Hotwire Hotel: An Englishman in New York!

[Seville]

Hi

A newbie here, unfamiliar with this approach to booking a room, but keen to get a deal. Help both needed and appreciated.

Happy to stay anywhere reasonably central; will be doing a little bit of tourism with 16 year old son, so need second bed - rollaway fine. Looking for 3.5* + style of hotel. Prefer large to small.

Arriving Thursday 11th Dec departing Sunday 14th. Probably have a price ceiling of around $325 a night; could flex for a cracking deal! Can you help?

By the way, when is the vest time for me to look - now, or closer to December?

Thanks, in advance.

Seville

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

The issue with Price.line is that it only guarantees 1 bed/double occupancy. You can request two beds with the hotel, but they may say no or charge more. In some areas (Orlando, for example), you will likely find getting two beds is no problem. However, with the small rooms in NYC (where, in most cases, 2 beds is a paid upgrade when its even an option), it's highly likely the hotel will say no.

 

The other concern is that this is one of the busiest times of the year in NYC  prime time for holiday shopping and festivities. Prices are high, but I think you do have some options in your desired budget range, One option that stands out is what would appear to be the OneUN on PRICELINE EXPRESS for $260 with 2 beds (under "bed choice" options.) This isn't the most central hotel - it's on the far E border of Midtown East, but it's not bad and one of the lowest priced options at the 3.5-4* level I'm seeing with two beds.

 

The other option would be Hot.wire and searching for 2 adults and 2 children in order to indicate a party of four, which should result in some form of bedding for the entire party. However, searching for four in NYC on Hot.wire is going to result in noticeably higher prices, given the definite premium price for more than double occupancy in NYC.

 

Additionally, I mentioned the OneUN (and let us know if you are interested in that option and we would be happy to point it out on PRICELINE EXPRESS) to try to stay well below (as much as possible, given how busy these dates are) your desired max budget. If you would like to push more towards your desired max in order to get something a little more central or just different, please let us know and we would be happy to offer other suggestions.

 

However, I wouldn't use the bidding side of Price.line for NYC if you would rather not get 1 bed.

 

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

[Seville]

Thank you Aaron for your considered reply - very helpful.

 

A couple of quick questions:

 

- should I act now, or wait a while?  I ask as I got a considerably better deal in NYC in mid-December (2013) by waiting until the beginning of December.  It was the Hilton near the 11/9 memorial - perhaps I was just lucky?

 

- if I do as you suggest and go for the OneUN via Priceline Express, I assume that I'll need to pay in full there and then?

 

Once again, thanks.

Seville

 

 

[AaronJB]

Happy to help! :)

 

PRICELINE EXPRESS is similar to Hot.wire; you do not bid but are presented with a series of listings that offer various information (amenities, star rating, zone) but not name. You do not find the name until after purchase and, like Hot.wire, once you finalize the purchase you are locked in at that rate for those dates at that price. With Price.line's name your own price bidding, if a hotel accepts, then you are locked in at that price for those dates (again though, with NYC the way it is, you will almost certainly get 1 bed if you go that route.)

 

NYC is generally busy-to-very busy from the early Fall to around mid-December (with around 11/26 to 12/15 being the toughest period in terms of traffic and high rates.) Around mid-December, things start to fall off into Christmas until expensive NYE, then after that, January-March is the cheapest period of the year.

 

Rates may come down closer to the stay, but there is really no way to know - it depends entirely upon traffic coming in more/less than expected. I will say that, at least traditionally, this is a busy/expensive period.

 

I will say that you are close to that border around the 15th that may not be QUITE as bad, but I will say that there is some risk in waiting until last minute.

 

The other idea would be to hedge your bets by booking a back-up within your desired budget that can be cancelled (and I would recommend double checking the fine print) so that you have something that is acceptable, then that frees you to be able to sit back and watch and wait to see if a better deal comes along. You can also use our new free service, RateDrop.com, in order to get alerts on price drops for Hot.wire and PRICELINE EXPRESS listings. Let us know if this route would be of interest and we would be happy to offer suggestions.

 

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

[Seville]

Hello again Aaron

 

So it's getting closer to my visit dates and I am once more looking for some advice.   I've been a bit spoilt and I am used to decent hotels so think that I should look for 4* so I don't end up somewhere that I am not happy with.

 

I'd like to use your RateDrop software but wonder if you are able to identify the hotels that are listed?  Or should I simply wait until one reaches my desired purchase price?

 

I have a max of $235 per night, so I may end up having to re-think!

 

Any advice, appreciated.

 

Seville

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately at this point I think $235 is not quite going to be realistic for these dates, which fall at the tail end of pretty much the prime shopping/holiday festivity period in NYC. If you see any listings within your desired budget, please let us know the complete details (on PRICELINE EXPRESS or Hot.wire) - price per night before taxes/fees in USD$, amenities, zone, star rating) and we would be happy to take a look and try to ID.

I would try to be persistent in looking for something within your price range if you do not want to push higher than $235, as it's getting towards this period and - while no way to know what will happen between now and your stay - rates seem to be holding up at these levels.

 

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

[thereuare]

... with 16 year old son, so need second bed - rollaway fine.

Are you willing to accept the risk that the room you are assigned only has one bed and/or that the hotel doesn't offer any rollaways? (if not, would one King bed work for your needs?)

Please confirm the above as it will give us a better idea of your options and we will be in a better position to offer suggestions based upon your needs.

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

[Seville]

oops!  meant to say, it me alone now, no son accompanying!

 

So, a single room is fine....

[thereuare]

... wonder if you are able to identify the hotels that are listed?  Or should I simply wait until one reaches my desired purchase price?

Please let us know if any drop to your price point as researching hotels can be a time consuming process and some of these hotels may never drop to your price point... or they may not be the ones offered if you decide you're willing to increase your budget.

Which zones are acceptable? Currently the only 4 star options i'm seeing within your budget are Downtown (do-able but not the ideal location) OR what appears to be the Empire hotel for $215/nite in the Upper West Side zone. Most of the UWS zone is a bit too far north for the average visitor, but assuming we're correct on the Empire Hotel it is in the southern part of the zone and one block from the subway so a relative to easy commute to Times Square and more centrally located areas.

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

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.