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

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What a great resource! Could only have come from a U of M fan.

First-time user: I've reviewed this issue in old threads here and haven't really found the issue I have, so here goes.

My wife and I are planning a NYC trip early April. At this point we're not sure if our child is going with us. When I check hotwire/Hotels.com and others, there is a huge price difference and availability difference for the two scenarios.

I'd like to book this week, but I obviously don't want to pay the higher rate.

Even if we only get one queen or king, we'll make do. I don't have a problem with it if it's not against a city code or something to have three of us in one room.

Do NYC hotels watch you like a hawk to see if too many people are in the room? At the worst, would I just get a small upcharge upon arrival?

Unrelated question: are hotwire prices higher than priceline? Again, I'm new, so pls excuse my ignorance.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Many NYC hotel do charge for occupancy more than double, which is why you're seeing a higher price on various websites. In regards to the higher price on Hotwire, this could be because the hotel that will accept 2 occupants will not accept 3, and therefore you're seeing a more expensive hotel on your search for triple occupancy (Hotwire is designed to only show you one hotel per star level at each zone, the hotel that is shown is the cheapest one available)

I do not think that most NYC hotels watch you too closely (they can't as most are just too big to do so). You may be violating a fire code at few of the properties that have notoriously small rooms, but at most, i would think it's just "hotel policy". While you may get a room with only one bed, if you could handle that situation i'd guess that you would likely "get away with it". How old is your child?

Generally speaking Priceline is a bit cheaper than Hotiwre, but both are typically less than 'traditional' rates.

If you want to go with Priceline let us know when you are ready to move forward, telling us all the pertinent information (star rating, maximum bid, dates of stay, zones you're willing to bid, etc) and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Go Blue! :)

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Thanks for replying. I'm going to do this tonight or tomorrow a.m.

We're checking in April 3, staying three nights. We could go to an April 4 (also 3 nights) check in if need be.

Looking for MTE or MTW, probably not further south

4*

I'd really like to keep it under $150 (before taxes)

I checked on hotwire through your link, and found what appears to be the Barclay at $179 (customer favorite, restaur/fitness/tennis nearby/business center). That sounds perfect, but just a bit out of our price range (plus, I see several hits for the Barclay the low-100 range, which would be great to get).

I'll pay the hotel for the upcharge if my son travels with us; I just wanted to book now to firm up my plans and didn't want to overpay or restrict my options in case he doesn't. (he's 11).

Thanks again

[whalaw]

You might want to take a look at the following thread:

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=21802&

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I saw your prior post (that's how I figured out the current Hotwire listing was the Barclay) but - as an absolute newbie - I didn't know how to factor in the fact that we didn't want anything in UM/CPS.

[thereuare]

So if i'm reading between the lines correct:

4* MTE or MTW and maximum bid $150?

Dates are 4/3-4/6

(or 4/4/-4/7 as a second choice)

If the above is correct we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow. If not, please correct whatever information we have wrong and we'll proceed from there.

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That's it.

I'd strongly prefer the earlier stay (2-6), and would only change to the 3-7 if it were significantly cheaper. So, if in your experience the cost would be similar, I would say to only run the 2-6. (sorry for the confusion on my part).

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Have you switched from a 3 nite stay to four nites? (just want to make sure we're looking at the right dates)

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Staying three nights (April 3, 4, and 5).

Thanks for correcting my total mess-up.

[thereuare]

When bidding 4* in NYC you have two re-bid zones avaiable. 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.

Select 4* MTE...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTE and re-bid zone2...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

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

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 4* MTW and re-bid zone2...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

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

Select 4* MTW and MTE...

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

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

Select 4* MTW and MTE 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.

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With all my questions, this might become the ultimate newbie post.

Not sure I understand the re-bid, but here's an example that might help me, if you could verify this:

I bid 110 on MTE

it's rejected

I go to the page that lists the different NYC regions

I pick "upper east side" and it tells me there

are only 2 and 3 star hotels available there.

I can therefore use upper east side as a re-bid on

my 4 star only search.

If, on the other hand, "upper east side" has a 4 star, I

can't select that (assuming I don't want to go there) because

I might get it. If it shows a 4 star in upper east side, I back

out of that window, then go back and select another region (looking

for under 4 stars)

[thereuare]

Yes, you have it correct, but two tips:

1) go thru the above process before you do any bidding so that you know ahead of time which two zones are your re-bid zones

2) avoid this common error: the star rating you select is the minimum you are willing to accept. So if you were bidding 2.5* and a zone only has 2* and 3* properties (but no 2.5* properties), it is not a re-bid zone because on your 2.5* bid priceline has the option of upgrading you to a 3* property. So it's not enough that a re-bid zone doesn't contain the star rating your bidding, but it also must not have any hotels that are rated higher than the star rating you are bidding.

Confused yet? :)

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Although I made a couple of errors, I was ultimately successful. :)

I got the Barclay Intercontinental at $150 / night, for 4/4 through 4/7 (decided to change the dates).

I made a couple errors, but I think I got the hang of it for next time. My errors were in failing to reboot before adding new re-bid regions, so I lost a couple opportunities.

FWIW: The Hotwire price for the Barclay ("tennis nearby" 4*) hovered around $185 all night. It dropped to $174 right before I hit on my bid.

Thanks so much for walking me through this.

I will pass through Ann Arbor on my trip, so I'll say hello for you, thereuare!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win... your first priceline success story!

Looks like a great deal.

I've made the Ann Arbor-->NYC trip more than once, it's about 10 hours. If you do go thru AA, a stop at Zingerman's is always worthwhile and i recommend the #18 Georgie Ruben <salivating emoticon goes here>. A stop at Z's will also get you used to NYC prices! :)

When you make it to NYC, i also always recommend users nearby go to Ess-A-Bagel (51st and Thrid Ave) one morning for breakfast... one of the best bagels NYC has to offer and its a nice inexpensive breakfast.

Have a great and safe trip.

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I get to Zingerman's at least 5-6 times a year, mostly to stock up on cheese. I will absolutely try the #18 next time.

Thanks again for the tips and good cheer.

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Sorry to not have the full bidding history, because - as this was my first effort - it went a bit astray from the suggestions provided by thereuare. I also added UM/CPS

Here is the final sequence, if that helps (was accessed via savingsbarn.com):

MTE + UM/CPS: $140: rejected

add UWS at $145: rejected

add UES at $150: accepted

(I realize I missed a re-bid in that process, but by error, I had previously bid UES/UM-CPS/MTE at around $120 and was rejected).