Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (MTW) Hilton New York

[Sciamano]

Hi!

A friend of mine and I are going to NYC next January (thursday 5 to thursday 12).

I know it's wrong to target a specific hotel, since Priceline adds new hotels everyday, but it seems like the only 2.5* hotel in Midtown East that comes out through PL is the Courtyard Midtown, which could be a great option for us, since we are on a low budget. :)

The official rates for this hotel are $199 for the first 4 nights and $219 for the remaining 3 nights.

What strategy would you suggest?

Also, since MTS, UES and the UMT zones don't list any 2.5*, could these zones be used to rebid?

Thanks

[Sciamano]

Also, since MTS, UES and the UMT zones don't list any 2.5*, could these zones be used to rebid?

Ok, I answer to this by myself: no they could not, because of the "risk" of Priceline upgrading my bid to a 3*

Regarding the strategy, anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks in advance.

[Sciamano]

<bump>

[thereuare]

Let us know your maximum bid and if any of the other zones are also acceptable to you and we'll suggest a strategy to follow up to your maximum bid.

Are you willing to SPLIT YOUR BID?

[Sciamano]

Hi thereuare, and thanks for your reply.

I think I've visited ALL the websites of ALL the hotels listed as possible candidates using Priceline in NYC, and it looks like the hotel with the best price/quality ratio for the period of our stay is the Milennium UN Plaza at $169/night.

Considering it's a 3-star hotel, I guess we would want to save some money if we bid for a lower-rated hotel, such a 2.5-star.

Therefore I'd say our maximum bid would be around $120, although I'm not sure it is a realistic goal.

Regarding splitting the bid, we might consider it, but since there's still plenty of time we'd rather try a single bid for now.

Other zones are not acceptable, because of the low quality of the 2.5 star hotels listed. It seems like the Courtyard Midtown is the only decent hotel in this star-rating.

Anyway, alternative solutions for saving some money would be appreciated. :)

[thereuare]

Would the MTW and UM/CPS zones be acceptable if bidding at a 3* or 4* level?

If so, i would bid as follows (you have two re-bid zones available, ifyou're not sure which they are please read PRICELINE RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board if you're unsure)

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTE...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* UM/CPS...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW and MTE and UM/CPS...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120.

Let us know if your needs allow you to give the above a try and/or how it goes.

[Sciamano]

Hi thereuare, and thanks for your reply.

Fact is that I've already tried to bid for a 4-star hotel in the MTW-MTE zone (and also added UMT-CPS as some sort of "rebid" zone, considering that the rates for that zone are usually much higher) and got rejected all my bids up to $175..

Therefore I think your strategy would definitely fail, unless there is something I did not understand and/or there's a mistake in the star-rating you are suggesting me to bid for. :)

[thereuare]

When did you last try your bids up to $175?

Rates are not high for these dates, but there are rate changes for various date(s) within your stay... which would imply (and i would think that) you could have success for some nites of your stay at a 4* property, but it would involve splitting your bid.

Don't know if that is an option. I know you stated previously that you would rather not split the bid, but perhaps that was only if bidding for a 2.5* property. Is splitting your bid worthwhile if you could stay at a 4* for part of your stay (how about if it was for a 3*)?

Let us know and we'll advise accordingly.

PS- where was the $169/nite rate for the Millenium UN?

[Sciamano]

When did you last try your bids up to $175?

Last saturday.

Don't know if that is an option. I know you stated previously that you would rather not split the bid, but perhaps that was only if bidding for a 2.5* property. Is splitting your bid worthwhile if you could stay at a 4* for part of your stay (how about if it was for a 3*)?

It's not that we are not willing to split our bid, it's just that we consider this some sort of "last chance" in case we cannot find any other solution.

At the moment, we'd rather save some money than stay at a better hotel. The problem seems to be that going under the 3-star level in NYC is risky... and if saving money means finding rats in our room (and it looks like this happens in some 2 star hotels in NY) then we definitely don't want this. :)

PS- where was the $169/nite rate for the Millenium UN?

On www.millenniumhotels.com

The rate is still there, actually. :)

[thereuare]

The rate for the Millenium is refundable (i believe) so i would book that as a cancellable back-up.

