Coragi Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hi everyone, I am a first timer in Priceline and after reading a lot, I still would appreciate some help. I am coming from Brazil with my wife and since our money is not strong as dollar, any money I can save is welcome! Dates: 03/30/17 - 03/11/17 Location: New York - Areas Timesquare-Theatre District, Midtown East, Rockefeller Center Room: 2 adults Star rating: 3* and above Price: I was hoping something near US$ 120 Do you guys think I can get it? I started bidding at US$ 100 but maybe I am way out. Since the average is US$ 226 and it says I can get even 60%... maybe I can have some luck! Thanks a lot. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 Welcome to BetterBidding! To confirm, your correct dates of travel are Mar 30-April 11? (you listed March 11 in your post above, which is before your March 30 check-in date ) Using 3/30-4/11 i see the following offer thru HOTWIRE: 3* Times Square North for $134.00 Free Internet Boutique Smoke Free Restaurant Business Hi-Speed Internet ==> best guess for this one would be the Mayfair New York Another option in the Empire State Building zone (confirm your dates on the landing page of the provided link): 3.5* Empire State Building Area for $132 Pets Allowed Fitness Center No Smoking Rooms/Facilities ==> best guess here would be the St. Giles - The Court Do either of these work for your needs (and willing to stretch your budget a few dollars per nite) OR would you prefer to try bidding on PRICELINE (for which we can suggest a strategy for you to follow) Also, if you decide to move forward by bidding, you may have a better chance at success at $120 or under if you include the Empire State Building zone, should this zone also work for your needs. (so if bidding on PRICELINE please confirm if we should include this zone in your bidding or not) Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Let us know how you'd like to proceed (or how it goes if you take one of the offers above) 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 Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hi thereuare, thanks a lot for your answer. Sorry for my error, the date is 03/30 until 04/11. :-) I will try bidding on Priceline. I tried $110 and I wasn't successful. Tomorrow I will try again. Starting with $110, and then, adding Empire State area increasing to 120. Any more strategies? Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 2 hours ago, Coragi said: I will try again. Starting with $110, and then, adding Empire State area increasing to 120. No, that is not a good strategy, since if a 4* hotel is available in the ESB zone for less than $120 you don't give yourself a chance to win it for less. We will suggest a strategy for you to follow, but first please confirm: Times Square-Theatre District Midtown East Rockefeller Center ==> all of the above are acceptable? Is the goal the least expensive hotel for these dates and you want to include the ESB zone from the onset... OR did you only want to include this zone in your bidding if you previously fail in the previous three zones above? Also, given the 3.5* PRICELINE EXPRESS offer above available close to your $120 target, did you want to first try bidding for a 3.5* hotel? If so, should we go as high as $130/nite or should we stop at $120? Please confirm the above (or ask any questions you have) and we'll take it from there. Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Ok, let's go! I confirm that Times Square-Theatre District, Midtown East and Rockefeller Center are acceptable. My goal is the least expensive hotel on those dates. I want to include ESB zone only if it fails in the three previous zones. I didn't try $120 yet, so I think you should stop at $120/nite. Thanks again for your help! Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 2 hours ago, Coragi said: My goal is the least expensive hotel on those dates. I want to include ESB zone only if it fails in the three previous zones. A bit contradictory, so to confirm... if a hotel is available in the ESB zone for $110/nite and in the TS, MTE, and Rock Center zones for $120/nite, you prefer the more expensive $120 hotel, correct? 12 hours ago, thereuare said: Also, given the 3.5* PRICELINE EXPRESS offer above available close to your $120 target, did you want to first try bidding for a 3.5* hotel? If so, should we go as high as $130/nite or should we stop at $120? Please also confirm, did you want to first try for a 3.5* in the TS, MTE, and Rock Center up to $120? If that fails did you then want to try for a 3.5* in the ESB zone... OR try for a 3* in the TS, MTE, and Rock Center zones? Let us know the information above (or if any of it needs further clarification let us know) and we'll take it from there. Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hi there, yes, I know it is a bit contraditory, sorry. And you are right, I would prefer $120/nite in Rockefeller instead of $110 at ESB. In Priceline Express, there is these $137 offer in Times Square. If I get a $110/nite, and with 12 nights (plus taxes) I would get an $350 economy. I know it does not seem much, but It is a lot of money in Brazilian Reais. :-) So, the idea is stop in $120/nite. I didn't try $120 yet, my last bid was $115 in Times Square, Rockefeller and Midtown East. I was going to try it later. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Did you want to first try for a 3.5* up to $120 in the TS, MTE, and Rock Center... or start at the 3* level (in hopes of a lower price (but also lower rated hotel))? Please confirm. