Priceline Hotel: 5* NY Oct 2 rejected

[missms]

I'm new to this but didn't see much bidding experience on the board for 5* so I figured I share my experience:

For Upper East, Midtown East, Midtown Central Park, Upper West:

Started at $125 bid up to $225 (by adding mid central then upper west) and still had no takers.

Any advice?

[thereuare]

The only 5* hotel in this area (as of this writing) is the Waldorf Towers in the MTE zone, and they are known not to release inventory until close to check-in date... and only if occupancy is low.

This is discussed further in this thread: 5* Priceline in NYC

I would suggest either waiting 'til inside a week to bid this, but of course, you could then end up with nothing if you hold out for only 5*.

What is your back-up plan? Do you need a strategy for a lower star rating and/or zone if 5* doesn't open up for you OR would you sooner book this conventionally?

Oh yeah.... and welcome to BetterBidding! :)

[Welldone Rumproast]

Hi and welcome -

As thereuare has stated above, the Waldorf Towers is the "known" 5* hotel. This week, George W. is staying there as he speaks to the UN Security Council (the WT is the "official" US Government diplomatic hotel, due in part to its security facilities).

It could be that the General Assembly and Security Council activities are contributing to room scarcity in your time period. The WT is *NOT* sold out, as the Conrad site shows availability for USD 383 (nonrefundable advance pay) and USD 425 (cancellable).

[Phaelon56]

Just an additional thought on this topic.... not sure if Priceline ranks the Plaza as a 5* (Hotwire does) and it is in MTC rather than MTE but be forewarned that if the you win the Plaza on a PL bid, you may find it to be a bit underwhelming for the price. A close friend of mine just finished a one year stint working there behind the scenes (she has since left for western NY state and a new job).

She advised me that although the public areas and the very pricey lartger rooms and suites receive plenty of attention, the property in general, including the smaller rooms (which one would be like to receive on HW or PL wins) are getting a trifle threadbare. Fairmont manages the property but does not own it and can't seem to get the ownership to part with the $$ necessary to really bring this property back to the condition it deserves to be in. Fairmont's efforts to purchase it has been rebuffed - this condition may persist for quite awhile.

[thereuare]

Phaelon, interesting comments, as THIS USER recently won The Plaza for the first nite of a 4 nite stay and decided to not book the remaining nites due to the poor reviews that were read at TripAdvisor. This sparked me to take a look at reviews at Travelocity and i found people either loved it or hated it... often an indication of some great rooms and some inferior rooms.