Not sure how familiar you are with Priceline, but they don't average prices of your stay, your winning bid must be high enough for each nite of your stay. If there is just one nite during your stay that is higher than your bid amount, your bid will be rejected. So even though you have been rejected already up to $175, there is a chance (and i believe a good one) that you can be accepted for a portion of your stay at lower rates than you've already been rejected.

Perhaps where our thoughts differ is that you would rather stay at a lower rated hotel than split your stay (which you call a "last resort") while i would prefer to have part of my stay at a nicer hotel and would only choose to stay at a lower quality hotel as a "last resort" (and then for only the days that i would have to).

Of course the above is a moot point if the lower star rated hotel is cheaper than the higher quality hotel (and offers a better value)... but in NYC there is not much difference between the prices of a 4* hotel and a 3* hotel, so therefore i think the better option is to split your stay in an attempt to get a higher rated hotel (because you won't be saving too much by going with a lower quality hotel... this strategy would be a good one in most cities, but it's not typically the case in NYC).

Your thougths?

[Sciamano]

The rate at the Milennium UN is refundable, so I booked it as a cancellable backup as you suggested.

I understand your reasons regarding splitting our stay, and will talk to my friend to see if she would accept this.

Someone also suggested to bid for a 3-star hotel in Jersey City, since it's just a commute of a few minutes by train and rates are much lower than Manhattan. We could also consider this, but only if that makes us save some money. What do you think?

[thereuare]

Jersey City is a good alternative when rates are high in NYC... but i don't think that rates are that high for these dates.

If you are willing to split your bid you should be able to get a 4* property at/close to your budget for at least part of your stay... then you can determine what to do (Jersey City or lower rated hotel in NYC) in order to 'fill-in' the missing nites.

[Sciamano]

I'll talk to my friend tonight, so that we can decide a definitive strategy and stick to it from now on.

I've had a look at rates in NJ too, and it looks to me that those hotels behave strangely. Look at this:

Doubletree Club Jersey City:

1/5 $219

1/6 $159

1/7 $159

1/8 $239

1/9 $239

1/10 $239

1/11 $239

BUT If I use 1/5-11 as checkin/checkout dates the website gives back a rate of $199/night AND If I use 1/6-11 as checkin/checkout dates the website gives back a rate of $159/night, even though the official rate for 1/8-9-10 is $239.

So it looks to me that the "highest" rated dates in my stay are the first night (1/5) and the last (1/11)... Any thoughts?

Finally, just as a clarification, with "you should be able to get a 4* property at/close to your budget" did you mean the initial $120 that I stated or the $175 of my highest bid?

Thanks a lot for your patience. :)

[thereuare]

It's not unusual to see different rates for different nite combinations.

Generally the assessment from the above should be that the nites of 1/6 and 1/7 are the least expensive, with the nites of 1/8-1/11 being most expensive.

I think you have a very good chance at being successful for a 4* in NYC for at least part of your stay at $120.

[Sciamano]

Thanks thereuare. I will explain all this to my friend tonight, and decide what to do.

All this considered we will probably split our bid and try to get the most out of our budget. If this means we have to change hotels, ok.

Thanks a lot so far, you've been very helpful.

[Sciamano]

Hi thereuare. I spoke to my friend and we decided to split our bid. But before we do this, I would like to hear your opinion on this: I noticed that the rate for the Marriott Marquis (for my dates) has decreased since I started looking for a hotel. It was $269/nt and now it has fallen to $220/nt. So we were wondering, what if they fall more in the near future? We might have a chance of getting a "whole" stay...

Would it be utopic to go on bidding for the whole stay until, let's say, first week of december, and if nothing happens by then, split our bids?

Would it be "dangerous" in terms of decreasing the chances of a success in the "split bid" strategy?

Also, considering the split bid option, how would you bid, and what budget do you think would be necessary to cover the whole stay, for a 4-star hotel? You stated before that we could be successful at $120-130 for a part of our stay, but what about the remaining days?

Thanks a lot

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will go down between now and your stay... but they coudl also go up!

I also wouldn't use the rates from one hotel, which doesn't come up on Priceline very often, to dictate your bidding approach and timing. What if you wait and one day you look and all the rates are much higher?

