Priceline Hotel: NYC Sept. 23-26, first time Priceline bidder!

ohvienna · September 7, 2005

Hi all! I'm thinking of using Priceline for the first time, and a friend directed me to this site. What a great resource! I'm hoping someone can help a newbie with a bidding strategy for my stay.

I'm going to be in New York for 3 nights, Sept. 23-26. I'm not particularly fussy when it comes to star-ratings -- I'm thinking I'd be fine with a 2* hotel, and certainly more than happy with a 3*. I don't have any chain preferences. As long as it's clean, safe, quiet, and accessible to public transportation, my needs are pretty much met! :) During this stay, I honestly have no interest in jacuzzis, room service, etc. (nice to have, but definitely NOT essential).

As far as location, I'm also pretty flexible there. I'm mostly interested in seeing a few museums (particularly MoMA, but also the Met and/or the Whitney), and will otherwise just be meeting up with friends who live all over the city. Shopping and tourist activities hold almost no interest for me. The only area that I probably would want to exclude is Lower Manhattan.

With that said, I'm wondering what a good bidding strategy would be? Would it be a good idea to start out at the 3* level, ALL zones (minus Downtown), then expand my search to include 2* hotels if that bid isn't accepted? Also, would a $100 bid be out of the question at this stage, given how busy Sept. is in New York? Ideally, I want to spend under $400 (tax included) on lodging for my total stay.

Also: I've been to New York many times before, but all those times were in the early-mid 1990s. I hear it's changed a lot since then....!

jenndon · September 7, 2005

Hi and Welcome. Thereuare is the moderator and he has great strategy. If you will look at some of the other posts in this section, you will probably find it. Check out one of the links he includes about Re-bidding explained, because it would help. If you will update your post with your upper limit, I'm sure he will help you.

If you are flexible in your zones, I would think you could get a 3*, depending on what you wanted to spend. I just got the Metropolitan NY Doubletree in MTE for $135 for one night. My post on that talks about my bidding strategy, I think.

Basically, you want to only start with one zone, and then if you are rejected, you can add another zone and bid again (instead of waiting the 72 hrs), etc etc, and hopefully can find one within your price range.

thereuare · September 7, 2005

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'm doubtful you're going to find success anywhere near $100/nite.

Do you have any type of back-up plan if you're not successful for under $400 'all-in'? What will you do if not successful and you hit your $400 total limit?

Do be warned that as you start to go towards 2* properties you begin to increase the risk of your some of your criteria (clean, safe, quiet) not being met.

ohvienna · September 8, 2005

Thanks jenndon! I guess I wasn't quite sure how to apply what I've read of Thereuare's strategy and explanation of rebidding in my case, since from what I've read, I'm flexible in terms of both location and star rating; the examples I've read seem to be in regards to people who either want a higher minumum star rating (like a 4*, but will settle for a 3*), and/or want to be in one or two zones specifically. I think my question boils down to this: is bidding/rebidding more likely to be successful if I...

1. bid one or two zones for 3* hotels, then rebid by adding additional zones from there?

2. bid ALL zones (minus Downtown) for 3* hotels, then rebid ALL zones for 2* hotels?

3. Bid ALL zones (minus downtown) for 2* hotels? (Though I don't exactly know what I'd do to rebid, except wait 72 hours!)

It seems to me like #2 would cast my net wider to begin with, but perhaps there's actually an advantage to going with #1 that just seems counterintuitive to me right now as a newbie.

on preview: hi, Thereuare! My backup plan right now is that I have a not-very-nice-but-someplace-to-sleep 1-1/2* hotel booked (I can cancel without penalty up to 48 hours advance), and have also been checking out Craigslist for short-term vacation rentals and in-home B&B's. There are a number within my price range, but I thought I'd give Priceline a try before I commit to that option. (There's also one friend who's offered his couch, but he lives in a very small place with his girlfriend, so I'm hesitant to inconvenience them!)

Also, I'm okay with starting my bid at higher than $100 -- say $120 or $130? I realize with taxes that will put me over the $400 mark, but that's OK. $400 total is just my (probably unrealistic) ideal!

thereuare · September 8, 2005

It sounds as if you understand re-bidding so let us know your maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy to try which goes up to that amount.

You don't want to follow methodology #2 in your example above, as you then only get "one shot" at each star level. Let us know your real maximum bid amount and it'll be easy to see by example why the above is not the right approach.

Unless you state otherwise in your reply, i'm going to assume that you're willing to go as low as a 2* property, unless you've changed your mind based upon my comments above.

ohvienna · September 8, 2005

Yep, I'm still willing to go as low as a 2*. Say my maximum bid is $135 -- with the tax rate, I think it would work out to be about $155/night, or $465/total...? (I don't have a calculator handy, so I'm eyeballin' that!)

thereuare · September 8, 2005

Select 3* MTE, bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone and...