moose2010 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 Hi everyone,my friend and I, both 23 yr. old females, will be visiting NYC for the first time and staying for 2 nights - 8/7 and 8/8. We are interested in staying somewhere close to good nightlife and other popular attractions, and definitely shopping! The Times Square area would be ideal, but anywhere around it works too. We don't need a very fancy hotel... just a clean room where we can crash at the end of the night. I was thinking a 3* hotel would be ideal. We are looking at spending no more than $100 per night if possible... if needed, we could go up to $120 per night INCLUDING taxes. I read some strategies on the board and tried getting the Doubletree in Chelsea for $95-$100 like someone else did, but my bid was rejected. I have been trying TS, MTW, MTW, CPS, MSG and Chelsea. I thought those would be good locations for our trip - any other suggestions are more than welcome. Like I said, we have never been there before so I don't even know for sure that those are the best areas for what we have in mind. I would appreciate it if someone could give me the best strategy for booking my trip! Thanks for your help! :)
thereuare Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 Welcome to BetterBidding!The $100 bids you have already made i supsect have already put you beyond your $120 'all-in' rate.You have left out the MTE zone... any particular reason? (is there a hotel there you're trying to avoid) It is the area with the 3.5* rated Millenium UN which is a bit east, but still do-able, if you're able to get it for the 'right' price and your budget is tight.Given that you've already bid up to your limit (it appears) what is your gameplan should you continue to be rejected? I'm guessing your going to nee to be closer to the $120 before taxes area rather than the $120 after taxes area... but this may even get you a 4* or 3.5* (during times of low demand there is often not much difference in price between these two star classes)Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
moose2010 Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Posted July 22, 2009 Thanks for the reply! I didn't mean to exclude MTE, I just accidentally typed in MTW twice. =) now I want to make sure I am understanding your post correctly. Are you saying that since I've bid up to 100$ already, priceline knows I'm ok with paying that and won't give me anything at a cheaper price? Thanks!
AaronJB Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 It means that your bid at that price for the area/star rating selected was not accepted *at the present time.*
thereuare Posted July 23, 2009 Report Posted July 23, 2009 PRICELINE wants to sell you a hotel room... but at the present time there are no hotels that are willing to accept your $100 bid for a 3* hotel.Based upon current prices (which can change, both up and down), my current thought is that it's going to take more than the $100 bidding limit that you've set (not because PRICELINE won't give you anything less, but more so because no hotel is willing to (at the moment) accept any that price), so you should at least have a gameplan for what you will do if the situation remains the same... lower your star rating, raise your maximum bid, consider 'commutable' zones outside of Manhattan (not recommended since it's your first time and it sounds like you may be out late at nite), etc.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
moose2010 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Posted July 24, 2009 Ok great - thanks so much! I will keep trying for the next few days, and if the bid is still not accepted I will probably raise the price since I'm assuming that 2* hotels are not something we will be happy with. I will post my winning bid! Thanks again!
AaronJB Posted July 25, 2009 Report Posted July 25, 2009 Let us know how it goes and if you have any other questions.
moose2010 Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Posted July 28, 2009 Hi everyone,I figured I would let you know what I ended up doing, although I'm not sure if this will help anyone on this board. For the past few days, I continued trying to get a 3 or 3.5* for under $100 in all the areas I mentioned before, but I had no success. Finally today I lowered the star level all the way to 2.5* and bid up to $95 on all the areas, and still no luck. I got a little freaked out because I started noticing some good deals I had found on other websites got sold out over the weekend, so I decided to book without Priceline. I found a 2.5* hotel called The Pod Hotel, which got many excellent reviews. It is in a perfect location in MTE, less than a mile from times square. I booked a room with a bunk bed and shared bathroom - I was really against this at first, but my friend really wanted to save money and the hundreds of reviews I read convinced me. The room we got is around $170/night, but is currently on sale on most travel websites for $120-$140/night. I ended up getting it on getaroom.com for $89/night - so total after taxes for 2 nights came out to $210, which is under budget. I hope this helps someone who is having a hard time finding a room at a reasonable rate! Maybe I will write a review of the hotel after my trip. Thanks again for your help - I will definitely keep trying priceline for future trips!
thereuare Posted July 28, 2009 Report Posted July 28, 2009 Thanks for 'closing' this thread with what you ultimately decided to do for this stay.Enjoy your time in NYC. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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