I don't think that rates are going to be the issue there... they're not high as it is. The difficulty is in the length of stay as you're looking for a hotel that has discounted rates for the entire 7 nites of your stay. If there is a small conference at the hotel, a large group, a wedding, etc, for just one nite of your stay for which rates are a bit higher... you then need to bid that higher amount for the entire length of your stay in order to be accepted.

To take an example for a 5 nite stay with the following "priceline" rates:

Hotel 1: $100/$100/$100/$100/$225

Hotel 2: $225/$10//$100/$100/$100

If you bid for the complete stay you would be rejected at $200/nite (even though the average rate is well under $200/nite), but if you split the stay you would be accepted at $100 but for two different hotels. I'm not saying this is definately the case for your own situation, but it may be, and it shows how the length of stay can affect your chances of success.

If you really are opposed to switching hotels i would bid up to your current back-up reservation ($169) which would better your hotel and give you a continuous stay. If you're looking to save money i would split the bid and bid between $120-$140, depending upon what your budget allows. I wouldn't bid these amounts right of the bat, but use a strategy to gradually increase to these figures.

Let us know what you decide and we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

[Sciamano]

Hi thereuare. We decided to try and split our bid, as long as we can get a nice deal. :)

Therefore I'm all ears.

[thereuare]

You have two re-bid zones available, if you're not sure about re-bidding please read PRICELINE RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones if you're unsure.

This is how i would bid:

1/5/06-1/12/06

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $100, if rejected add MTE...

Bid $105, if rejected add UM/CPS...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Then repeat the above cycle in the following date order:

1/5/06-1/11/06

1/5/06-1/10/06

1/5/06-1/9/06

1/5/06-1/8/06

(if none of the above are successful i doubt the following will either, but just to complete the cycle)

1/6/06-1/12/06

1/7/06-1/12/06

1/8/06-1/12/06

1/9/06-1/12/06

You will not need to wait 72 hours between the above bids since you change the dates for each bid cycle.

If you have success at any point, or receive a counter-offer, stop bidding and report back.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck.

[Sciamano]

Rebid zones are UES and UWS, since they don't have any 4 star hotel.

I'm going to try right now, and see what happens. Will report as soon as I have news.

Thanks

[Sciamano]

Followed the strategy. All bids rejected. Every combination of dates up to $120. :)

[thereuare]

In 72 hours i would try as follows if your budget allows (going thru each of the dates again):

Select 4* MTW....

Bid $120, if rejected add MTE...

Bid $125, if rejected add UM/CPS...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140.

The above is the short version, if you have time on your hands you can try as follows:

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTE...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* UM/CPS...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW and MTE...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW and UM/CPS...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW and MTE and UM/CPS...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140.

If you don't have success up to $140 for any of the date combinations than i would just sit tight for a week or so and then post back.... based upon current rates you should have some sort of success for these dates.

Let us know if you have any additional thoughts or questions.

[Sciamano]

Thanks thereuare. In the meantime I did some research on 3* hotels for my stay, and especially for the MTE hotels, there seem to be nice rates which could be even better with Priceline:

Doubletree Metropolitan:

1/5 $135

1/6 $152

1/7 $152

1/8 $118

1/9 $152

1/10 $186

1/11 $186

Crowne Plaza UN

1/5 $149

1/6 $149

1/7 $149

1/8 $149

1/9 $159

1/10 $159

1/11 $159

Radisson Lexington

1/5 $159

1/6 $149

1/7 $199

1/8 $159

1/9 $159

1/10 $159

1/11 $159

While the Marriott East Side, the Roosevelt and the 3*hotels in the MTW zone all have rates comparable to the 4* star hotels ones.

Could this be useful? Maybe we can't get a 4* hotel with our budget, but could get one of the aforementioned 3* hotels.

[thereuare]

I think the above confirms that rates are not high for your dates.

We don't typically see much difference in price between the 4* properties and the 3* properties in NYC (yes, the 3* are usually less expensive, but not by much). Given this fact i would be holding out for a 4* property as i think it would ultimately prove to be a much better value, but if you'd rather try for a 3* it's up to you.

[Sciamano]

I'll try again for a 4* star in 72 hours, and then I'll decide.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your help so far.