Priceline Hotel: NYC CPS 4* first time

[sng910]

Hello,

This looks like an awesome site, and I am giving this priceline bidding a go.

I am planning to bid, starting at $130, and probably will go higher, for a 4* hotel in CPS.

Check in date - 12/20/09

Check out date - 12/22/09

My ideal hotel would be Jumeirah Essex, but others are okay as well.

It seems that if I choose 4* in CPS the hotels available are

-Jumeirah Essex

-Loews Regency

-Le Parker Meridien

From the posts made it seems that Le Parker is most likely to be chosen.

My questions are,

Is it alright to bid few months in advance, or is it better to bid within a month of checkin date?

which hotel is most likely to be chosen?

are there hidden fees?

once accepted, will I find out what type of room I will be in?

can I upgrade my room upon arrival?

thank you so much for your help!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

which hotel is most likely to be chosen?

With PRICELINE there is no telling which hotel in the zone will accept your bid... it's a roll of the dice as t which one you rceive. The three hotels you mentioned are those which have previously been reported to the board at the 4* level... but there could always be others and hotels reported at a higher/lower star rating could be upgraded/downgraded as well.

Is it alright to bid few months in advance, or is it better to bid within a month of checkin date?

It's fine to bid early, just make sure that you know what a 'good' deal is for that time perioud and make sure you don't overbid. For more on this subject, see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

are there hidden fees?

The total amount will be on the 'review your bid' page, just before you click the "Buy My Hotel Room Now" button. PRICELINE does charge a booking fee (~$7/day) which would be included in the "fees and taxes" line on that review page where the total is shown.

once accepted, will I find out what type of room I will be in? can I upgrade my room upon arrival?

You can call the hotel to find out what type of room you've been assigned, but many times rooms are booked "run of house" which means it will be assigned upon check-in based upon availability. I wouldn't count on the ability to ugprade, but at some hotels if occupancy is low they may allow you to upgrade for a fee.

Lastly, if you haven't seen it, re-bidding is essential to help you get the best price. When bidding 4* in NYC you currently have FIVE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding (or ask for help and we'll explain it further) and ask feel free to ask for a bidding strategy if you'd like one.

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[audreydoll]

A co-worker recently bid 4* CPS on PRICELINE and received Six Columbus Circle so this hotel is another possibility. I don't know all the details of her bid or I would have posted it earlier but thought I'd at least pass along this info in case you want to update the Priceline list.

[thereuare]

Thanks... the 6 Columbus Circle was previously reported in the MTW zone, but this area has since been re-zoned, so we've moved this property to the CPS zone; thanks for letting us know!