smartie2483 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Posted February 26, 2008 My husband and I are planning our first trip to NYC over Memorial Day Weekend. We are hoping for a 4* hotel in MTW or MTE. Any suggestions on the best time to start trying to bid for this on Priceline? Our budget is for at or below $200 per night. Is this possible during this period of time? Thanks for any help.
blindman Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 Welcome to BetterBidding.Look at this thread regarding when to bid on Priceline.Basically if your plans are firm then start bidding.Thereuare will be around tomorrow to give a strategy I'm sure.
jluff Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 Seems like there are even 4* Hotwire deals under 200 for that weekend in MTE.
smartie2483 Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Posted March 3, 2008 I would love any suggestions for a starting price and bidding increments for this period of time. Thanks for any help!
thereuare Posted March 4, 2008 Report Posted March 4, 2008 Are you ready to begin bidding now? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Posted March 4, 2008 Are you ready to begin bidding now?I'm hoping to begin this week! Thanks!
thereuare Posted March 4, 2008 Report Posted March 4, 2008 Please post back once you're ready to begin your PRICELINE bidding so that we're looking at the most current rates. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Posted March 11, 2008 I need help identifying a hotel for May 23-27, 3.5* MTE with fitnee, restaurant, high-speed and business--listed for $175.00. I can't tell from the Hotwire hotel list if this is Doubletree Metro or the Tudor...any thoughts?
smartie2483 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Posted March 11, 2008 My husband and I are planning our first trip to NYC over Memorial Day Weekend. We are hoping for a 3.5* or 4* hotel in MTW or MTE. Our budget is for at or below $200 per night. Is this possible during this period of time? We're ready to start bidding as soon as possible. Thanks for any help.
thereuare Posted March 11, 2008 Report Posted March 11, 2008 Please keep all posts for this stay in the same thread.The HOTWIRE hotel above matches both the Doubletree and the Tudor, but our best guess is that it is much more likely the Tudor Hotel at the UN.If you bid on PRICELINE, do you want to keep your maximum budget at $200 or lower it to $175 (or some other figure) if the HOTWIRE offer above is acceptable?Also, is there a reason you're avoiding the other Midtown zones... Times Square, UM/CPS, and/or MTS?Let us know and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow (asusming you don't take the HOTWIRE offer)Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Posted March 11, 2008 Sorry about the confusion, for some reason it lumped all of my recent posts together into one. I'm sorry about that. I was really hoping for something different from the Tudor...some of the reviews just kind of worry me. There's no reason I'm avoiding the other areas, I guess MTE & MTW are just my top 2 options. However, if I could get a great deal on a 4 star then I would be completely open to the other midtown zones. As for the HOTWIRE option, we wanted to try out PRICELINE to see if a better deal was possible before we booked that. I know we might miss out on that deal; but we're willing to take our chances. With priceline we were willing to start bidding at around $150 or $175. We're ready to bid so any help with strategy would be great.
thereuare Posted March 11, 2008 Report Posted March 11, 2008 We merged your threads since all of these posts were for the same stay.So you're willing to bid MTE, MTW, UM/CPS, Times Square and MTS at the 4 star level?Let us know your maximum bid and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Posted March 12, 2008 My maximum bid is $200.00. Thanks
thereuare Posted March 12, 2008 Report Posted March 12, 2008 At the 4* levell you have four re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.Select 4* MTE and MTW...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and Times Square and MTS...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and Times Square...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and MTS and MTE...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and MTS and MTW......Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS and Times Square...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $185, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS and MTS...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $185, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS and Times Square and MTS...Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $200.Any questions feel free to ask.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 21, 2008 Author Report Posted March 21, 2008 Thanks for all the help but all bids were rejected. Any other suggestions? At this point I do not have a cancellable backup...is this a bad idea? I am willing to go to a 3*...is this generally an ok option? If so, what bidding strategy would you follow for this star rating?