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 I prefer to start with de 3* hotel in hopes of lower prices Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 When bidding 3* in NYC you have FOUR re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding. I would try as follows: Select 3* TS and MTE Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $103, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $108, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3* TS and Rock Center Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $103, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $108, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3* TS, MTE, Rock Center Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120 If the above is rejected and you then want to try again with the ESB zone, you can do so as follows: Select 3* ESB, TS, and Rock Center Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $103, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $108, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE... Select 3* ESB, TS, MTE, Rock Center Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $113, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $118, if rejected add re-bid zone... Bid $120 Any questions feel free to ask (especially confirming your re-bid zones with the board if you're unsure or new to the subject) Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.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 Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 Thanks a lot, mate. I will try this afternoon and I will let you guys know how it went. Link to comment
AaronJB Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 Thank you for keeping us updated. Good luck on your next round of bidding. Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 I tried yesterday and I bade until $115 in all areas. The strategy of re-bid worked very well. I will try again today, maybe with 2.5*, I'm thinking about... Another dumb question: I just saw this Hotwire Coupon Link $15 OFF $300 but I didn't get how it works. I went to Hotwire through the link and it was the regular site... I didn't notice the discount. And is it $15 for each $300? If it is, maybe it os a good idea to check it out with that $136/nite hotel. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 Try the link again now... you'll see a small window appear on the HOTWIRE site mentioning the discount and the savings will automatically appear at check-out. It is $15 of any purchase of $300+ .. you don't get multiple discounts for each $300. When indicating your needs/budget to the board please give it some thought, as there is no point in posting a bidding strategy that goes up to $120 if you're not really willing to bid that high (and perhaps lower levels of the bidding strategy may be different if using a different maximum bid amount) While i certainly understand the need to save money, also keep in mind that you don't want to be penny-wise and dollar foolish. You don't want to land a hotel that you can't stand returning to at the end of the day and ruin your trip... whereas spending another $5-$10/nite could have gotten you a better hotel class hotel than you're used to staying in and 'made' your trip in an entirely different way. Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.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 Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Hi guys, I really appreciate all your help. I didn't mean to overlook your strategy. I just wasn't sure about that discount, so I stopped before. Today, I resume the bidding process. I went until $125 in ESB, TS, MTE, Rock Center with the re-bid strategy. Then, I added 2.5* hotels and tried again. I went until $125 again with no success. Then, browsing in HOTWIRE (I left it open because of the discount), I saw a hotel in Madison Square Garden for $100 (it has a resort fee of $20). I searched the forum and I found out that it was possible that the hotel was the Pennsylvania Hotel. A friend of mine stayed there last year, and he really liked it. I know Madison Square Garden wasn't in my strategy, but it was a good hotel, good location, it had reference and it was inside my budget. So I bade. And it was indeed Pennsylvania Hotel. Again, I thank you guys a lot. You saved me a lot of money. I will recommend this site to everyone I know and I will use in my next trips. Thank you. (of course I used the BB $15 HOTWIRE discount :-) ) Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Congratulations on your success! Glad to see you found something that works well for your needs and you're happy with the outcome. Can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities HOTWIRE shows for this property, including any 'accessible' amenities, when viewing this purchase using the MY ACCOUNT >> MY TRIPS link on the top right of their home page. Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases. Thanks, have a great time in NYC! PS- for breakfast one day i recommend this place which is a short walk from your hotel: Best Bagel and Cofee 225 W 35th St (north side of 35th St between Seventh and Eighth Avenues) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Coragi Posted January 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Hi thereuare, thanks again for all your help. I will have a breakfest there! Here are the amenities from HOTWIRE: Hotel Amenities Pet friendly Fitness center Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Cheers! Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Thanks for the follow-up! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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