Priceline Hotel: Help NYC

[DwB]

Hi,

First time user of Priceline. Used the PRICELINE link from the forum.

Travel dates are September 9th to 14th.

I chose MTW, MTE and TS and 4* having looked at the other wins for that time period on the calendar. I bid $140 and was rejected. I was given the option to change something and rebid so I added Chelsea and bid $149.

It was rejected and I was linked to PRICELINE showing me a list of hotels.

Does this mean I have to wait a day to try to re-bid or can I just start over?

Should I split the stay into two bids?

Thanks for any help.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to the site. :)

You cannot make a duplicate bid within 24 hours. Which PRICELINE zones in NYC are you interested in - MTE/MTW and TS only? What is your budget per night?

I wouldn't split the stay into two bids yet.

Thank you for using the site's PRICELINE link to start your purchase.

[thereuare]

You can still bid again using re-bid zones (see Priceline Re-Bidding Explained... if you're new to re-bidding it's strongly recommended that you confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding)

You can see this thread Only One Re-Bidding Attempt to see more inforamtion regarding being redireted to the 'retail' section of PRICELINE.

If you let us know the information requested above (acceptalbe zones and maximum bid) we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow. (although i'll add that these are very expensive dates in Manhattan.. you may likely need to SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID, lower your star rating, or increase your previous bid amounts)

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

[DwB]

Yesterday, I spent some time reading the advice to some other NYC travellers and then I tried following the strategies provided to others previously (without success yet). I must admit I was only "loosely" following them though. Time to Regroup!

My wife and I are doing a last minute trip to NYC. We are tourists and neither of us have been there before.

As far as where we stay, I've been copying others and picking the 4 central areas MTE, MTW, CPS, TS. I started 4* and went down to 3* eventually (dropped my $ bid too though). I think I need to regroup with a proper strategy and any help would be greatly appreciated.

We're not really that picky, but just want a good deal. If we can get a 4* in a prime area for $200, great. But I don't want to pay $200 for a 3* in a bad neighbourhood. Basically want the nicest hotel for $200 or under as long as it's somewhere convenient for newbie tourists.

Therefore:

Limit--$200

Star--3 or better

Area--start central (MTE, MTW, CPS, TS) before expanding

[thereuare]

The two nites of your stay are very expensive, is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option? (although the second half of your stay may be a little difficult as well within your budget)

What is the best rate you're able to find for this stay thru conventional booking channels?

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

[DwB]

The best rates I'm seeing are in the $400 range. Ouch.

Splitting bids is no problem ie. cheaper some nights and more $ for other nights doesn't bother me.

[thereuare]

Let's start with a 4* hotel and we'll take it from there...

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.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, and TS (and ESB if you choose to do so)...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $145, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, and TS (and ESB if you choose to do so) and re-bid zone4...

Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $160, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $165, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, and TS (and ESB if you choose to do so) and re-bid zone5...

Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $180, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $185, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* MTE, MTW, CPS, and TS (and ESB if you choose to do so) and re-bid zone4 and re-bid zone5...

Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $205 (if you decide you want to try an extra $5)

I'd start with the above for your complete stay and then move on to sub-sets of your dates:

9/9-9/14

9/10-9/14

9/9-9/13

9/11-9/14

9/9-9/12

A warning that if you are successful for the latter dates of your stay, your first nite/two are going to cost you A LOT and there appears to be very little 'opaque' inventory for these dates when using HOTWIRE as an indicator... just want you to be prepared so that you're not locked into later dates and then the earlier nites are cost prohibitive.

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[DwB]

FYI, we pulled the chute on this jaunt b/c of the cost that wkend.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up.

For future reference, Winter/Summer are much less expensive in NYC than Spring/Fall.