Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (MTE) InterContinental The Barclay

[Andrew J.]

Been seeing a lot of different winning bids for Midtown NYC lately, so I decided to mix it up a bit.

I was looking for 4* in Midtown from 4/20-4/25 for under $120. I've been trying the same price for all nights and was very unsuccessful after 2 weeks of rebidding. This weekend I decided to split the bid and today I was successful.

Started with:

4/20-4/23

4* UMT-CPS $105, rejected

4* added MTW, $106, rejected

4* added MTE, $111, accepted

Would you like to extend your stay for the same rate, YES.

$111 was rejected for 4/23-4/25 but they came back and offered me $146 and I took it.

Total with taxes and everything, $700 for 5 nights at the Intercontinental Barclay. Not bad IMO and we don't have to move. This is going to be a nice anniversary! John Williams w/ NYPhil, Babbo, jazz at Blue Note. Yeah, I'm happy. :)

Let me know if you need more information about my bids.

[GM Mike]

So you got a counteroffer on a bid to extend your stay? I think that's the first time we've seen that.

Obviously you are aware you probably overpaid on the second half of your stay, but that's the premium to ensure you didn't have to move. I also think there were ways for you to bid more efficiently and save a little more using a strategy with free rebids. In the future, please feel free to post here before you bid, so you have the best strategy possible. However, you sound really happy, and that's a great rate in NYC, so overall, well played!

[Andrew J.]

Yeah, last 2 nights were overpaid, but the first 3 were close to rock bottom. And the premium was definitely worth it. My wife was not happy that I was doing a split bid and risked having us pack up and change hotels. She has much more pressing items on the itinerary. :)

I used the bid strategies that others were given for same specs and near that time frame. The big difference in our stay was that we are taking a long weekend with business days from both side of the weekends. Sun/Mon are big days for business travelers coming into metro areas, so I figured I was going to need a higher bid there.

The extend your stay option is a small text link on your acceptance page. I think it gave me the option of adding up to two days in either direction.

I remember back in '02 we I went up by myself, I got the Hilton Rock center for $110 and Marriot Marquis for $99. I was beginning to think those days were long gone!

Anyhow, had I not read through this site, I would not have been successful in this attempt. Kudos to all that participate here.