Priceline Hotel: NYC Hotels 4/24-4/28

[ishmejenn]

Hi,

I'm going to be going to NYC next week from 4/24-4/28. I'm hoping to get a NYC 4 star hotel from priceline for less than 160 a night AT MOST. Is this even possible? I tried bidding today and went up to $100 a night but didnt get anything. Now that I've found this site I think I'll try again. Any tips and suggestions on getting a nice room at a four star hotel for less than $160/night would be really appreciated!

Also, I'm not really familiar with the areas in NYC but I know that I want to be in Manhattan only. Thank you!! Hopefully I'll get some feedback soon.

[Romelle]

Try putting your dates in HOTWIRE (top of screen here, left hand side). That will give you an idea of what might be feasible for your dates. One tends to be able to do a little better bidding via Priceline, so the Hotwire numbers will be sort of a max.

Then look down in the New York area to see if there are any PL bidding results reported for your dates. Rates vary a lot by date though, so it needs to be the same dates, not just in the same month or close.

There also are a number of good discussions about areas in the New York general area (first one, above the HOTWIRE and PRICELINE specific ones). The post by mommysaver elicited a nice list of areas, and some reasons why.

One caveat - HOTWIRE sometimes is a little more generous in their hotel rating than Priceline - perhaps 1/2 a star.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Rates for this complete stay are currently somewhat higher than usual... is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option?

For the average visitor any of the midtown zones usually work quite well and provide easy access to transportation options to get you allmost anywhere you want in the city. Downtown is a bit less convenient and a little less desirable, but is do-able if the savings are significant.

Also, with NYC hotel tax at 14% and a PRICELINE fee of ~$7/nite, is your $160 limit an "all-in" price or is that your maximum bid? (which if all-in reduces your maximum bid to ~$135 or so)

Let us know the above and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[ishmejenn]

Thank you for getting back to me!Splitting my bid is an option...but how would I go about doing this succesfully?

Also, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "is your $160 limit an "all-in" price or is that your maximum bid? (which if all-in reduces your maximum bid to ~$135 or so)"

What is an "all-in" price and how is that different than my maximum bid? $160 was the maximum amount I was willing to put in the bidding section.

I saw your bidding suggestions on this thread

Priceline New York City

should I follow that too?

Pls advise! Thank you!

[AaronJB]

"All-in" means is $160 your limit including tax or is your limit $160 + tax?

What bids exactly have you made up to this point?

In terms of splitting, the first two days of your stay seem noticeably more expensive than the last two, so I would split the trip in two. The first half may take a higher bid to be successful, but the second half would then likely require a lower bid to be successful.

[thereuare]

I wouldn't follow the strategy you linked to above since that only goes up to $140 and you stated you're willing to bid up to $160/nite.

Let us know which zone(s) you're willing to accept and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[ishmejenn]

Thank you.

I would prefer to stay at around 140 or less. If that doesn't work I'll probably wait another day and attempt to bid higher.

I would like to stay in the upper west side, upper east side, and/or any areas below that. I just do not want to stay in the areas above the upper west and east sides. I don't mind doing a split stay if that will raise my chances of getting a cheaper room. What would you suggest?

Thank you again!

[AaronJB]

Wouldn't recommend Upper East/Upper West; there's really very few hotels in those areas. I'd stick with Upper Midtown/CPS, MTW, Times Square/Theatre, MTE, ESB and Chelsea.

What have you bid so far?

[thereuare]

I would like to stay in the upper west side, upper east side, and/or any areas below that.

I agree with not necessarily including UWS in your bidding unless you have a specific reason to be in that immediate area (UES isn't a factor as at the moment they dont' offer any 4* bidding in that zone). However, to clarify the quote above... is Downtown a possibility as well OR are you looking to stay more in the midtown area? (similar to UWS i would recommend trying to focus on the Midtown zones vs. including Downtown... you can always include downtown later if you reach your maximum bidding limit for Midtown)

Let us know and we'll advise accordingly.

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