Priceline Hotel: 3* or 4* in either Empire State Building or Chelsea

[srowland]

Complete newbie to priceline, but I have spent some time going through these message boards. Since I have a while still I figured I would start with low balling (I know, October is expensive). Anyway I am focusing on Empire State Building and Chelsea Village Area from 10/24-10/29.

First bids:

4*

150 Chelsea and ESB

160 Add UES

170 Add UWS

175 Add Brooklyn

180 Add Madison Square Garden

3*

125 ESB (I told you I was low ballin'!)

140 Add Chelsea

150 Add UES

160 Add UWS

Figure call it a night and try again tomomorrow. But any suggestions?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is your maximum bid for a 4* hotel? for a 3* hotel?

Is there a reason you chose those two zones? Although NYC is large, it's also fairly compact, and most midtown zones work fine for the average users... are ther hotels you're tying to target or avoid that you're only bidding one zone at the 4* level and two zones at the 3* level? NYC is expensive this time of year so if you're aiming for the best price i woul dconsider adding all zones which are acceptable and using all your re-bid zones (Priceline Re-Bidding Explained)

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

[srowland]

My maximum bid right now for a hotel is about $250 a night. Although given some additional browsing at hotels in the area I am getting a little bit discouraged that I might have to pay more. Plus it seems like in NY if you drop below 3* you risk some sketchy hotels.

My reason for the two zones is that we are going out there for a wedding. But the hotel de jour is The Carlton at Madison Avenue, but that is well out of my price range, but looks like it is around 32nd and madison/park. We would like to be close to this hotel so we can partake in the events of the weekend. And they are providing transportation from that hotel to the wedding site in brooklyn so we want to take full advantage of that. I have been to New York once before and it seems like everything is fairly close but we don't want to be so far out that we miss out on the reason for going there.

[thereuare]

You're right in that NYC is fairly compact, but more importantly, mass transit is fairly inexpensive and readily available.

As you can see prices are fairly high for these dates. However, what i belive to be the Inter-Continental Barclay (MTE zone) is available on HOTWIRE for $289/nite... so you might be able to do better on PRICELINE (at or under your $250 threshold), but you'll need to expand your zones.

Assuming you land the InterContinental Barclay, you're looking at about a $6 cab ride to the Carlton on Madison (or take the subway 2 stops or hop on the bus). Given the much higher rates i'm seeing for other hotels in the zone you're seeking and the relatively low cost i think you'd be upgrading the quality of your hotel (vs. the Carlton) and doing it for less... you'd just need to plan ahead for the 5-10 minute cab ride to get to the Carlton in time to catch the bus to Brooklyn for the wedding (just as you would if you stayed at an alternate hotel but in the ESB zone)

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

Thoughts??

[dechass]

First bids:

4*

150 Chelsea and ESB

no 4* in chelsea at the minute.

[srowland]

Thanks for the advice, kept trying by adding in MTE:

4*

175 ESB

185 + Chelsea

190 + MTE

200 + MSG

210 + UES

220 + UWS

230 + Brooklyn

240 + LIC

3*

175 ESB

185 + Chelsea

195 + MTE

205 + UES

215 + UWS

225 + LIC

So I will keep trying tomomorrow or Saturday. Will I have any better luck if I split the dates? I can't imagine the 26th (Sunday) to Tuesday (28th) nite being as expensive as the Friday and Saturday nites...

[thereuare]

I can't imagine the 26th (Sunday) to Tuesday (28th) nite being as expensive as the Friday and Saturday nites...

Actually, usuallly weekend nites (Fri-Mon) in NYC are cheaper than midweek, but if you're trying to SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID you wouldn't want to make any assumptions, and you'd first try for a 5nite stay (as you have been), then 4 nites (x2), then 3 nites (x2).

In other words use the following date combinations:

10/24-10/29

10/24-10/28

10/25-10/29

10/24-10/27

10/26-10/29

Does the above make sense?

Any questions feel free to ask.

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