Priceline Hotel: HELP NYC 26 Feb 1 Night

[mtohio]

Hi,

Looking for priceline bidding advise,

1 night, Thur. Feb. 26 - NYC

Times Square or Midtown South.

Would prefer a 4*

Please advise,

Thanks again,

Michael

[thereuare]

Priceline doesn't have a "time square" zone.

Would both Midtown East and Midtown West be acceptable? How about Upper Midtown/Central Park South. 4* hotels in the UM/CPS zone (as well as MTS) tend to be more expensive than the other 2 zones, so they can often be used as 'pseudo' re-bids.... if you keep your bid below a certain level you're not likely to get accepted in that zone, but as i said in the other post, "things change all the time", so i wouldn't use it as a re-bid unless you were actually willing to stay there. If you are willing to accept UM/CPS, would you just be using it as a re-bid, or would you not really mind staying there? This will determine how high i recommend your bid.

What is your anticpated budget for this stay?

[mtohio]

Would be thrilled to spend $75 for the one night, but would spend as much as $115.

Priority is midtown, as all of my client appointments are between 35th and 40th street and Broadway and 6th Avenue.

Trying to save my $ for my trip to San Juan on Friday night.

Thanks again,

Michael

[thereuare]

Well MTE includes the Grand Hyatt which would likely be a good location for you... but also includes the Millenium UN which might be a little out of the way (although easy enuff to catch the M42 or M104 or 7 train which would run right up 42nd St).

Check out Priceilne's shaded region of the zone, let me know if i should include it or not, then i'll post a strategy according your guidelines.

[mtohio]

I would prefer a stragegy that DOES NOT include the Millenium UN hotel --- so, I guess, from you prior response, I should stay away from MTE.

Please provide a strategy based on the above.

Thanks,

Michael

[thereuare]

Lots of options for this as rates seem somewhat low.

I've listed a Priceline strategy below, but first included some Hotwire hotels that i believe are being offered for your date. If there's something that fits your needs/location perfectly, may be worth removing (most of the) uncertainty that you would be subject to with Priceline.

Essex House $134

Sheraton Manhattan $106 (this is a 3* on Priceline, so no chance of you getting it with your 4* bid below)

Given the low rates for your dates and the fact that you still have time to try again if you're not successful, this is how i would proceed:

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $88, if rejected add MTS and...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $100.

If you're not familiar with re-bidding then give this a read: PRICELINE TIP: Bidding Again Before 72 Hours. Feel free to ask any questions you have about re-bidding and/or confirm which zone is your re-bid zone for this bid (there's only one).

If you have no questions, let us know how it goes.

[mtohio]

Hi,

For fun, I tried my luck [without success] at 5* for my one night stay

MTE 5* $105 reject

added rebid zone of MTW $115 reject

rebid zone MTS $129 reject

rebid zone CPW $145 reject

final rebid $152 reject

Since MTE is the only zone w/ 5* [to my knowledge] this is a pretty easy rebid. What is the going rate for the 5* [waldorf towers ??] on priceline.

I will try again in 72 hours, my fallback is a 4* for under $100; as one can prepay at the NY Hilton for $119 Web Rate [prepay, non-refundable] on the hilton website, and I called hilton NYC in house reservations, and they confirmed that the $119 rate booked on there website is good for Hilton Gold upgrades and free continental breakfast [and points]. This being the case, if I cannot get a 4* for less than $105, I will just go for the NY Hilton, as I can get upgraded and late checkout.

Any other ideas !

Love the site, and am using the savings barn link for ALL of my bids.

Michael

[thereuare]

You may be a bit early: 5* Priceline in NYC

We've seen rates as low at $105 and has high as $235 (as well as rejections at prices higher than this).

That $119 rate seems like a good deal when considering an included breakfast.

[mtohio]

This trip was cancelled at the last minute.

I was fortune [this time] that my previous bids didn't work -- otherwise, I would have been paying for a night I wasn't going to use.

Regards,

Michael