Priceline Hotel: New York City - 12/12/12 - 12/14/12 4*

[jonnygus]

Howdy. I've struck out with PRICELINE thus far. Went from $130 up to $170 for a 4* NYC hotel from the 12th of December through the 14th. Should I hold off and rebid later or am I being unrealistic and bidding too low? I tried every zone south of central park. What are your thoughts? (and I will of course use your PRICELINE link for my bids.)

Thanks,

Bill

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

Unfortunately, this period still falls within the busy period for holiday traffic, which lasts until around the halfway point of the month. What would be your desired budget per night for this stay, and would *all* zones South of Central Park be acceptable?

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

[thereuare]

(and I will of course use your PRICELINE link for my bids.)

Thanks, please click each of these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links before replying.

[jonnygus]

Any zone in Manhattan south of central park is workable. I'd like to keep things under 170$ a person. Do you think a 4* is out of reach? My rebids have not included financial district or Madison square convention yet, but I am not opposed to them. What price do you think I could get for a 3*? Should I hold off a bit before rebidding?

[thereuare]

To avoid any confusion, please list the zones, by PRICELINE name, that you are willing to accept... not the description of the general area that you'd like to stay.

Thanks.

[jonnygus]

5. Downtown - financial district

15. SoHo tribeca

9. Lower East Side

3 Chelsea Area

6 Empire State Building

10. Madison Square Garden - Convention Area

7. Hells Kitchen

16. Times Square

12. Midtown West

11. Midtown east

2. Central park south

You are quick with the replies. And my prior budget should have read 170 per night (not per person...)

THANKS!

[thereuare]

Based upon current rates at the moment your $170 budget looks a little tough.

Your best deal for a 4* hotel at the moment appears to be what i'm guessing is the St. Giles the Court on HOTWIRE for $225/nite. HOWEVER, this property has not been seen as a win via PRICELINE since it changed names a few years ago (previous was the W Hotel The Court) so even though your $170 PRICELINE budget is somewhat close to this hotel's HOTWIRE rate, my guess is that this property isn't an option via PRICELINE.

Unfortunately nobody can say if rates will come down in the next week.. or move even higher. If you're not successful at $170 for a 4* property, do you see yourself increasing your maximum bid, lowering your star rating, something else? I assume your dates are fixed... since if you could delay your trip by one week you'll likely see substantially lower prices.

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

[jonnygus]

Dates are fixed. What sort of deal do you think I could get for a 3 star, or 3.5? Thanks again for all your help.

[thereuare]

For a 3.5* i'd guess somewhere in the $180-$220 range... perhaps $20 less for a 3 star property. But of course i would star lower for each and work your way higher.

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

[thereuare]

I'll add that what looks to be the W Hoboken is offered on HOTWIRE for $136/nite... a great hotel, and Hoboken is a lot of fun too, but with the PATH train not currently running from Hoboken getting to/from the city is a bit of a hassle (it's usually an easy enough commute, but since Hurricane Sandy has taken the PATH train from Hoboken out of service, as well as some NJ Transit trains from the surrounding areas, there are more cars and buses heading thru the Lincoln Tunnel now at all hours, so the traffic becomes a bit more of an 'unknown'... as well as the some re-routing that is being done at the Port Authority)