Priceline Hotel: NYC for the first time!

CaliRee · November 12, 2005

Awesome site!!! Used tips on this site to find great rates for San Francisco.

Anyways...going to NYC for the weekend 12/16-12/18 (two nights) and want to stay near Midtown, 3*+ for $200 or less a night. How should I tackle this using Priceline? Should I have a back up hotel?

Thanks.

dave · November 12, 2005

Please check and let us know whether hotels in the following PL zones are acceptable: MTW, MTE, MTS, UM-CPS.

We can then advise further if needed.

For the benefit of members of this board, do you think you could post your Priceline / Hotwire wins for San Francisco?

Thanks :)

CaliRee · November 12, 2005

Willing to stay at them all: MTE, MTW, MTS and UM-CPS. Don't want to have to pay more than $200 (but may be impossible due to the season).

Also a little confused, read through some of the tips, and don't understand how you can bid an area, a star rating...and if it's denied rebid a higher price without adding a rating or area.

So, as far as successfully won bids on Priceline in SF:

Argent-4*-Union Square East - Embarcadero-$110-12/30/04(2 nights)

Hilton-3*-Fisherman's Wharf-$90-8/22/05(2 nights)

Grand Hyatt-4*-Union Square East - Embarcadero-$73-8/21/05 (1 night)

dahammer · November 12, 2005

Cali, Welcome to the board, please read this post and it will explain:

Priceline rebidding explained

Also, please read the following and post your SF results in this format so it will benefit others travelling to this area Share your hotel information

We will then be happy to post a bidding stragegy for NYC

thereuare · November 12, 2005

You should book a back-up as that will also help you determine your true maximum bid.... what if you can't find anything under $200/nite?

Let us know if you have any questions with re-bidding after reading the above link and let us know if you find a suitable back-up (and how much)... we'll then take it from there.

CaliRee · November 15, 2005

That's what I need help with...if $200 is out of the question on Priceline, what should I expect to pay for a decent hotel in NY? Never been so don't know what to expect :) , can always use the online travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity, but that's too pricey for me. Is it better to wait right before the travel date and place a bid?

Thanks.

thereuare · November 15, 2005

You're probably looking at closer to $250-$300.

Let us know if this is within your budget and we'll suggest a strategy to try; if not, let us know your budget and we'll try to suggest other alternatives (like staying in a commutable area outside of the city)

CaliRee · November 15, 2005

It seems we may have to bite the bullet and anticipate paying $250-300+ for that weekend.

But besides just increasing the bid on Priceline(which we actually did last night, we bid up to $255 per night and included every area except the UWS and still got nothing, are there any other alternatives to booking a room in the city?

I heard EasyClick Travel may be a good alternative for good prices, but I heard alot of their hotel listings only have requests for rooms rather than actual reservations.

Still got a month before we actually go, so the benefit of time is on our side.

thereuare · November 15, 2005

Before doing anything further i think you should re-read the link above on re-bidding, ask questions, and then wait for a bidding strategy.

EasyClickTravel does show you if the hotel is 'available' or 'on request', but for high demand periods and only a month away most hotels will likely only be showing 'on request' at this point, and i'd be doubtful that most hotels would release additional inventory to them during a peak period.

CaliRee · November 15, 2005

Yes, I've read the instructions on bidding and I think I get the bidding strategy now, but for the case of NYC, there's only 7 zones, and most of them have hotels that include 3 stars. So to be able to "cheat" another bid by selecting another zone doesn't apply. Unless, I'm completely dense, I don't think there's any way to add increase bids for essentially the same zone. I'm more confused then ever.

thereuare · November 15, 2005

But besides just increasing the bid on Priceline(which we actually did last night, we bid up to $255 per night and included every area except the UWS and still got nothing

At what star level did you bid? I had assumed 4* but i guess you tried at the 3* level?

You didn't include the USW zone in your above bidding, but do you know what is the highest star level offered in the USW zone?

CaliRee · November 15, 2005

Went as low as 3* and didn't include the USW zone because it wasn't listed on the NY list of hotels(on this site) and didn't want to run the risk of getting a place in USW when e we really wanted to be close to Times Square (only condsidered the SOHO, Financial District because there were so many hotels in that area we wouldn't mind staying in). Should I just ditch the Priceline route and sleep in the park? :)

Thanks for the help.

thereuare · November 15, 2005

The above indicates that you don't really understand the re-bid concept....

Engage us in this exercise:

List each Priceline zone and next to it let us know the highest star rated hotel offered in that zone. To determine the highest star level offered in each zone, do the following, as explained in the PRICELINE RE-BIDDING thread:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.

CaliRee · November 15, 2005

Oh my gosh, I'm so stupid! So that's how it works...Okay now that I understand this, it looks like only the USW and USE have hotels less than 4*'s. So essentially, I've only got two opps for a particular zone to rebid if I want to stay in a 4* or better? I now see the light! Since I've already wasted my bids for the next 2 days, what should my strategy be when I go back to Priceline in 2 days?

Thanks.

thereuare · November 16, 2005

Bump this thread about a half a day before you're able to bid again so we looking at current rates.

CaliRee · November 22, 2005

Here's what I bid (unsuccessfully) last week for rooms during 12/16-12/18

Selected 4* MTW...

Bid $255, added re-bid zone...