Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (Times Square) Westin

[toliverair]

Hello! From what I have read so far, you guys seem like your the best around!

We are traveling with 5 other couples and guess what?? I'm in charge of making all of the reservations! Other than being extremely stressed out with almost NO sleep for the last several nights, I'm okay with that! Ha :~)

I need 6 rooms total. I, of course would love to stay someplace really, really nice at a really, really good rate! Not hard to do, right? ;~)

I've even been looking at the Manhattan Club ~ I can get a steal on 1 room. $475 for 3 nights (total cost including taxes!) but I don't think I can get 5 more rooms. Would you suggest getting the other 5 at a nearby hotel or just skipping Manhattan Club for another hotel?

Can I get 6 rooms at the same hotel through Priceline?

We are coming to take everything in that is possible. We are planning on getting on the grayline bus tour and going from there. Any other advice on what to see, where to eat, etc.... would be VERY MUCH appreciated.

Gratefully,

Narissa

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Let's take care of your hotel first and then we'll work on an itinerary, although i will add that the Grayline bus can be good or bad... some people love it, but i prefer to do my own research, grab an unlimited metrocard, and see the city on my own, associating with the locals rather than other tourists. Of course this depends a lot on how much energy and research you want to put into your itinerary.

Back to your rooms....

You can only bid for 4 rooms at a time on Priceline (and all rooms will be at the same property). Chances are good that if you bid rooms back-to-back (separted bids, one bid for 4 rooms and the other for 2 rooms, or 3 rooms/3 rooms) you will get the same hotel, but it is not guaranteed, as we have seen instances where the same bid was placed simultneously by two different users and they received different hotels. If you use Priceline you have to be open to the possbibility that you will be split up between two different hotels.

Another option is to use Hotwire. Same maximum 4 room condition applies, but at least you can have a better idea that the second purchase will be at the same hotel as the first by matching up the amenity icons. Generally speaking Hotwire is often a little more expensive than Priceline, so the increased likelihood of being at the same hotel comes with a higher price tag... you'll have to weigh the cost.

If neither of the above appeal to you, a third option is to book 4 rooms and then book the remaining two rooms at the same hotel thru conventional means... splitting the total cost of all 6 rooms between the six couples. However, the conventional rooms are often so much more expensive than the Priceline/Hotwire rooms that the overall deals doesn't seem that terrific.

[toliverair]

can I get a better price since I'm asking for 4 rooms.....or will it be about the same?

I have ruled out the Manhattan Club.................think it would be better to try to stick together....

what area would you suggest trying first? We would like to stay in the center of things. We are arriving Penn Station on Sunday Morning around 9:30 and we need to be at Brooklyn Tabernacle by 11:00 am. We will have luggage that will need to be delivered to the hotel first. We are leaving JFK on Wednesday morning at 9:30.

[WillTravel]

You could also split three and three.

I think some hotels make only a few rooms available to Priceline, and of course people are bidding for these all the time, so it is possible that the more rooms you try to book, the more you may have to pay (if the lower-priced hotels don't have enough rooms). Hotwire will often have different results if you try to get different numbers of rooms. The effect with Priceline is less clear.

[thereuare]

As per my comments above, i can't advise a starting point until i know your comfort level with the group being split up. How price sensitive are you? Do you have a maximum amount you are willing to spend in mind?

[toliverair]

Knowing the group........I think it would be better to split 2/2/2 or 4/2................There is one couple that is on a tight budget so that puts us all on one, I guess............Max to spend would be $175 - $200 a night.

[thereuare]

Ok, last question (trying to be thorough)........

Sunday nites in NYC are often very inexpensive relative to the other nites, but usually to get the low rate you need to purchase Sunday independently of the other nites. Is SPLITTING THE BID an option? This would create a likely scenario that you would have to change hotels after Sunday nite... obviously an inconvenience in exchange for saving some money. Not really sure how you and/or the group about moving after the first nite... it depends upon how tight of a budget you are on.

Let us know and i'll follow-up with a strategy.

[toliverair]

How much "savings" are we talking about? If it is significant, we would be willing as long as we could get another hotel close by.

[thereuare]

No guarantees on the proximity of the 2nd hotel, although everything in midtown should be less than a $6-$7 cab ride away. The savings could be anywhere from $35-$75+

Taking a quick look at your dates i think you could be successful in your price range for a 3* hotel and possibly a 4* hotel... although the 4* would most likely be at the upper end of your price range. If you bid the Sunday nite independently of the other nites, i'm fairly confident you could get a 4* hotel for under $150. If successful, you could then, if necessary, extend your budget somewhat for the other nites.

Some people choose to do this 'no problem' while others are hesitant to change hotels at all during a stay. It comes down to covenience vs. money... and you know the people in your group better than the rest of us (you may also want to check with them first).

[toliverair]

okay that all sounds good. what areas do I try first?

[thereuare]

Splitting the dates sounds good?

Most tourists in NYC prefer the MTE, MTW, and UM/CPS zones. You should go to Priceline, put 'New York, NY' in the text box and look at those three zones to make sure they are acceptable to you. You can also read the PRICELINE ZONE DESCRIPTIONS i put together for NYC.

Lastly you will need to know about RE-BIDDING which is explained in that thread. When bidding 4* you have two re-bid zones available and when bidding 3* you only have one re-bid zone avaible. If you're unsure of your re-bid zones (it can be a little confusing at first) ask for help and we'll explain to you anything that you need clarifications on. It also appears that you are in a rush to get this done, or maybe that's just excitement :) , but i also know that i've thrown a lot at you at once. If you have AOL or Yahoo instant messenger i can walk you thru it in 'real time' to make sure you understand the process (just click either AIM or Yahoo icons at the bottom of this post).

I'll post a bidding strategy as a reply to this thread so that you could at least get started reading the above.

[toliverair]

I read the two links that you provided. I understand the NYC areas and the rebid process. I can't seem to get the aol to work and I'm not a yahoo member. Why don't you IM me at aol.

[thereuare]

I would start with the arrival nite of 10/24 since the price obtained on this nite may allow you to increase your bid for the remaining two nites.

Assuming you are content being anywhere in the shaded region of the zones, this is how i would proceed:

Select 4* MTW and...

Bid $100, if rejected add MTE and...

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

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone#1 and...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone#2 and...

Bid $140.

Remember to select the correct number of rooms from the drop-down menu for each bid. I don't see any value in bidding the rooms 2-2-2... i would sooner bid for 3-3, or if you split 4-2 then i would bid for the 4 rooms first and then for the 2 rooms. Before bidding think about how you will split up your group. Once you 'win' a hotel, i would just bid that zone and dollar amount for the second set of rooms in order to increase the likelihood of obtaining the same property.

Also, whoever's name you put the room in will need to be there at the time of check-in. You could put all of the rooms in your name, but if you end up with two different hotels you will need to go to each one in order to get checked in (so better put the rooms each person's name or at the very least in the name of a person that would be at the second hotel won (if different then the first)).

Any questions (i bet there will be some) please feel free to ask.

[toliverair]

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to comfirm that I got the Westin New York Times Square for $120 on 10/24. We needed 6 rooms and were able to reserve all of them at this price through Priceline.

Now we are needing rooms for 10/25 and 10/26 in NYC. Things aren't looking too promising by the posts on this site! I am ready to book now. If THEREUARE or any other knowledgable bidders are willing to help me with a bidding plan, I would be forever grateful!

Thanks so much to this site..........IT IS THE GREATEST!!!

[thereuare]

Thanks for the compliments on the site...

The balance of this stay is continued HERE.