Priceline Hotel: strategy for Manhattan hotel?

[Al in Berkeley]

Hi there.

Now that I'm looking for a good deal on a Manhattan hotel for late October, I definitely appreciate the value of Better Bidding and hope I can get some help with landing a decent place.

I plan to stay from Wednesday (10/19) through Sunday (10/23). A 4* hotel in Midtown (East preferrably, but West is fine, too) would be great. Actually, I'm open to stay pretty much anywhere in the Midtown to Central Park South area. I'd like to pay less than $150/night, but I'm flexible up to about $170/night.

I would definitely appreciate any advice you can send my way.

Thanks!

Al

[Blueskies]

Are your dates flexible and are you willing to split your bid?

If not, does your budget have more flexibility or would you be willing to take a lower star level?

Looks like a pretty expensive time and MTE in particular due to UN in session (so I believe).

You could always try at the lower level as you have a bit of time.

[Al in Berkeley]

Thanks for your quick reply.

The dates on my trip are pretty solid, but I am definitely flexible on the lower star level.

Also, staying in MTE would be nice, but MTW, UM and CPS would also be fine as long as the hotel is clean.

I'm not sure about splitting the bid. I'd prefer not to, but would consider it if things look tough.

Thanks!

Al

[thereuare]

I think you're likely going to have to raise your maximum bid for these dates... do you have back-up plan if not successful at the above?

[Al in Berkeley]

I do not have a back-up plan yet. I would love to hear ideas, though.

I just read your notes to another poster about Eastgate Towers for early August, and that looked interesting. I'll check out easyclicktravel.com.

It seems like I will have to raise my maximum bid. And that's okay.

Cheers!

[thereuare]

Rates for August are going to be very different than rates for your dates above.

If you decide to raise your maximum bid, what will it be to?

Would you consider staying in nearby NJ and commuting in NYC? (perhaps splitting yoru bid, saving some money on the NJ part of the stay and then spending the savings to stay in NYC for the remainder of the stay?)

[windjay]

If yopu are not frightened of the subway, I suggest you stay anywhere in Manhattan and not limit yourself to midtown. that being said i am having no luck getting a room for mid November at a reasonable price.

[Al in Berkeley]

Yes, it's looking quite tough to land anything at the 3* level under $200/night in the Midtown area.

Thanks for the advice about looking at other parts of Manhattan. I'll take thereuare's advice also, and consider staying in NJ for a couple of the nights.

I'll keep at it with the bidding/rebidding, hoping that something opens up.

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know what happens.

Al

[thereuare]

If you're unsuccessful with your future bidding attempts, you could probably get the Hyatt in Jersey City for part of your stay (easy commute into NYC and great city views) for part of your stay and a Studio Suite at the Beekman Tower for the other part of your stay... at an average cost of $210 or so (before taxes/fees). You could save a couple of extra dollars by spending three days in NJ and one day in NYC, but i would sooner spend the extra few bucks and split two and two.

Let us know if/when the above interests you.

[Al in Berkeley]

After much searching, bidding and rebidding with no luck in Priceline, I booked a room for the first three nights of my stay through Quikbook ("Pay when you stay" style) at the Park South Hotel in the Murray Hill area - $239/night.

I'll use this as my back-up hotel if nothing pans out on Priceline in the next couple of weeks. It's more than I want to pay, yet the options under $200/night are limited. Still open to other ideas, but for now I'm going to take a break from searching.

Thanks for the help.

Al

[thereuare]

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Using the links in our Support Page helps suport this site.

[Al in Berkeley]

Thanks for the reminder. And yes, I definitely used the link from the Support Page.