Priceline Hotel: September - is it too early to bid?

linzik85 · March 2, 2014

Hi

We are visiting New York from the UK from the 13th September for 3 nights (dates are exact with no leeway as flights are booked). Trawled all sorts of hotel sites but can't seem to find anywhere with decent reviews for the price we are after. A lady at work suggested Priceline - and after feeling totally baffled by what or when to bid, I found myself here!

We are 2 adults with a budget of between $500 - $600 for our entire stay. Ideally we would like a 3* or 3 1/2* and above in the following areas:

Chelsea area

Empire State Building area

Hell's Kitchen

Madison Square Garden

Midtown East

Midtown West

Times Square - Theatre District

As I am totally new to this, I have no idea if our budget and preferred areas are even achievable so all help and advice will be greatly appreciated!

AaronJB · March 2, 2014

Welcome to Betterbidding.

Do keep in mind with NYC reviews, if you find a hotel with consistently stellar reviews, that is saying (I believe) more than usual, given the fact that high regular/full room rates create expectations that - I think - often can't be met. If you see hotels with reviews that mention significant issues, that is certainly something to consider, but I think a hotel that gets mostly "above-average" reviews with the negatives discussing things like "small rooms" (the majority of rooms in NYC are small) should still be given consideration.

All that said, the issue with PRICELINE bidding is that you have to be willing to accept ANY hotel at the star rating chosen in the zone/s chosen. With Price.line Express, there is the ability to narrow down somewhat, but given the general nature (something like "fitness center") of a number of the amenities that the Price.line Express listings show, there are still often at least a few possibilities for a particular listing. Hot.wire is the most expensive, but possibilities can be narrowed further than the other two options.

Is your desired budget "all in" (including taxes/fees) or $500-600 + taxes/fees? The Fall and early half of Winter in NYC is very expensive - while it looks like you can get something for your date/s in your budget (if it is $500-600 + taxes/fees), it is more likely 3* than 3.5*.

Are you okay with possibly getting any hotel within the desired zone/s?

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

linzik85 · March 2, 2014

The hotels I found didn't just have issues like "small room" or the odd person picking fault with staff etc. We're easy going people and have stayed in some rather questionable hotels so small rooms and rude reception staff aren't enough to put us off. At the end of the day, if it's clean and conveniently located then that's all that matters - we're not going on holiday to spend our time in our room :-)

I've had a look at the list of Priceline hotels and they're all better than what I have found searching myself, so we're more than happy to accept any of those if our bid was to be accepted... even the 3*.

I think if it was to tip the $600 mark then taxes and fees would need to be included in that.. but as I said in my original post - with not being from the US I don't know what is achievable in New York at that time of year for our budget so if we needed to spend a bit more then we may be able to stretch.

thereuare · March 3, 2014

If trying to stay at $200/nite 'all-in' you're looking about $165/nite bid price, and while at current prices this may be difficult (vs. if your bid price was $200/nite (as you are right on the 'edge' of pricing for this time of year)) you can try as follows for the zones you have listed above:

Select 3* Chelsea...