This is my second time in NY. The first time I stayed in the Millenium Hilton in Finance District but it was covered by my bridesmaids so I never knew the cost of hotels in ny. This time I'm taking my husband and we wld like to stay under 200.00. But the hotels r extremely high. I thought about Long Island City but I don't want to ruin his first trip to NY w a bad hotel in a bad area. After searching for hotels the only thing I found in Manhattan in that range was shared baths. I am nervous that if I go through bidding w Priceline I will get a shared bath. Has this ever happened to anyone? Do u think it's possible to get the Millenium Hilton or something similar for abt $175 in Manhattan thru Bidding? I don't really mind the finance district. Should I limit my bidding to just that area?

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

A couple of posters have written PRICELINE in recent months and they have responded that customer service replied that all PRICELINE rooms have private bathrooms. However, a main concern is that in NYC bidding at the 2.5* and especially at the 2* and 1* levels becomes highly varied in terms of quality - you may get a hotel at the 2* level you may like, but you could also definitely wind up with the complete opposite. This is one of the reasons why there are not as many reports of wins at the lower star ratings in NYC.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult period in NYC and rates are quite high - 4* properties in Manhattan are going for $300+ on HOTWIRE (my guess is that a 4* in Manhattan is going to likely take in the mid-$200's and possibly somewhat higher, depending on zone) and even 3* properties are going for $200+. While 9/20-23 is slightly better by comparison when viewed separately, given how busy these dates are, staying under $200 may not be realistic for Manhattan. What would be your desired star rating?

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

[thereuare]

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

... and please click each of the links above before replying.

Thanks.

[French2010]

I started at $165, 4 star for MTE and of course..nothing. After several attempts and adding different locations I'm up to $190 added 3.5 star and have bid on CPS, FD, MTE, MSG, Soho, and TS. My first choice is mTE, Soho, or FD. Although we'll probably be all over the city. Those are just the areas I'm certain we'll be visiting. We're going 09/18-09/23. I didn't read the forum about the small rooms in cps and the 15 minute walk to subway in MTE until after I started bidding and had already included 3.5 star (after nothing came back for 4*) and CPS so I couldn't change it. My max was $175 but that's really looking unrealistic. So I'm willing to go up to $200. Should I keep bidding up to $200 and adding on more locations or should I just try back tomorrow. If I try back tomorrow how should I bid? I really want a 4 star. My choices in order are MTE, MTW, Soho, ESB or Finance district. Is that realistic for $200 in September? If not, what other areas should I add? I'm okay with any place other than the outer boroughs (brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, etc) and Morning side Heights unless $200 won't get me anything other than these areas. THanks

[French2010]

Thanks! My first choice is 4 star. But I really need to stay at $200 or below. Do you think I would have any luck anywhere in Manhattan for this rate if I went down to 3 star. Also, I've already started the bidding. I just post another question "NYC hotels under 200." But I think this kind of answers my question. So at $200 you think I'll probably end up outside the city?

[thereuare]

You can try, but I don't think you're likely to get anything at 3* or above for $200 or under for this complete set of dates.

If you want to give it a try, and given how difficult i think these dates are likely to be, i'd suggest including all acceptable zones in your bidding in order to increase your chances. At the 4* level the CPS and MTE zones are 'fine' in terms of hotels with any 'known' issues (ie- far from subway or small rooms)... at the 3.5* and under level each of these zones becomes an issue as some MTE hotels can be up to a 15 minute walk to the subway and CPS has the Hudson Hotel with very small rooms. However, you may decide that these are acceptable vs. the alternative of staying outside of Manhattan.

Another option would be SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID... while i don't think you'll succeed at $200 or under for the complete stay, i do think you have a chance for a subset of these dates (and then a different hotel, possibly outside of Manhattan, for the remaining nite(s) of your stay)

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.