thereuare Posted March 21, 2008 Report Posted March 21, 2008 I am willing to go to a 3*...is this generally an ok option?It depends what you're looking for from your hotel stay...Rooms in NYC (as all star levels) are notoriously small, but some of the 3* properties have really small rooms, even by NYC standards.So it depends upon what you're accustomed to and how much you intend to "use" the room... while on vacation do you like to sit around the room, relax, and watch TV to unwind between being out and about in the city... or is the room more of a place just to sleep and most of the day you'll be out enjoying the city.I do have some ideas depending upon you're answer to the above, so let us know and we'll take it from there. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 21, 2008 Author Report Posted March 21, 2008 We are accustomed to decent hotels in the Midwest, however, we are aware that 3* rooms are small and really won't be plannign on spending a lot of time in our room. This our first time to the city so we'll be taking full advantage of our time there. We really don't go on vacation to sit in a room when I can do that just as easily at my own house (and for a lot less money.) However, I'm not too excited on staying in something super super small. I hope that helps out in the advice you have. Thanks so much!
thereuare Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 I don't think you're too far off for a 4* so i would throw in the towel just yet, but this is also May so i wouldn't do nothing.Given what you stated above, i would book the The Gild Hall thru Quickbook for $199/nite (please use our Quickbook link). This hotel is located Downtown and is currenlty going thru a soft opening (so no restaurant, room service, and some other amenities), but... it's fully cancellable up until the day before your stay (if 2+ days before cancel thru Quickbook, day before cancel directly with the hotel), the rooms are nice with highend amenties, and the reviews, even with the soft opening, have been very good.This gives you something nice should you ultimately stick with it, but also gives you the ability to continue to try PRICELINE over the next 2+ months.Thoughts? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 22, 2008 Author Report Posted March 22, 2008 I had noticed this suggestion on another user's thread and I have already looked at the Gild Hall...how is the location for this? easy to get around the city with subway's nearby? The reviews look great and not having a restaurant is definitely not a big deal.I'm definitely considering this just so we have something in case Priceline fails us or if no deals magically appear at Travelzoo.
thereuare Posted March 23, 2008 Report Posted March 23, 2008 It's close to a few subway lines, and while the 4-5 line may be the further away in terms of distance, the lines are all connected thru underground passages so in case of rain, you only need to get to the 2-3 entrance and then can connect to any of the others in the area thru the underground passages.In terms of location, it's Downtown so not the ideal situation if intending to spend most/majority of your time in the midtown area, but it's certainly do-able. For the right price and significant savings it's worthwhile to stay downtown... if midtown hotels can be had for a little more i'd sooner pay slightly higher prices to be more centrally located. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Posted March 30, 2008 Alright, so instead of the Gild Hall hotel we have booked The Time hotel which is much nearer to midtown. We are willing to sacrifice a little bit of quality for location since this is our first time in NY. We booked this hotel through Quikbook. With our trip dates, are we too early to try and get a 3* for the same price? or should we wait awhile and still try for a 4*? As we have looked over our budget, we would much rather spend closer to $180 per night rather than the original budget of $200 per night. Thanks for all the help!
thereuare Posted March 30, 2008 Report Posted March 30, 2008 How much is your back-up, The Time, through Quickbook? (which will help determine whether you wait and try 4* again or look for a 3*) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Posted March 31, 2008 Our reservation is for $200 a night...pre-tax. We're really hoping for something less than this but I don't want to get stuck without anything.Thanks!
thereuare Posted March 31, 2008 Report Posted March 31, 2008 Would you still prefer a 4* over a 3*? When was the last time you bid for a 4* (if not since you first tried above, it appears it may have been 2+ weeks ago, or have you tried again)I would try for again for a 4* hotel:Select 4* MTE and MTW...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and Times Square and MTS...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $135, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and Times Square...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and MTS and MTE...Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $150, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* UM/CPS and MTS and MTW......Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $170, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 4* MTE and MTW and UM/CPS and Times Square and MTS...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $180.If the above is rejected, re-try the strategy again using 3* instead of 4*.NOTE: you have one less re-bid zone at the 4* level than the 3* level, so make sure you DO NOT mistakenly add that zone when bidding for 3*. Any questions feel free to ask.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
smartie2483 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks for the strategy...I have tried 4* hotels randomly in the past few days with no luck at this time. I would still definitely prefer a 4*, but realize that may not be possible. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
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