jurgenk Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Hi,I was only recently directed to this forum but it has already proven to be a wealth of knowledge, so thank you! My wife and I are planning on heading to New York for 10 days from June 15th to 25th, 2009 and are looking for a centrally-located 4-star hotel at the best rate we can get. Does it make any difference in terms of rates for a Priceline booking if we bid for a single 10-night stay as compared to two separate 5-night stays? I have no problem with staying at two different hotels over the course of our time in NYC if it would result in a better combined rate. Also, do you have any recommendations as to what my initial bid should be and what Priceline NYC zones would be the best to focus on? Thanks in advance,H&P
thereuare Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Welcome to BetterBidding!Glad to hear the board is already proving to be useful for you.In regards to your stay, often SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID can results in two hotels for less than one comlete stay, but it depends upon availability. Changing hotels also comes at a slight inconvenience (although on an extended stay can provide a different perspective by staying in a different area) so typically the savings need to be worth it to make the 'effort' of changing properties worthwhile.Most midtown zones work well for the typical user (anything north of Downtown and south of Central Park).If you give us an idea of your expected budget we'll be able to take a closer look to see if this is do-able and/or if splitting your stay seems like it would be necessary/worthwhile.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
jurgenk Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks for your reply! With respect to budget, ideally I'd like to stay under $150US/night on average (so $1500 for 10 nights), but if splitting would result in some rates being higher and others lower than this, I'm fine with that as long as the total cost ends up being $1500 or less. The idea of staying in two hotels in two different areas is appealing, although my priority would be to get the lowest available rate over staying in two different zones. I would love to be able to get a sense of splitting our stay between two hotels would make a difference in overall cost if this is possible...I'm open to any date splits between Monday June 15th and Thursday June 25th that result in the best hotels at the lowest rates. Thanks a lot, and I will definitely make my ultimate booking through the links you provided!H&PCalgary, AB, Canada
thereuare Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 To reach $1500 'all-in' is approximately a $125 maximum bid.I'm doubtful that will be enough for this complete stay at one hotel, but i'd suggest trying for the complete stay first up to $125, and then if that is rejected begin to try subsets of your dates. Are you fine with the MTE, MTW, CPS, TS/TD, and ESB zones?Let us know if you're "good" with the above approach 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
jurgenk Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Posted March 11, 2009 I'm not as keen on the ESB zone...I'm fine with MTW, TSTD, CPS and MTE.Do you think it would be worth isolating a hotel's weekend rates to one part of the stay and booking the other part of the stay just on weekdays? For example, I could use one bid of June 15 (Monday) to 19 (Friday) and another bid of June 19 (Friday) to 25 (Thursday)...this would give me 4 nights in one hotel and 6 in the other, but the first part of the booking would be Monday-Thursday. I don't know if Priceline would be friendlier to that approach or not. I'm not at all opposed to switching hotels once (maybe to a new zone to get a flavour for a different area), but I'm in your hands as to the best approach and bidding strategy. If you suggest trying for a complete stay first, that's what I'll do. Thanks so much for your help!H&P
thereuare Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 If it were me i would first try for the entire stay up to $125... if you get accepted for the complete stay at that price or less it would be a very good deal and make things 'clean' and hassle-free. If that is rejected you don't want to have any preconceived notions as far as where to make the split, and you try to get as many nites in one purchase as you can (will go thru that if/when the complete stay fails)At the 4* level you have FIVE 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* MTW, TSTD, CPS and MTE..Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125.Any questions freel 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
jurgenk Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Posted April 5, 2009 Hi,I finally was able to go onto PRICELINE and implement your bidding strategies, and it was a resounding success! I was concerned because I wanted a 4* hotel in midtown for 10 nights in June, but I managed to land one on my first re-bid!I first bid for a 4* in MTW, MTE, TSTD and CPS from June 15th to June 25th at $110US/night. This was rejected outright. I then added Brooklyn as my free re-bid zone, upped my bid to $116 (thinking that $115 might be some kind of threshold) and was accepted for 10 nights by the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers! I don't know much about this hotel, but it's in a great location (5 blocks due north of Times Square) and cost way less than I expected. Thanks a lot for your help!H&P
thereuare Posted April 5, 2009 Report Posted April 5, 2009 Congratulations on your success!Glad to see you're happy with the results and the board was helpful in getting you a hotel for much less than you thought possible.Please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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