Priceline Hotel: Getting very discouraged about a hotel in June

[loriw1a]

I want to find a four-star hotel in midtown Manhattan area for 6/3 to 6/8 and am worried I may not be able to find anything under $220. I've bid up to $180 with no success and was going to try again in a couple of days. Any thoughts on strategy?

[mastablastas]

Yes, best strategy is to keep trying. You should have more success closer to the date.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

There is no guarantee that rates will come down closer to your stay. This is a busy time and rates can very well continue to hover around these levels or potentially be higher. Which zone/s would be acceptable?

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

[loriw1a]

The areas I'm most interested in are Midtown East, Midtown West, Central Park South. Possibly Empire State Building.

[thereuare]

What star level are you bidding? Have you already included all zones mentioned above in your bidding up to $180? Have you been including ESB in your bidding or not yet? Should we include ESB in a bid strategy OR did you only want to bid the other zones up to your $220 limit and then consider adding ESB?

Is MSG-Chelsea acceptable?

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

[loriw1a]

I've not included ESB I'm my bidding. Do you think I'd be able to get 4-star hotel in the above areas or ESB? Not sure that I'd want to include Chelsea.

[thereuare]

HOTWIRE has what looks to be the 4* Ramada Plaza New Yorker for $198/nite if that is if any interest.

At this precise moment i don't think adding ESB will necessarily help, but it couldn't hurt since it gives more hotels the ability to accept your bid price.

HOTWIRE also has a 3.5* hotel in the TS zone for $209/nite which i i'm guessing is the Belvedere, if you like this property and want to lower your star rating a half star in order to stay within budget... or HOTWIRE has a 4* in the TS zone for $253 so there is a chance you might succeed for a 4* near the top end of your budget although i suspect you may need to be a little higher than $220 to score this same property on PRICELINE.

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.

[loriw1a]

Hmm, I like the idea of the Ramada New Yorker. What area do I put in when using Hotwire to improve my chances of getting that hotel? I was trying to avoid Times Square but may have to include it.

[loriw1a]

I realize the Ramada hotel is not in Times Square, just adding that as an additional comment.

[loriw1a]

Also, do you think it really is the Ramada New Yorker? On HOTWIRE it says it's 70 percent recommended but on TripAdvisor that hotel is 81 percent recommended.

[loriw1a]

No answer?

[thereuare]

We generally reply to threads in the order in which they're received, based upon the last post. When you bump your thread it can often delay a reply since it puts you at the end of the queue.

If you search HOTWIRE for your dates there is a 4* hotel in the MGS-HK zone for $198/nite (your price may differ by a few dollars) with:

Free Internet

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Roll-in Shower

... my best guess for this property would be the Ramada Plaza New Yorker.

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[loriw1a]

I should have jumped on the $198 deal on HOTWIRE because it's gone now. I'll have to keep bidding on PRICELINE but it's not looking good.

[Romelle]

While you continue bidding PRICELINE, do keep checking HOTWIRE. Their deals come and go, and that $198 one could well appear again.

Romelle

[AaronJB]

PRICELINE Express would also be another option to consider.

Hopefully something will become available shortly within your desired range.

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

[loriw1a]

While you continue bidding PRICELINE, do keep checking HOTWIRE. Their deals come and go, and that $198 one could well appear again.

Romelle

I'd like to think so. It looks like that deal on Hotwire has gone up to $283. Do you all think I should grab it? It's Madison Square Garden-Hell's Kitchen.

[AaronJB]

There's a 4* in the TS area for $238 on HOTWIRE - saving nearly $50 a night over the MSG area 4*.

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

[Romelle]

I'm a member, not an official here. But IMHO, I'd do two things:

1 - Not yet get in a hurry. You've still got a couple weeks. HOTWIRE offers change very frequently. On one city I was watching very closely, there seemed to be a little pattern with higher rates showing during the weekend.

2 - Before accepting a HOTWIRE offer, try bidding PRICELINE up to the amount of the HOTWIRE offer (be it either the $283 you mention here or he $238 AaronJB points out in his above post).

Romelle

[Romelle]

Look at the Bonus Money Opportunities area. I just posted a discount code there good for $7/night up to 5 nights.

Romelle

[loriw1a]

Thanks for the tips. As a backup I booked a 3-star hotel on kayak.com in the Murray Hill neighborhood for $230 a night. I'm not a fan of the Times Square area so avoiding that.

Does anyone know why Hotwire's estimated taxes and fees are higher than what New York hotels charge?

[yellowdog]

loriw1a

The estimated taxes and fees includes HOTWIRE's booking fee.

Let us know how we can help you further with your stay.

Yellowdog.

Please use the board's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your purchases and searches

PS. Please check for and use the links in our Support Page whenever possible for your non-opaque purchases, as we have links there to most of the major hotel chains and online booking agencies.