Priceline Hotel: 4* York Marriott

[LoneStar]

I'm thinking of spending a night in York. Even though it's a major tourist destination, I can't really find any priceline bidding history to suggest what might be out there. It's also a single zone destination, so it's cumbersome to "go fishing" (thank god for 24-hour bidding!). On a couple of nights in June and July, I've tried bidding up to $75 for a 4-star, $55 for a 3-star and $50 for a 2-star. So far, just plain vanilla rejections.

My hunch is the 4-star category might be most rewarding because there's a newly-branded Marriott in town, and I know Marriotts tend to participate in the UK. I'll probably go up another $10 or $15 and stop, perhaps trying closer to my arrival date. York hotels (actually, mostly b&b's) are fairly numerous, but they tend to be expensive, and particularly so if you're got kids travelling with you and you have to pay the "per person" rate. There's also an obvious risk of getting only 1 bed in a European 3 or 4 star priceline hotel, but from what I can tell from the particular hotels in that city, it's a relatively small risk.

So far, my best bet seems to be the Premier Travel Inn -- a large and fairly well regarded budget chain in the UK -- at $116 incl. tax. The property is well located for sightseeing, and kids eat free for breakfast. It would seem that even a mediocre b&b would cost me significantly more.

[blindman]

Holiday Inn and the Novotel have come up before as winning bids of around $70.

[pirate]

Lonestar, English hotels outside of London mostly haven't bought into the Priceline concept with any great enthusiasm and as a general rule 33% is about the best saving you will make, so the best rate on the Marriott website will give you an idea of your chances.

Beyond that "the answer is in the question" as my old school teacher used to say. If the Travel Inn is acceptable to you and it can be booked for $116 inc tax (Cancelable?) then your top bid is $92.

(92 + 6 Fee + 17.5% Vat = $115.15)

Final thought, I don't know what currency you will be bidding in, but the revenue manager at the hotel will have set his Priceline rates in

[LoneStar]

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I found those rather stale Holiday Inn and Novotel bids while searching the web. Presumably they are both still participating, and are still classified as (weak) 3 star properties. The Premier Travel Inn scores better than both of them on TripAdvisor (although I suspect they are both slightly fancier hotels). Given the uncertainty of the bedding situation, it's hard for me to bid more than $60 or $65 at that level for those properties.

BTW, the other budget chain in York is the travelodge (a big UK operation), but their York hotel consistently gets much worse reviews than the Premier, so I think I'll avoid it (it's maybe $10 or $15 cheaper).

I've also thought of the currency situation and, indeed, was planning on making "50 pounds" my top 4 star bid. My hunch is that it won't be enough, however -- given that, as noted, British hotels don't seem to like to discount much above 33%. The Marriott wants 130 pounds on its website (all in).

I've made my cancellable Premier Travel Inn reservation, and if I don't get hit at $87 on the 4 stars, I think I'll just wait until a few weeks before arrival and perhaps try a rebid. I know that sometimes the European hotels have good summer promos, so perhaps I can look for one of those as well.

[blindman]

FYI

Travelodge often have promos for rooms for

[LoneStar]

Yeah, I know about the Travelodge promo. I'm actually spending a night with them at a motorway rest-stop outside of Manchester. How bad could it be for 10 pounds? :)

I don't think there ever was a chance of booking York for 10 pounds, but I would pay 26 pounds for their property there. Not sure if it was ever offered. They seem to dump a lot of rooms onto the market at the cheapo rates periodically -- and then advertise the fact. Any way to guess when the next Travelodge "room dump" will be? I presume they'd have one more before summer.

[WillTravel]

You could get a six-bed room at the York youth hostel, and it looks pretty nice.

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hostelpages/240.html

[LoneStar]

You're right -- it does look like a nice hostel. It also looks like a very expensive hostel! Not much cheaper, if any, than the budget hotels.

[jedikiah]

Realise this might well not suit you in particular, but there is a variety of short stay and holiday accommodation at the University of York - ranging from a single rooms to 10 bedroom houses. Some available throughout the year; others out of term time.

[lanoneus]

Lonestar--I looked forever for affordable accomodation in York, and finally found something that sounds really nice, but it's outside of York. They're self-catering cottages that charge a flat 60 pounds a night. I will be traveling with 3 other adults, so the pppn thing was not doing us any favors. They're right outside of Harrogate, about an hour from York.

www.nidderdalecottages.com

[LoneStar]

Success!! $96 got me the 4-star Marriott York for 7/1. Called the hotel and they gave me a 2 double-bed room.

This is an interesting hotel. Not beloved by everyone, but I think it will suit my family well. It's a historic property that has had a modern addition (with lots of amenities like an indoor swimming pool), on the outskirts of town adjacent to the famous, and supposedly scenic, racecourse. For York in summer, I think the rate is quite a bargain.

As I noted in my original post, I had a hunch this property was "out there" due to the widespread participation of UK Marriotts in the priceline program. (Indeed, if you're touring the UK "with priceline," it's probably wise to first figure out where the Marriotts are).

I was a little sloppy in my bidding. I started converting my bids to pounds, so my last bid was $87 (50 pounds). I didn't really think I'd get hit under $100 (given the published rates), so my next bid was the surprisingly successful $96 (55 pounds). So if anyone also wants to go to York, you could try to shave a few bucks off my winning bid.

[LoneStar]

Lonestar--I looked forever for affordable accomodation in York, and finally found something that sounds really nice, but it's outside of York. They're self-catering cottages that charge a flat 60 pounds a night. I will be traveling with 3 other adults, so the pppn thing was not doing us any favors. They're right outside of Harrogate, about an hour from York.

www.nidderdalecottages.com

Looks like you found a nice place, lanoneus. I'm a fan of "English country" accomodations, and their setting looks nice. Very good value price, too (especially for parties of more than 2). From my own search, I don't think you could get near that price on the outskirts of York.

In my situation, where I've got essentially 2 days and 1 night for York, I'm better off staying at the fancy Marriott and not having the "commute." If it was a choice of the cottage or staying at the Premier Value Inn, it would be a tough call -- charm vs. convenience.

[lanoneus]

I agree, that is an excellent price for York (and a pool!). I had pretty much given up staying anywhere near city centre.

We're doing a few days in York and then up to Edinburgh. I have been shocked at the prices in both cities. The only deals to be had around Edinburgh are in Glasgow, and we don't really want to stay there. It's amazing to me that these places are more expensive than London, even during their "shoulder season."

[LoneStar]

Hmmm, not surprised that Edinburgh has the same "problem" as York. Indeed, I suspect rates are even higher there. You can obviously try priceline bidding, but there's only one Marriott. I've actually stayed in it, and it's a very nice hotel. I'm skeptical they'll have good priceline rates, but certainly worth a try.

I see the Ramada hotels participate in Entertainment, but I have no idea whether they'll actually offer a "deal."

The other fall back is the Premier Travel Inn and Travelodge chains. If you can't find any "reasonably priced charm," I'd probably make a refundable reservation with one of those. The UK online services like laterooms will probably deliver something reasonably priced (albeit not cheap) a month or so before your arrival time.

If you decide to priceline bid, please post your results as a guide for others.

FWIW, don't stay in Glasgow to see Edinburgh. First, it's too far. Second, Edinburgh is a great city, so you might as well enjoy it!

[Blueskies]

Lanoneus

When are you going to Edinburgh?

I am based in Scotland so may be able to help.

You still need to insert your dates in your Novotel win (London).

Blueskies