estella85 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Posted August 11, 2015 Hi there, I am new to HOTWIRE and PRICELINE and would like to seek advise for my upcoming trip to NYC. We are not sure which area to stay and I guess the most recommended area will be at times square? I prefer to stay somewhere that's convenient/accessible. Since it's our honeymoon, hotel with 3.5-4.5* rating will be good. Our budget is about USD200-250/night inclusive of taxes. Any recommendation? Thanks! :)
AaronJB Posted August 11, 2015 Report Posted August 11, 2015 Welcome to Betterbidding. :) Congrats on your honeymoon! Personally, honeymoon in my opinion isn't Times Square as much as it is perhaps Central Park South or Midtown East/Empire State. Times Square is arguably the most well-known area in NYC, but it's also the most crowded/hectic and expensive. Unfortunately, rates are often high in the Fall and these dates in October are expensive. Unfortunately, I think you're likely looking at more towards $240-270 or higher (depending on zone) + taxes/fees for a 4* in the Midtown area. I do see what appears to be the Tryp Times Square South on HOTWIRE for $249 (you may see a slightly different price.) That gets excellent reviews on Tripadvisor. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.
estella85 Posted August 12, 2015 Author Report Posted August 12, 2015 Hi AaronJB, Thanks for the warm welcome :) Midtown East looks good too! Is it considered a commercial or tourist district? I prefer location near the shopping malls and metro. Are the prices much cheaper in midtown east compared to times square? Which hotel would you recommend? thanks
thereuare Posted August 12, 2015 Report Posted August 12, 2015 As far as cities go, NYC is very geographically large and there is no one location that will have you close to everything. You have the right idea by wanting to be close to a subway, as that is the key point to focus on since it will provide you easy access to anywhere you want to go... but regarding shopping malls, there are no 'true' malls in NYC (ok, i can think of 1 or 2 but this isn't where most shopping is actually done. Most shopping is done at stores that are street level at the base of office/residential buildings. There is shopping throughout NYC, with like-minded store genres often being close to each other: Downtown-Financial --> discount stores High End Shopping --> Central Park South / Fifth Ave Chains (Gap, H&M, Macy's, etc) --> midtown but also scattered throughout the city Boutiques --> Soho, Chelsea Use our BiddingHelper.com tool and search for your dates with the HOTWIRE and PRICELINE EXPRESS tabs, you can get a sense of pricing in all the different zones... you'll probably need to be near the upper end of your budget (and perhaps a little over) for something nice during this time of year. (you can also user our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com (searching 1 mile from Times Square NYC) and then zoom in/out on the map to see retail rates in the different parts of the city to give you an idea of how high rates are through conventional booking channels) Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 22, 2015 Author Report Posted August 22, 2015 Sorry for the late reply as I was busy with my wedding plan. Gosh my trip is getting nearer and I've not booked my hotels. Would u be able to recommend which hotels in midtown? Better to use Price.line or Hot.wire? Thanks
thereuare Posted August 22, 2015 Report Posted August 22, 2015 Here is some NYC midtown zone information i recently posted to the board: ESB, MTW, TS ==> all generally considered to be well located CPS - well located but contains the Hudson Hotel which has notoriously small rooms (even by NYC standards) Chelsea - some hotels can be up to a 10 minute walk to the subway but this is a 'hot' area right now with lots of boutiques, restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, etc. so it is still considered to be a very desirable area MSG - well located but the Wyndham New Yorker is frequently won here where reviews are mixed, so you should be OK with this hotel if including this zone in your bidding MTE - most hotels well located but a few can be up to a 10-15 minute walk to the subway If you let us know which zone(s) you're willing to accept, we will suggest a strategy for you to follow. Also, did you first want to try for a 4* hotel up to your maximum bid, then if rejected try for a 3.5*... OR is the goal the least expensive 3.5* or better for this stay? What is your maximum bid price (before taxes/fees)? Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Let us know the information above and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow. PS- a brief look at rates for these dates and there is not too much within your budget, so you it would be best if you included as many zones that would be acceptable (or bump up your budget a bit if possible) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 22, 2015 Author Report Posted August 22, 2015 I shall zoom into midtown west and Times Square area. Does most of the hotel charge resort/facilities fee there? My max budget will be usd280 per night inclusive of taxes and fees. Location must be near subway station. Don't prefer old/run down hotel. Yes we can try for 4* first. If rejected, can drop to 3.5*.Is there any instances whereby the successful bid is higher than other booking sites?Thanks!
thereuare Posted August 23, 2015 Report Posted August 23, 2015 Does most of the hotel charge resort/facilities fee there?Most do not... but a few do. ...inclusive of taxes and fees.What is your maximum bid price (before taxes/fees)?2x Location must be near subway station.When bidding on PRICELINE you need to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating (or higher) that you choose. TS and MTW are geographically small enough, and centrally located, that i don't think proximity to a subway is going to be an issue, but if you ultimately need to include other zones, how far of a walk do you consider to be 'near' a subway station. Don't prefer old/run down hotel.As per above, you need to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating (or higher) that you bid... if you'd like to try and target a certain style of hotel (or the location) then PRICELINE EXPRESS and/or HOTWIRE might be a better option then bidding as you can then take a guess as to what you may receive based upon the amenities and any other clues shown before your purchase. HOWEVER, searching both for your dates rates start at $245-$290 before taxes and fees. Is there any instances whereby the successful bid is higher than other booking sites?If you don't use a sound bidding strategy and bid too high, then yes, this can happen (which is why we crated our BiddingHelper.com so you can easily see rates from HOTWIRE, PRICELINE EXPRESS, and regular retail prices with just one search and make sure you don't overbid ;) ). Please confirm your bid price and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 23, 2015 Author Report Posted August 23, 2015 I am more or less willing to accept any hotel. but before i do, just want to understand that the hotels offered are decent with some standard? Getting into crappy hotels can be a nightmare. Your search results for $245-$290 is for 4*? If i lower my rating to 3* will i be able to get it within my budget? My bid price should be $240 excluding taxes if i work backwards with my $280 max budget with taxes? within 10 mins walk to a subwway station will be considered near. On average, what are the potential savings for booking through hotwire/priceline versus booking direct with the risk involved? lol.. Thanks for your help so far!
