Honeyming Posted September 19, 2009 Report Posted September 19, 2009 This is the first time I have ever posted anything, but from everything I have read this Board has proven to be very helpful to many of its members.I would appreciate guidance on how to negotiate a winning bid with Priceline from Sept 25 to Sept 30 for a 4* hotel for a maximum bid of $200. (I am also not adverse to using Hotwire if need be.)As we will be joining friends stayng in the MW and TSTD respectively, we would prefer to be within walking distance of those areas.First choice would be the Central Park area, followed by Times Square-Theatre District and then Midtown West.Thanks!
thereuare Posted September 20, 2009 Report Posted September 20, 2009 Welcome to BetterBidding!I'm assuming that price is more important than zone (as long as it's one of the zones above)... in other words you would prefer a lower priced hotel in the MTW zone vs. a higher priced hotel in the CPS zone (as opposed to bidding up to your limit for the CPS zone, and if not successful bidding up to your limit for the TS zone, and if not successful then bidding up to your limit for the MTW zone). If this is correct i woudl bid as follows: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* CPS, TS, and MTW...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone2...Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone3...Bid $140, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* CPS, TS, and MTW and re-bid zone4...Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone2...Bid $155, if rejected add re-bid zone3...Bid $160, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* CPS, TS, and MTW and re-bid zone5...Bid $165, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone2...Bid $175, if rejected add re-bid zone3...Bid $180, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINESelect 4* CPS, TS, and MTW and re-bid zone4 and re-bid zone5...Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $190, if rejected add re-bid zone2...Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone3...Bid $200Any 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. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Honeyming Posted September 20, 2009 Author Report Posted September 20, 2009 I followed everything you suggested but was unsuccessful.
thereuare Posted September 20, 2009 Report Posted September 20, 2009 Given your rejected, would you like to:-wait it out and try again in 24 hours-raise your maximum bid-lower your star rating-SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BIDHOTWIRE does have a 4* hotel in the MTC zone for $219/nite, so another $5-$10 may do it on PRICELINE; as well they have 3.5* properties for amounts lower than you have already bid, so it's possible to get something there for maybe the $140-$165 range?Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll advise accordingly.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
Honeyming Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Posted September 21, 2009 Would still prefer 4* CPS followed by TS and could increase max. bid to $215 if I need to try again in 24 hours.I wouldn't mind trying to split my priceline bid, but hope the total cost for the five nights does not exceed 1,100 plus of course the taxes/service charges...Another option we could manage is changing hotel rooms if we had to -- preferably CPS or MTW Sept. 25 thru Sept. 27 (to be close to first couple) and then Sept. 27 to 30 TS would be first choice followed by MTW, CPS or MTE.So given all these various scenarios what course would you suggest?Thanks again.
thereuare Posted September 21, 2009 Report Posted September 21, 2009 If you deciced to SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID:9/25-9/27:HOTWIRE has a 4* Boutique hotel in the ESB zone (one you haven't bid yet) for for $269/nite and a 4.0 Tripadvisor rating (Best guess is the Roger Williams which gets good reviews. This is the best value, imo, for your dates and still centrally located. There is also a 4* hotel in the MTE zone for $249/nite, bebelieved to be the W New York, but gets mixed reviews and given the other ESB property for $20 more i'd go with that. There is also a MTC property (multiple matches) for $309/nite... if you're willing to drop your star rating there is a 3.5* in the MTC zone for $199/nite.9/27-9/30:HOTWIRE has a 4* hotel in the MTE zone (best guess the Grand Hyatt or InterContinental) for $167/nite. A 4* hotel Boutique property in the Times Square zone for $196/nite (best guess the Hotel Mela)So if you went with the 4* ESB property above on HOTWIRE $269/nite and the MTE property above, you're looking at $1039 plus fees/taxes. You can try bidding on PRICELINE to beat either of the above, but at least you know a current 'worst case scenario' and that it can be beneficial to split.If you went the split bid route i would probably bid your desired zones for the first two nites (since those are the more expensive nites) and use a limit of the HOTWIRE rate (assuming that is an acceptable offer that you'd consider) for your desired zone(s). If you successful, you could then either go with the HOTWIRE offer for the last 3 nites or try PRICELINE again.Let us know if you want to go with the above scenario or instread prefer to try again with a higher maximum bid.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
Honeyming Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Posted September 21, 2009 I did try splitting my dates. I initially went to $170 for 4* Sept 27-Sept 30 but no go. I was reluctant to go higher given HOTWIRE has options that price or lower available.I have also managed to book a 4* MTW for the entire time for $211 as a fallback option. So with that, I think I would like to try again to see if I can win something in the CPS or TS zones for maximum $215. If that doesn't work, then I will either have to rely on my fallback or HOTWIRE and attempting to split my bid as you suggest.
thereuare Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 When you bid 9/27-9/30 did you only include the CPS and TS zones or did you include all acceptable zones listed above?Where is your back-up hotel? Is the nightly rate constant throughout the stay? If not, what is the rate for the first two nites?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
Honeyming Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Posted September 22, 2009 Success in Splitting Bid for latter three days of stay!Won Priceline Sept 27-Sept 30 4* Grand Hyatt, MTE $120! Started at $100 CPS, TS, MTE, MTW and added rebid zones as previously advised.Initial attempts at 4* using same zones for Sept. 25-27 unsuccessful with a max. bid of $200. I checked Hotwire just before attempts and there was a Midtown Central 4* for $205 so I thought I would go with that, but it had disappeared by the time I went through the process.So now I am searching for best rates for these obviously more expensive dates. My fallback hotel was Sheraton NYC with first two nights quoted at $224 and following three nights $184, $184, $240, respectively (averaging at $211 over five nights).
thereuare Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 Congratulations on your success!GREAT deal for these dates and a nice hotel with a good location!Glad to see these sub-set of dates came thru for you.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Please start a NEW TOPIC for the balance of your trip.Enjoy this leg of your trip. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign In Now