Priceline Hotel: Priceline newbie

[margorah]

Hi,

I just found out about Priceline yesterday when I was discussing with family about our upcoming trip to New York. What a fab idea! And then found out about this site from Martin Lewis' e-newsletter. So would appreciate any help that you guys can offer.

Hubby and I have stayed in New York before but always in Brooklyn with his cousin. However ournext trip in October is for the cousin's wedding so we can't stay with them (don't think they will really want us intruding on their honeymoon). We thought it would be fun to stay on Manhattan, but because we have been before we don't have to stay in times square area.

We are happy to stay quite south of the island but would prefer no more north than upper east side (lake in Central Park0.

I suppose what I need to know, is what do you think I should be bidding for a decent hotel in these areas? We definately don't want a shared bathroom but it seems as even though in some 3 star places you can end up sahring a room. Is $100 a night for 4 star a wasted bid?

We'll be staying for 5 nights from 20 October to 25 October.

Thanks for any help and advice you can give

M

[AaronJB]

$100 a night for a 4* in NYC would, unfortunately, be a wasted bid. The only time where $100 for a 4* in NYC may work would be some days in Jan-Feb (and maybe March.) New York is the most expensive city in the country when it comes to hotels, and the Fall is generally a busy time.

4* regular rates for these dates are generally around $375-600 (with quite a few over $500), so unfortunately I think you're probably looking at $175 for a 4* bid at the very least (unlikely, but since you're still a ways from your trip, it's worth a try) and more likely around $225 to as much as $250.

What is your budget per night for hotel?

[margorah]

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for your response, I was thinking it may be too optimistic? I think our top prive is probably $300 anight, but obvioulsy we'd like as cheap as possible. Maybe $200 would be a better place to start?

Also have you any experince what 3 starrs are like? Are there any decent ones?

Thanks

[AaronJB]

While every day may be different, my thought is generally to bid for a 4* first, then go down to 3* if 4* is just not happening. This is due to the fact that, like in Chicago, there is more 4* properties than 3* properties, which may mean more 4* inventory.

There are some very nice/well-regarded 3* properties in NYC, including hotels like the Millennium UN in MTE, the Affinia Manhattan in the Madison Sq. Garden area, The Shoreham in MTW and a few other Midtown 3* highlights. However, there are also a number of more mediocre 3* properties in the various Midtown zones.

Personally, I think there are very few 4* Midtown properties of concern - the W New York in MTE and the Sheraton NY & Towers in MTW. If I was bidding today, I'd be happy to get any of the other 4* properties in the Midtown area. However, as one has to be aware of when using Priceline, you have to be willing to accept whatever hotel may come up as a win. However, in my opinion, I would feel safest overall bidding on 4*.

Overall, as I mentioned I'd definitely start lower at $175 and work up very slowly (by $5s) and be patient. Board moderator thereuare can suggest a more specific bidding strategy, but my more basic suggestion would be to start at $175 for a 4* in the zones you are interested in.

I would usually suggest finding a backup in your price range so that you do have something to fall back on if Priceline proves to be uncooperative, but there's really nothing compelling under $300 for these dates that I'm seeing in terms of regular rate properties. I'd also generally suggest consideration of splitting your stay between two hotels in an attempt to get a lesser per-night average overall, but these are 5 weekdays and they generally all seem to show equal hotel traffic.

Please use the site's link to PRICELINE to start your purchase, as it helps support the site. Additionally, please feel free to ask any questions prior to bidding.

[thereuare]

Let us know if you want to first try for a 4* up to your limit and then try for a 3* OR if you'd rather try for the least expensive 3* or better for your dates? (and what is your current limit... it's not clear if it's $200 or $300)

Also, is Downtown an acceptable zone to include in the bidding process?

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

[margorah]

Hi,

Thnaks fr the advice so far. I think our first option would be for a 4* with a maximum bid of $200, then moving to a 3* if we can't get that.

Thanks

m

[margorah]

Just re-read the question and yes, Downtown is quite happily an option (our ideal location would be by Bleeker)

M

[thereuare]

When bidding 4* in NYC you have SIX re-bid zones available. 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.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, TS, ESB and Downtown...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $150, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, TS, ESB and Downtown and re-bid zone5...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

Bid $175, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, TS, ESB and Downtown and re-bid zone6...

Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone4...

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.