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

[norwegianwife]

Hi all! Well, it's time to start bidding holiday travel again! We will be coming to the states for Christmas next year and plan to end our trip in NYC before returning to Oslo. We want to fly in on the 31st of December and leave on the 2nd.

Question: Is Priceline good for major holidays like New Years?

Our plan is to go ahead and book something that we can later cancel directly with a hotel and then start trying for something lower.

Right now on Expedia we can get 4*'s 70 Park Avenue, The Alex amd The Millenium for 265-290 a night, which I think sounds really good for New Years. Hotwire has a 4* customer favorite listed for 272 a night.

So, what do you guys recommend? Book something directly from the W or another 4*property and start bidding on Priceline....Or, be safe and book now through Expedia (or another discount website)??

We tried a preliminary bid last night starting out in the Financial District becasue I have been reading sucess with landing the Tribeca Grand, and we LOVE that hotel, so just started with 150 and added rebid zones up to 190 and was rejected.

Totally open to sugesstions and strategies and willing to spend up to 250 a night through PL....

Also planning a summer drive through Europe and am sure to have lots of exciting hotel posts for Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Berlin over in the other section...

Thanks everyone!!!

[blindman]

Christmas next year

You mean this year :) surely 31st Dec 2006?

As soon as youre plans are fixed, ie. the airline tickets are booked, you've got the time off work then start to bid.

You have plenty of time to decide where you want to be and what you're willng to pay so do the research and once you're happy with the possibilities then begin to bid.

If you don't succeed at first then bid every week or so.

Our plan is to go ahead and book something that we can later cancel directly with a hotel and then start trying for something lower.

Best plan :)

I bid for a New years eve in San Francisco (31st Dec 2005) in the February of 2005 and got a win on my first bidding session!

[thereuare]

This is just for the one nite of NYE, 12/31?

Hotwire has a 4* for only $162/nite in the Downtown zone. This property matches both the Tribecca Grand as well as the Millenium Hilton, but i have reason to believe it is much more likely the Millenium than the TG. However, if you're looking for a room for New Years Eve in NYC this seems to be a pretty good deal.

[norwegianwife]

Thanks for the input. The stay would be from December 31 and checking out on January 2, so 2 nights. And yes, it is for New years 2006!!!!!

I am inclined to agree with Thereuare regarding the price for the 4star on Hotwire. I just can't imagine getting a better deal on New Years Eve on Manhatten! Problem is, our stay is 2 nights and when i do a search on HOtwire for the 31st-2nd the cheapest hotel is a 3 star in soho/FD for 251?? searching for just new years eve, I get the 4* for 165. I would think that New Years Eve would be more expensive than New Years day.??

Should we bid the nights individually? We wouldn't mind changing hotels if that would lower the bid...

I think I would like to try a few bid attempts up to around 160, especially in light of the the offer of 165 on HOtwire. We want a 4* and location is really not an issue as we like to experience new areas in Manhatten.

Any sugesstions or strategies?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

If you don't mind SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID i would take the 4* on Hotwire for $162 and wait on the reservation for the nite of the 1st (book a back-up in the meantime). The nite of the first there will probably be inventory opening up elsewhere at your check-in date approaches.

What is likely the Embassy Suites Downtown seems to be available on Hotwire for ~$180 (didn't have time to fully check the amenity list but seemed to be the likely culprit going from memory) and you could easily walk from one hotel (assuming the Millenium Hilton) to the other on 'switch day', but i would sooner see if you could get a better and more centralized hotel for the nite of the 1st as this area will likely be very quiet on the 1st.

[norwegianwife]

<link broken and romoved>

any idea which hotel this is? It is 4* MTE for 145 a night on New Years EVe...Which seems to be an amazing price! Customer reviews are good and they have 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor. So there is that one and the one in FD for 1 65, which is most likely the Millineum...

We definantly don't mind splitting the bid.

If we decide to book, should I start a new thread in the Hotwire section?

EDIT BY THEREUARE: you can't link to HOTWIRE as you did (as its session and cookie based) so i've removed the link, please list the amenities as dahammer suggests below. If you book just one nite continue this thread and only start a new thread if you then need the remaining nite of 1/1. Thanks.

[dahammer]

please list all amenities shown and confirm your dates of travel, the posted URL has no information

[norwegianwife]

As requested:

Hotel Amenities:

Restaurant

Fitness Center

Tennis Nearby

Business Center

Confirmation of date:

Check in:Sun, Dec 31, 2006Check out:Mon, Jan 1, 200

4-star hotel 74% saved

PricePerRoom:

$143 per room per night

Retail: $549.00

You save: $406.00

[thereuare]

A match for the Inter-Continental Barclay so that would be our best guess.

[norwegianwife]

Well, I was about to buy the room on Hotwire, when I thought to myself, 'Hmmmmm, If they are selling the room for 145 on Hotwire, I wonder if I could get it for cheaper on Priceline??'

Soooo...off I went to Savingsbarn.com and started my bid at 120 in MTE. Was rejected, but told if I was willing to raise my price by 22 dollars, it was a deal. I said NO and added a free rebid zone at 130.

ACCEPTED!! The Barclay! So, Thereuare, I am guessing you were right about the Hotwire Hotel being the Barclay as well!

Here are the details:

Check-In Date: Sun, Dec 31, 2006

Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM

Check-Out Date: Mon, Jan 1, 2007

Your Offer Price: $130.00

Extend Your Stay

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 1

Subtotal: $130.00

Taxes & Service Fees:

$29.00

Total Charges: $159.00

We are really thrilled with the price, as we were FULLY prepared to pay around 300 dollars for nights around this time of the year!

They gave me an 'Extend your stay for the same price' option and I said yes, but they came back and said it wasn't available, BUT I could have a room for 370 bucks the night of the 1st!

So, we will build our trip around this night! New Years Eve in the bag at a really LOW price!

Thanks everyone for your help and insight, we will let you know how the rest of the bidding plays out! And will add hotels this summer in Europe as well.

[thereuare]

Really a great deal!

Glad this worked out well for you.

I've even mentioned it to my wife as something to do, but with the little one in tow, we'll likely be staying in.

Thanks for bidding thru the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com

[Blueskies]

Norwegianwife,

Great deal. Glad you had the confidence to go for it! I am rather tempted myself as we have always spoken about visiting over New Years but as we live at the other side of the Atlantic and I have managed to sneak in two separate trips to NY in October and November we will have to leave this off I fear.

I am sure you will like the hotel and area. We certainly did (despite paying conventional rates in our pre-Betterbidding days).