thereuare Posted August 23, 2015 Report Posted August 23, 2015 I am more or less willing to accept any hotel. but before i do, just want to understand that the hotels offered are decent with some standard?You can see all hotels reported to the board in each zone and star level in the Priceline Hotel List (and the equivalent Hotwire Hotel List). If you are only stocking to TS and MTW you should be able to get a 3* hotel in one of these zones at $240 or less. However, if the small rooms at the Hudson are acceptable to you (as a possibility) and you're able to include the CPS zone in your bidding, then you may be able to get a 4* hotel at this price (or a few dollars more)... but the Hudson would be a real possibility so make sure you're acceptable with this as a possible outcome if you decide to include this zone. For comparison purposes, in the TS and MTW zones you're likely looking at $275 for a 4* hotel. On average, what are the potential savings for booking through hotwire/priceline...This is impossible to answer as it changes based upon supply and demand. If a hotel is nearly at full occupancy their rates are already high, and even though there is more profit in the rooms for them, they are less likely to discount too deeply since they are not desperate for the revenue and will hold on to any available rooms in hopes of selling them at full price to last minute customers... whereas if a hotel is only at 40% occupancy, their rates are already low, and even though there is not much profit margin in these lower priced rooms, they are more likely to discount deeply in an effort to fill rooms (as this covers some of their fixed costs such as 'x' number of front desk personnel, housekeeping, maintenance workers, electricity, etc. Use our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com and search within '1 mile of Times Square, NYC' for your dates (once the results are shown filter to only show the star rating hotels you'd like and zoom in on the map)... you'll see that most 3* and higher hotels in this area start at $300+ for your dates. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Posted August 24, 2015 Thanks for the list. 3* TRYP times square and paramount hotel from priceline list does look decent. Is this the exhauast list or there might be a possiblity of getting another hotel too? If there's a gd strategy with high chance of hitting one of these hotels within my budget (usd240 or lower) will be great! I prefer to stick with TS and MTW only. I shall take the chance and see what hotel can i get as i'm really tired of searching for hotels. i still have another one in orlando hanging in another thread. I guess i will be using priceline? Here's my preference and see if you are able to work out a strategy: Max bid price: USD240 (excluding taxes) 1. 4*Times square 2. 4* Midtown west 3. 3.5* Times square 4. 3.5* Midtown west 5. 3* Times square 6. 3* Midtown west Does the strategy straight away bid the max price or we go higher each bid? Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks :)
AaronJB Posted August 24, 2015 Report Posted August 24, 2015 As noted at the top of the Priceline Hotel List, it only contains what has been reported to the board. There definitely may be others not yet reported - you have to be flexible when using the discount services. If you are looking to have some sense of what you may be getting, I'd rather suggest you look at PRICELINE EXPRESS or HOTWIRE. I would not suggest bidding in that method. Please read the re-bidding discussion thread and let us know if you have any questions before using that method. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.
thereuare Posted August 25, 2015 Report Posted August 25, 2015 To get started, using Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, are you able to determine your re-bid zone(s) at each star level? In NYC, at the 4* level you have TWO re-bid zones... at the 3.5* and 3* levels there is only ONE. Please confirm your re-bid zones with the board and we'll then suggest a strategy for you to follow. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Posted August 25, 2015 can i just stick to these 2 zones? TS and MTW? just did a further research on a strategy to make use of a zone that doesn't have the star levels. i can make use of coney island where the max is 2* as a free bid?
thereuare Posted August 26, 2015 Report Posted August 26, 2015 At the 4* level you have TWO re-bid zones (can you identify the 2nd one?) Select 4* MTW... Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $205, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* TS... Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $205, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* MTW and TS... Bid $210, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $215, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $220 If the above is rejected wait 2 hours and re-try, once again using this link to access PRICELINE (and any links in any emails that PRICELINE sends you letting you know that you're eligible to bid again) Select 4* MTW... Bid $225, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $230, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $233, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* TS... Bid $225, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $230, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $233, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 4* MTW and TS... Bid $235, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $238, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $240 Any questions feel free to ask. Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
estella85 Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Posted August 30, 2015 hi all, many thanks for the tips and advice. in the end i booked shoreham hotel as i managed to get a gd deal and the reviews are very positive. :)
AaronJB Posted August 30, 2015 Report Posted August 30, 2015 Thank you for closing the thread. Did you get this via PRICELINE EXPRESS/Hot.wire or regular rate? Enjoy your honeymoon.
estella85 Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Posted August 30, 2015 unfortunately not.. i got it with a promo from the hotel instead. Thanks!
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