Priceline Hotel: 3* NYC (UM-CPS) Park Central

[SavannahMacGuy]

I would like to be within walking distance of 53rd and 5th.

Say roughly, Central Park South to around 45th, Park Ave to 7th Ave...

I'd prefer a 4* but am willing to compromise to a 3.5 if necessary.

3*? Maybe, but they do seem to be less consistent once you drop to that level...

I'd like to stay in the $100 range, but will spend 20-30 bucks more if the difference delivers tremendous value.

High-speed internet is a big plus, but not an absolute.

[thereuare]

I think your maximum price isn't high enough for a 3.5* or a 4* thru Hotwire. Those prices would be on the low end for a relatively slow time in NYC, but most of your stay is more of a typical demand period, with the first few nites of your stay being outright very expensive. Just do a search, Hotwire or thru our HOTEL CHECKER for just the nite of the 19th, you'll see the extremely high rates i'm refering to.

As well, you're geographic requirements really only allow you to look at the Times Square and the Midtown Central zones. Not sure if your preference is to increaese price, expand your geographic constraints, or both.

Would you consider Priceline for this? Their zones are a bit larger so you'd definately need to be willing to have less of a decision over precise location, but we can suggest a strategy to follow in order to try Priceline which would likely end up costing a bit less than Hotwire. My guess is that thru Priceline we would be able to lock in the last part of your stay, and this would then enable you to figure out your options for the beginning part.

If Priceline is an option, take a look at Priceline's zones and let us know what zone(s) are acceptable, ideally being able to bid the MTE, MTW, and UM/CPS zones would be ideal from a bidding point of view, but i don't know if some of the MTE zone is a bit too far east for your purposes and/or if the MTW zone has a few areas that are a bit too far west for your needs. If Priceline is not an option, post back regarding the above Hotwire questions (zone, price, etc) and we'll respond accordingly.

[SavannahMacGuy]

Thanks much for your thoughts.

I was extremely successful finding NYC hotels on Priceline in the early months of this year but this summer have been far less successful.

I know I can stay at the Alex for $200 on Expedia and would happily do that before spending $175 at the Hilton, etc. via Priceline.

But I do think my lack of PL success this summer has been due to low bidding. The hotel environment is a lot healthier for operators in NYC ths summer.

On PL, I have had good luck in the past w 3* in MTE. Love the Radisson and the Marriott.

And I'm not afraid of the Grand Hyatt as far as 4* as some people are. However, the UN Plaza would be really inconvenient.

(That explains my new interest in Hotwire - the chance of guessing specific hotels and avoiding a UN Plaza, for example.)

I avoid 3* in MTS because I've often gotten the disappointing Jolly Madison.

CPS is certainly acceptable. Less familiar with hotels in this area.

So I would say

3* CPS

3* MTW

4* MTE ( ? - pushing my luck)

4* MTS (a good deal at Morgans would be worth a cab ride)

Is probably what I would shoot for on a Priceline bid.

[thereuare]

Would $100-$130 still be your maximum amount? Once you confirm i'll supply a strategy.

My guess, given prices i'm seeing, is that you'll have success for the latter part of your stay with Priceline and then you can use the Expedia offer at the Alex (or some other hotel) to 'fill-in' the missing dates which appear to be quite expensive ast most hotels in the area (although not necessarily true for the Alex).

Also, do you have some times on your hands to bid? The strategy i'm thinking of, if you have to go thru all the steps, could take as much as an hour to complete... would you be able to do so or should i come up with an appraoch with less of a commitment to the amount of time it will take to bid?

[SavannahMacGuy]

You should have seen the 20 bids I did on Priceline before I Hotwired the Sheraton!

I'm a persistent guy.

And, let's say my maximum bid is $150, given my chronic underbidding lately.

[thereuare]

OK then, here we go:

You have 2 re-bids available at the 4* level and one re-bid available at the 3* level.

STEP 1

Select 4* UM/CPS and...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $140.

If rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously:

Select 3* UM/CPS and...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $125.

I would bid the 2 cycles above for 9/19-9/30, if that's rejected then repeat, trying the following date order:

9/20-9/30

9/21-9/30

9/22-9/30

9/23-9/30

9/24-9/30

9/25-9/30

(i'm doubtful you'll see success anytime before a starting date of 9/21, but it doesn't hurt to try)

If rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously:

STEP 2

Select 4* MTW and...

Bid $110, if rejected add UM/CPS and...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $140

If rejected close browser and re-access Priceline however you did previously:

Select 4* MTE and...

Bid $120, if rejected add UM/CPS and...

Bid $130, if rejected add MTW and...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone and...

Bid $150.

Once again you'll go thru each of the 2 cycles (4* MTW and then 4* MTE before changing dates), starting with dates 9/19-9/30 and if rejected then trying

9/20-9/30

9/21-9/30

9/22-9/30

9/23-9/30

9/24-9/30

9/25-9/30

I have not included the MTS zone at this point as we can see how things go with the above and then use MTS to continue bidding if none of the above works out.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes or if you have any questions.

[SavannahMacGuy]

Wow.

That bidding strategy is a thing of beauty. I feel like I should frame it or something.

Some last minute back-and-forth about whether I'll be around next weekend, but I think I'm going to go ahead and start giving this a try. Thanks so much for the thoughtful strategy.

[SavannahMacGuy]

Followed your UM/CPS strategy precisely.

Cycled through all prices and star levels starting on the 19th and 20th, and all the 4* cycles for the 21st.

When I made the $110/3*/21st offer, I got a counteroffer of $132.

Given what I've learned about counteroffers, I ignored it, and also felt confident dropping just a bit from $125. (I wanted to do $120, but I didn't have the cojones).

So I got the Park Central for $122. I've never stayed here and have no expectations good or bad. We'll just see. If there are any specific things to avoid or ask for at this hotel, I'd love to hear them, given my lengthy stay.

Thank you for the very detailed bidding strategy. I bid thru SavingsBarn.com.

Park Central New York

Check-In Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Check-Out Date: Friday, July 30, 2004

Upper Midtown - Central Park South

870 Seventh Avenue At 56th Street

New York,

[thereuare]

Glad to hear you had success... and at under your original maximum bid amount of $130.

I have heard that this hotel is not as bad as the reviews on TripAdvisor. Apparently there are many different room types in this hotel and the upkeep on some is much better than others, which would account for the wide variety of reviews.

I would not be shy about asking for a different room if the first one you receive isn't satisfactory. From what i could gather the hotel doesn't have 'priceline rooms' and has moved others to different rooms at their request. You might even consider at check-in, "I know that the rooms here vary greatly in quality. I'm here for almost 10 nites so i'd really appreciate it if you could get me one of the better rooms available." (board member bturner13 has had great success at varying properties tipping $10 or $20 at the check-in clerk too, but whether or not you want to do that is your decision... the hotel has an 'executive level' which may be what you want to ask for?) Here is a discussion on TIPPING AT HOTELS.

I'll look forward to hearing your own comments/review.

Are you intending to bid the 19th-21st or will you go with the Alex for that portion of the stay?

[SavannahMacGuy]

Working on a deadline today, so not much time to bid until late this evening.

Open to all possibilities for those two nights.

[thereuare]

I've started a new thread PRICELINE NEW YORK CITY for your remaining dates and have posted some thoughts/options there.

Hope the deadline is getting met.