Priceline Hotel: 4* June 1-8

[bigboychoi]

looking to stay in mtw at a 4*. what should i bid? i bid 183 and i got rejected. need help. i like mtw so im trying to stay in that zone.

[AaronJB]

Good morning :)

My guess is that you're just bidding a little too early and that Priceline may not have inventory that far in advance yet. Given the length of your stay, you may find that it is best to split your bidding into two parts, as well (weekend, then the week, for example.)

If you want to potentially increase your chances of getting a hotel when you do bid, you may want to consider Midtown East. Not far from Midtown W and a VERY nice area. Upper Midtown/Central Park South is also wonderful, and there's plenty of public transit that could get you right to Times Square area.

I would also strongly recommend finding a cancelable/refundable (*always read the fine print*) "backup" hotel and reserving that for the time being. If you can get something via Priceline or Hotwire, then you can cancel it. If not, at least you have a place to stay.

One suggestion for a "backup" would be the Washington Jefferson, which is $192 on Quikbook.com for your dates. That hotel is in Midtown West & you can read reviews of it at tripadvisor.com. You can also get a smaller twin bed room at the WJ for $172 a night at http://www.wjhotel.com/reserve.html

[bigboychoi]

so if i bid now for 7 days for mtw 4* i probably am not going to get anything unless i bid a high amount :) :)

[AaronJB]

I would not recommend bidding very high right now, as there's no telling if Priceline has any inventory at all. Given the rates on your dates, I think you have bid high enough for the time being and should just wait and start again in a few weeks. Others may have other thoughts, but I think you should definitely wait.

[thereuare]

i like mtw so im trying to stay in that zone.

I would also reconsider the above and include other nearby zones (as AaronJB mentions, MTE and/or UM/CPS)... NYC is so compact that there is little difference (geographically) between the midtown zones and mass transit is inexpensive, and readily avaialble, that it doesn't pay to overbid for your first choice of zone when there is a cheaper alternative nearby.

[bigboychoi]

i bid 180 denied

added upper east went to 185 denied

added upper west went to 190 denied

i feel very lost :)

[AaronJB]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I would stop bidding for now, lock in a *refundable* backup and wait a few weeks before bidding again. Priceline could very well not have any inventory this far in advance....