Priceline Hotel: Hotel help: NYC March 31st-april 2nd

[davetroy]

First of all, thanks for all of your help in the past (Grand Hyatt in NYC last year; great choice, and Doubletree Seattle Airport this past summer; great choice great bargain). I'm looking for two rooms in NYC for two nights, checking in Friday, March 31st and checking out Sunday, April 2nd. So, two questions:

1. I see that you no longer have any hotels listed for Priceline for the Upper East Side. But Priceline is offering 3-star and 2-star hotels. Do you have any idea which hotels these are and where they are?

2. If that's not an option, what would you suggest for a bidding strategy for that weekend that would most likely land me the Grand Hyatt (or a comparable hotel, even a little further uptown).

Thanks again,

Dave

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous HOTWIRE LAS VEGAS thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay... we'll then have a look at the above.

Thanks.

[davetroy]

Wow, I forgot all about that trip! I actually ended up going the super-bargain route on that trip and staying at Binion's downtown, which I booked right through the hotel. I don't know how Binion's is these days (hasn't it changed ownership), but as of last year, it was a passable, clean hotel considering the price. A pretty good choice if all you need is a place to sleep between gambling.

[thereuare]

Please post in the above in the Las Vegas thread as nobody will know to look here for whate you ultimately ended up doing for that stay.

Thanks.

[davetroy]

Done.

[thereuare]

The UES is seldom bid... there are few hotels in this area of NYC and therefore no great deals to be had. I suspect that there may only be one 3* hotel in this zone and it doesn't discount their rate very often, if it all. As far as 2* in Manhattan, i wouldn't bid it as it is too risky.

You're not going to be able to target the Grand Hyatt on Priceline. If you want this hotel then Hotwire may be the better route to go and see if it appears for your dates.

If you're willing to accept any hotel in this zone than let us know your maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy to follow. I would also recommend broadening your geographic area beyond MTE, also including MTW and UM/CPS.

[davetroy]

Hotwire prices still seem to be a little high for that weekend (maybe we're too far out), and I'm assuming that Priceline's 3-star and 4-star hotels are generally pretty good. So, I'd like to bid at Priceline for a 4-star (although I would ultimately accept a 3-star, if necessary) in either Midtown East or Upper Midtown/Central Park South, and I'd like to keep it under $150 a night, preferably in the $125 area. I'll be bidding for two rooms, checking in Friday, March 31st and checking out on Sunday, April 2nd. Can you suggest a strategy?

Thanks again for your help.

[thereuare]

Just to confirm... you don't want to bid MTW?

[davetroy]

No. MTW is just a little too far from where we're going to be spending a lot of time.

[thereuare]

Selelct 4* MTE...

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

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected close brower and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Selelct 4* UM/CPS...

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

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected close brower and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Selelct 4* MTE and UM/CPS...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $140, if rejected close browser and re-access pricelin however you did previously.

Selelct 4* MTE and UM/CPS and re-bid zone2...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $150.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[davetroy]

I'm not entirely sure I understand "rebid zone." Should I just re-bid at the new price, or should I add a zone? It seems as if only one other zone in NYC doesn't have three or four stars.

[thereuare]

There are currently two zones in NYC that do not have 4* or higher rated hotels. List each NYC below and the highest star rating zone offered in each one, following the instructions at Priceline Re-Bidding Explained to determine the highest star rating within each zone:

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.

[davetroy]

Obviously, I waited too long before deciding to bid at Priceline for this weekend (March 31st to April 2nd), but here's what happened.

Bid $110 for Central Park South. Rejected.

Added Upper East Side and bid $110. Rejected.

Added Upper West Side and bid $120. Rejected.

Add Midtown West and bid $130. Rejected.

Closed browser. Reopened and bid $110 for Midtown East. Rejected.

Added Upper East Side and bid $120. Rejected.

Added Upper West Side and bid $130. Rejected.

Added Midtown East and bid $140. Rejected.

Getting a little nervous now. Closed browser. Reopened and bid $150 for CPS and Midtown East. Rejected.

Added Upper East Side. Bid $160. Rejected.

Added Upper West Side. Bid $170. Rejected.

Added Midtown East. Kept bid at $170. Rejected.

Gave up, called it a night, and decided maybe I'll just sleep in the park. :)

Actually, I was surprised by how Priceline allowed me to rebid. I thought I couldn't do what I did.

By the way, all along the way, Priceline was telling me what I could get hotels for (about $329 a night).

Why is New York so busy this weekend? Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Dave

[thereuare]

Why is New York so busy this weekend?

It's only 3 days before check-in and the hotels didn't know to save a room for you :)

Hotels have a vested interest in filling their rooms, so i imagine weeks ago they priced their rooms accordingly in order to increase their occupancy levels. Apparently they were successful and now with rooms near full capacity, there is little to no reason to give deeply discounted rooms to the opaque suppliers.

Do you have a back-up plan?

[davetroy]

Very funny! :) Unfortunately, a few things kept me from finalizing my plans, so I couldn't commit to a room until yesterday. My only options now, I think, are staying at a relative's place or coughing up the bucks.

I just checked EasyClickTravel.com and they came up with this:

Off the Record

Manhattan - Grand Central Station

New York NY

Usa

Room Type Availability Avg. Night Rate

1 Bedroom Suite On Request

View Facilities and Price Details

$168.49 Book It

All prices shown are in USD and does not include taxes and service fees.

Also this for $129:

I might have to grab something quickly. Any opinion on these two?

Thanks again.

[thereuare]

For assistance in identifying 'Off the Record' deals on EasyClickTravel, please use our:

EasyClickTravel Identifier tool.

[davetroy]

I did, and they are: Beekman Tower (way on the East Side) and Best Western Convention Center (way on the West Side). Neither sound great, but they are possibilities.

By the way, that Easy Click identifier is the coolest thing on your website!

[thereuare]

Glad you like it.

By the way, make sure those offerings are listed as "Available" and not "on request" (i believe the Beekman is listed as On Request because i did check before replying above... available for one date only). If 'on request' i dont' think you have enough time for them to try to get you additional inventory, you'll need to stick with 'available' properties which are immediately bookable.

[davetroy]

Thanks. I'll let you know how this finally ends up.

[davetroy]

Just to close out this string, I ended up not booking a hotel and staying at a cousin's apartment. Waiting until the last minute really got me this time. But thanks again for all your help. This is a great site.