Priceline Hotel: 3* NYC (UM-CPS) Hudson Hotel

[mommacl]

:) NYC 4/24-4/28 Two 40ish friends getting away for a few days. My friend has never been, would like her to have a nice stay as far as hotel goes. We would like to keep it below $200. We are pretty flexible on our zone. Would like 4*. As long as we're not out the boonies! Close to subway ect. Top picks are, MTE, MTW & TS, DT/SOHO is OK. I have been reading this board & used several bidding examples from other posts to bid.( I understand rebidding- actually it's kind of fun when you figure out a new combo & can bid again, I've even plugged Brooklyn & Long Is. Cty. in) still no winning bid . My top bid was $195. At that bid & for the first time, PL put me on hold, to look for a room. Does this mean I'm getting close?

Have a back up at LQ. DO NOT WANT TO STAY THERE.

Any suggestions? Should I wait till closer to our trip?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is your maximum bid? What is the price of the La Quinta you have reserved as a back-up?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know the above and we'll advise accordingly.

[mommacl]

Well.....what is my maximum bid? I thought I knew, now not to sure. When I first started reading post here, some were getting 4* for 150-170. Now I'm not seeing that. The back up room I got I thought I could get for about that. Our price fro LQ is $215 & that's with a AAA discount. Then I thought I'd go as much as $200, but how can I say that when actually I've already gone past that (LQ) just to have a room.

I guess I'd still like to stay $150-200 if I can. What do you think?

Also , depending on a zone and what hotels are being won, do you think a can get a nice room at 3*. Or is that rating/over rated?

I was kinda tryng for Barclay. I guess my preferences are MTE & TS. But I'm pretty flexible. Open to suggestion. Your expert help!

:) do you get my drift?

[mommacl]

jUST READ SOMEONE GOT THE bARCLAY @ 130 :)

[thereuare]

do you get my drift?

I think so... and if you're looking for some input from me, i wouldn't bid the Downtown area until you have to and have exhausted your midtown options at your maximum bid (unless you know you have reason to be in the Downtown area often during this stay OR if budget is the primary factor (over convenience). For the "typical" visitor we usually recommend MTE, MTW, UM-CPS, Times Square, and MTS (some don't bid this last zone as it's slightly less convenient than the others, although not much so... just most 'attractions' would be a subway ride away, rather than having a few things that are walkable (although there are some great things in this zone as well, like the Shake Shack at Madison Square Park)

...do you think a can get a nice room at 3*. Or is that rating/over rated?

It really depends upon the person... some can find great fault with some 4* properties while others report that some 2* properties are "fine". I think the major difference in NYC between 3* and 4* hotels is room size. While most rooms in NYC are notoriously small, and there are some 3* rooms that are larger than 4* rooms, generally speaking, the chances of getting a very small room increase at the 3* level (vs. the 4* level). At the 3* level there are some properties which have extremely small rooms that fit a queen size bed and not much more space than that to even walk on the sides of the bed.

Rates for a 4* around $150 are not very realistic, imo, for the dates above. As you get closer to $200 you begin to get a bit more realistic, and if you could stretch your budget to $225 i would recommend doing so as there have been some reports fo the Benjamin around that price and it gets excellent reviews. Of course we would suggest a strategy that started lower and inch your way up, and if you hit a different property at a lower rate first it would be a good deal for these dates, but if you're looking at a cap of $200 i would suggest inching up a bit more to $225 given the previous wins and the quality/price of your back-up hotel.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know your thoughts regarding the above and we'll advise accordingly.

[mommacl]

Thank you very much.

Your input is what I wanted!

That was the info I was looking for. I think I'll focus on MTE, MTW, UM-CPS, Times Square for now & try inching from below 200 to just above as suggested.

I'll let you know if I need any more help. And when I get a win I'll be back to let you know what I got.

(Can't stand it when you read someone's posts & then you never hear the outcome of their story) :)

[thereuare]

(Can't stand it when you read someone's posts & then you never hear the outcome of their story)

AMEN!!

Let us konw if you need help with a bidding strategy.

Please also remember to use our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your purchases.

Thanks, and good luck.

