Priceline Hotel: reasonable bid starting NYC Oct 18-19?

[hotelier]

Hello,

Great site you have here. I've looked around and get the strategy. The re-bidding thing is cool.

I actually got up to 260 for all areas in Manhattan and a 4* for the 18th of October and got nothing. I've looked around and hotel prices seem to be through the roof.

What kind of discount should I expect priceline to give me? If most 4*'s are going for 400 and up in non-opaqe sites, do I start at 300? I have a backup friend's place, but was looking forward to a fancy hotel.

Advice?

[thereuare]

When rates get expensive like this, you have to look at hotel suppliers that work with slightly different business models, such as EasyClickTravel and Quickbook.

My advice would be to not splurge so much on accomodations as there are very few hotel rooms (imo) worth $300+ per nite when you have other options... and you do have other options:

A 1BR suite in the Beekman Tower is available this nite for $235/nite which is a steal relative to current hotel rates. It's not ultra-luxurious, but it's a converted apartment building so each room is just like an apartment and has a full kitchen. You can read the reviews HERE.

Then take the extra $100 you've saved and spend it on something you enjoy... add it to your current budget for a really nice/expensive dinner, havea bottle of wine you wouldn't usually have, etc.

The Beekman thru the link above is also cancellable up until 3 days before your check-in date without a penalty, so if that's an option i would lock it in while available, you can then continue to monitor rates to see if they come down at all (at which point the opaque supplies may offer a better option)

Your thoughts?