Priceline Hotel: 3.5* NYC (MTE) Helmsley New York

[RHNDTZ]

I will be travelling to NYC from April 29 to May 3. I tried to bid on NYC hotels through PRICELINE using the hyperlinks provided on this forum. But what happened? The credit card information I registered in my user profile was not used and instead of that I need to manually fill in credit card information from a card with a US billing address.

Is Name Your Own Price bidding available for US citizens only?

[thereuare]

See the address technique others have used and discussed here: Priceline Non-US

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

[RHNDTZ]

Thanks for the link you provided! I didn't find it myself because the title of the thread is called 'Priceline bidding tips for Canadians'. For me, not being a Canadian, that didn't ring a bell. However, I tried the suggested work-around and it seems to work. In the form I used my own home address and home town, but used California and 90210 for the zip-code. I was allowed to make bids, but not yet successful.

Maybe you can revise the topic title and description for me. I am looking for a 4* hotel as close as possible to Times Square - Theater District and my stay will be from April 29 until May 3. My assumption is that the TS/TD area is the most vibrant area of NYC for tourists and moreover near a big public transportation hub that allows me to travel fast and efficiently.

My rejected bids until now are all 4* bids:

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started with TS/TD - $ 101,-

added MTW - $ 102,-

added CPS - $ 103,-

24-hours wait

started with TS/TD - $ 105,-

added MTW - $ 107,-

added CPS - $ 108,-

added MSG - $ 110,- (free rebid zone)

added CA - $ 112,- (free rebid zone)

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I hoped for more success, as I saw on this board successful historic bids for $ 105,- at Crowne Plaza Times Square (TS/TD), $ 111,- at Hilton Times Square (TS/TD), $ 110,- at Hilton NY and Sheraton NY and Towers (both MTW) and $ 101,- at Le Parker Meridien (CPS).

Maybe it's too early to already find real bargains for my travel dates and maybe I have to wait a few weeks. I've already made a 'plan b booking' at a hotel in Queens for in the worst case scenario, but I'd really like to end up in central Manhattan. Any tips, besides waiting for last minutes deals to arrive?

[thereuare]

I am looking for a 4* hotel as close as possible to Times Square - Theater District and my stay will be from April 29 until May 3. My assumption is that the TS/TD area is the most vibrant area of NYC for tourists and moreover near a big public transportation hub that allows me to travel fast and efficiently.

Read our thoughts on Hotels Near Times Square and then let us know if this is the only zone you're willing to bid.

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

[vienna]

you have to look at the date of the stayings! (end of april and beginning of may are much more expensive....) MTE $120 should work!

[RHNDTZ]

I tried a new series of 4* bids today, but again no luck. I'll probably wait for new opportunities to show up closer to my arrival date or maybe I'll decide to go for a 3* hotel. I reached my maximum budget, but in no of the 4 area's that resulted in a deal so far.

started with TS/TD - $ 104,-

added MTW - $ 106,-

added MTE - $ 108,-

added CPS - $ 112,-

added MSG - $ 115,- (free rebid zone)

added CA - $ 120,- (free rebid zone)

I checked the websites of InterContinental The Barclay and Grand Hyatt and was surprised to see that rates for Wednesday and Thursday are almost twice as high compared to Friday and Saturday. For some other weeks that doesn't seem to be the case. I don't know the reason for that. Is there a national holiday in that period or a big event going on? On the other hand: the rates for The Benjamin go in the opposite direction: there the weekend is more expensive. Mysterious.

I used the PRICELINE link from this forum to start my bidding session.

[thereuare]

There's no national holiday, but there's always something going on in NYC :) Given the divergence between the two hotels you looked at it's possible that whatever is causing the rate increase at each is hotel specifc (just as an example, rates can be 'normal' throughout the city, but the InterContinental could have a business conference at the hotel for the midweek dates (thus inflating rates for thoese dates) while the Benjamin has lower rates for the midweek dates but has a large wedding over the weekend with lots of out of town guests, thus inflating rates for the weekend dates at that property)

Not sure if you're interested at this point in time, but is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option? I think you have a decent chance of success at prices you have already bid if you are willing to change properties during your stay.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

[RHNDTZ]

I don't feel like moving from one hotel to another during my stay. Therefore my stay in NYC is too short, I need my time to do all the things I want to do. I don't want to check-out in hotel A at 10AM and not being able to check-in in hotel B before 4PM.

So I decided to give the 3.5* category a try. Without having read this Priceline Helmsley New York thread I made a first (unsuccesful) bid of $ 90,- for MSG, hoping for the Affinia Manhattan. After that I added Mid Town East and increased my bid to $ 95,- and got (my other favorite in this category) the Helsmley NY.

I'm quite happy with it. I think that $ 95,- for a hotelroom is always a bargain in NYC, the Helmsley is rated number 50 out of 411 hotels in NYC on TripAdvisor and it's just a short walk to Grand Central Station and the subway.

Thanks for your help and of course I used your PRICELINE link to make the booking.

New York Helmsley

Midtown East

212 East 42nd Street

New York, New York 10017

212-490-8900

Check-In Date:

Wed, Apr 29, 2009 / After 04:00 PM

Check-Out Date:

Sun, May 3, 2009 / 12:00 PM

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $95.00

Subtotal: $380.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $81.18

Total Charges*: $461.18

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received a hotel within your budget and that you're happy with the results of this purchase.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICLINE link to begin your bidding.

Have a great trip and enjoy your stay in NYC!