[mommacl]

thereuare,

I'm not having any success..even up to $245. :)

But I thought I'd let you know I have cancelled LQ. At that price I can't see staying in a hotel I never really wanted. I've made a res. through Quickbook at Gild Hall (read a reco on another post). Don't really want to be in the finance district, but as an backup hotel i think we would be hapier there if all else fails. Plus it was slightly less expensive than the LQ & it's a king room & a know it's just gone through a recon.

[mommacl]

PS

I can't spell.

[thereuare]

What is the rate of the Gild thru Quickbook?

[mommacl]

Averaged $214. per night Not a great deal ..I know,but I think it'll be better than our first backup.

Whada you think?

[thereuare]

OK, this one took awhile but i think have a good solution (slight risk which i'll outline below):

If you search HOTWIRE (please use this link) for 4/25-4/28 there is a 4* hotel for $214/nite (Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Tennis) which i believe to be the Grand Hyatt.

You could book the above for the last three nites of your stay. Then you can either make alternate plans (PRICELINE or HOTWIRE or elsewhere) for the first nite of your stay OR, if we're correct on the hotel ID and you don't wish to split your stay, book the Grand Hyatt directly thru their website for $306/nite. (if you are willing to split the stay i see a 'good' option at the Beekman Tower for $209/nite thru Quikbook which would 'pay' you ~$100 to change hotels, if you'd like to consider it in those terms)

If we're correct that this is the Grand Hyatt, you're looking at $214/nite x 3 nites + $306/nite x 1 nite = $237/nite which is less than the $245/nite you've already bid for a 4* hotel.

The risk? That we're wrong on the ID of the 4* hotel and it's something other than the Grand Hyatt and the price of that hotel is more than $306/nite, at which point you would need to decide if you were willing to pay more to book the hotel won directly OR switch hotels after the first nite.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Thoughts?

[mommacl]

thereuare,

I really, really appreciate your help. Let me look this over . & i'll get back to you.

again thanks, thanks, thanks!!!

[thereuare]

Do whatever research you need to, but I wouldn't wait too long.

[mommacl]

thereuare,

I thought I'd try a 3* & see what happened.

My first try I bid MTW, UM-UCPS & TS $ 165 , got an offer to raise it by $25. I did . I got the Hudson for $190

I'm happy with this. :)

Thanks for all your help.

Couldn't have done without reading post on this site & all your replies to my posts. :)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Glad to hear of your success and you can now put the hotel part of this trip behind you and start planning the fun during your stay :)

Always happy to hear that the board has been helpful and that you're happy with the results. :) The Hudson is modern and 'chic', but just be prepared for very small rooms.

Thanks for sharing your ultimatel result and enjoy your stay in NYC!

[mommacl]

thereuare

Maybe I shouldn't have jumped at a 3* level, but I was getting a little worried. And I probably should have bargained more for my price, but I got so excited when I didn't get the SORRY screen. This was a good learning experience for me.I know how to bid for travel!!

I know the rooms are VERY small, but I don't plan on being in the room very much. NYC has too much to offer for that. The location of The Hudson is really great. Central Park within walking distance, Time warner building a block away.Columbus Circle right next door.

I was there (NYC) last year with my two daughters & we had 4 nights 5 full days & we didn't get to do many of the things on our list.

Gotta go plan my trip! :)

[thereuare]

Be sure to also check-out our sister site Things To Do 411.com which has quite a few things to do in NYC and given the maps can help you plan your itinerary, taking care of things you want to do which are near each other all on the same day.

There is also a 5% dicount code currently available.

Enjoy your trip :)

[belgiumcdn]

Yes the Hudson has small room but I just love the vibe of the place, great location, excellent roof top bar I think you will enjoy it there

[mommacl]

:) We got upgraded!! Just asked. The clerk didn't say anything at first. he typed something into his computer & than said"I can upgrade you to a Superior room if that's OK". OK, well HE__ YES!!

Over all we loved the Hudson. Staff was great.

Location couldn't be better.

Only compliant.. $10 @ day for internet (connection stregnth poor) & $7.99 to use computer w/printer. We did neither. Printed our boarding passes at the airport for free.

BTW Annie(in an apt near by)..Thanks for having an open internet connection.

Thanks for all the help bidding on PRICELINE, can't wait to do it again.

Does anyone know if you can bid on cruises? And where.

[thereuare]

No bidding available on cruises... although both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE offer a cruise product.

Glad you enjoyed your stay.