Hotwire Hotel: Newby

[jonnl]

Brand new to Hotwire and BetterBidding...have used 3rd party sites previously, usually satisfactorily, but know that ability to control and negotiate the details (how many and what size beds, what floor, etc) are limited when you don't book direct....I'm a bit spoiled and am willing to pay for my privilege...I'm clear that using Hotline is "opaque", but several questions arise

1) Is there a way to specify 4.5 or 5 stars rather than just 4+?....i.e. I'd be willing to pay more to guarantee a "Preferred Hotel" or "Leading Hotels" destination or brand

2) I'm looking for Mid-town NYC, either East or Central, 10/13-15...when I refine my search to include "4 stars and up" and limit my search to say Mid Town Central, it indicates that there are 2 properties within that criteria but only lists 1 rate with 1 set of amenities and TripAdvisor rating...so do both properties sell for that rate and include the very same set of amenities?

3) I'm traveling with a 10 year old daughter and my wife...is there a way to book bed size specifics i.e. 2 queens rather than 2 twins....and that's assuming that when you include a child in your party that there will always be 2 beds, not 1 bed and a sofa pullout, or worse, cot....is that a fair assumption?

4)Reading several posts re: Mid-town Manhattan in Oct it seems that I'd somehow pay too much compared to prices quoted by posters....here's what is available now on Hotwire...can someone make an educated guess what the properties are and whether those prices seem right?

a)MidTown Central w/smoke-free rooms, fitness center, business center, restaurant, and high speed access-3.5 TripAdvisor at $252/night

b)Mid Town East w/ fitness center, business center, restaurant, and high speed access (does the omission of "smoke free rooms" mean I won't get one?)-4 TripAdvisor at $304/night

Any help is much appreciated....I've paid as much as $500/night when booking Manhattan but that seems senseless if with a little effort, I can pay half as much

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

1) Is there a way to specify 4.5 or 5 stars rather than just 4+?....i.e. I'd be willing to pay more to guarantee a "Preferred Hotel" or "Leading Hotels" destination or brand

Some HOTWIRE areas have 4.5* and 5* properties (PRICELINE doesn't use a 4.5* rating in their system, but does use a Resort category which is inbetween 4* and 5*). However, more specfically, neither currently offers 5* hotels in NYC. Hotwire has a few 4.5* rated properties.

2) I'm looking for Mid-town NYC, either East or Central, 10/13-15...when I refine my search to include "4 stars and up" and limit my search to say Mid Town Central, it indicates that there are 2 properties within that criteria but only lists 1 rate with 1 set of amenities and TripAdvisor rating...so do both properties sell for that rate and include the very same set of amenities?

There shoudl be two lists, one for the Midtown East property and one for the Midtown Central property. Have you scrolled thru the entire list of offerings? (and clicked NEXT botton no the bottom right of the board to see the next page of offerings... clicked the 'star rating' button near the middle of the page to sort by star rating, which would bring the highest rated hotels to the top of the page)

3) I'm traveling with a 10 year old daughter and my wife...is there a way to book bed size specifics i.e. 2 queens rather than 2 twins....and that's assuming that when you include a child in your party that there will always be 2 beds, not 1 bed and a sofa pullout, or worse, cot....is that a fair assumption?

PRICELINE only guarnatees double occupancy, so there woudl be a chance of receiving a room with only one bed (and in NYC many rooms dont' have space for a rollaway bed, so it would be a bit risky to use PRICELINE in this situation). HOTWIRE guarantees 'sleeping accomodations' for everyone you include in your search, which if you search for 2adults/1child often means 2 beds, but could be 1bed and pullout sofabed or 1 bed and a rollaway.

4)Reading several posts re: Mid-town Manhattan in Oct it seems that I'd somehow pay too much compared to prices quoted by posters....here's what is available now on Hotwire...can someone make an educated guess what the properties are and whether those prices seem right?

a)MidTown Central w/smoke-free rooms, fitness center, business center, restaurant, and high speed access-3.5 TripAdvisor at $252/night

b)Mid Town East w/ fitness center, business center, restaurant, and high speed access (does the omission of "smoke free rooms" mean I won't get one?)-4 TripAdvisor at $304/night

The price difference may be due to your search being for triple occupancy (which often commands a premium in NYC) whereas other reported wins are for double occupancy... as well as the Fall being the start of higher seasonal prices in NYC. Best guess for the MTC property is the Sheraton New York while the MTE property matches the W New York, Doubletree Metropolitan, and the Omni Berkshire. The 4.0 Tripadvisor rating points towards this being the Omni, but at the TA rating shown by HOTWIRE is not dynamic and not updated in realtime, so i would consider the Doubletree Metropolitan a second possibility as well (i think i recall that being 4.0 on TA just the other day, but may have changed based upon recent reviews added). The W New York does not seem likely. The ommission of a Smoke Free icon means you coudl receive either type of room, most hotels will do try to honor your requests, but it's not guaranteed that you'll be able to have your request met.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[jonnl]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Some HOTWIRE areas have 4.5* and 5* properties (PRICELINE doesn't use a 4.5* rating in their system, but does use a Resort category which is inbetween 4* and 5*). However, more specfically, neither currently offers 5* hotels in NYC. Hotwire has a few 4.5* rated properties.

There shoudl be two lists, one for the Midtown East property and one for the Midtown Central property. Have you scrolled thru the entire list of offerings? (and clicked NEXT botton no the bottom right of the board to see the next page of offerings... clicked the 'star rating' button near the middle of the page to sort by star rating, which would bring the highest rated hotels to the top of the page)

PRICELINE only guarnatees double occupancy, so there woudl be a chance of receiving a room with only one bed (and in NYC many rooms dont' have space for a rollaway bed, so it would be a bit risky to use PRICELINE in this situation). HOTWIRE guarantees 'sleeping accomodations' for everyone you include in your search, which if you search for 2adults/1child often means 2 beds, but could be 1bed and pullout sofabed or 1 bed and a rollaway.

The price difference may be due to your search being for triple occupancy (which often commands a premium in NYC) whereas other reported wins are for double occupancy... as well as the Fall being the start of higher seasonal prices in NYC. Best guess for the MTC property is the Sheraton New York while the MTE property matches the W New York, Doubletree Metropolitan, and the Omni Berkshire. The 4.0 Tripadvisor rating points towards this being the Omni, but at the TA rating shown by HOTWIRE is not dynamic and not updated in realtime, so i would consider the Doubletree Metropolitan a second possibility as well (i think i recall that being 4.0 on TA just the other day, but may have changed based upon recent reviews added). The W New York does not seem likely. The ommission of a Smoke Free icon means you coudl receive either type of room, most hotels will do try to honor your requests, but it's not guaranteed that you'll be able to have your request met.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[jonnl]

Thanks,

Still couldn't find a 4.5* on Hotwire but no big deal....Yes, there are 2 lists, one for MTC and one for MTE, but again, while there are supposedy 3 hotels under the Midtown E in "Area" window and 2 under Midtown Central, the 2 or 3 properties in each area must share the same amenities and same price...there is no "next" button...advice re: beds is noted, that might be a deal killer as only 1 bed for 3 doesn't work, especially if that bed is only a queen, and I gather from your reply that guaranteeing a particular size bed is not possible on Hotwire....the non smoking guarantee omission is also a deal killer for us...hence in this situation the MTC property (or properties) is our only option....looking more like I'm to particular to use an opaque site....will let you know if I do use Hotwire

[AaronJB]

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE, Expedia.com, Orbitz.com or PRICELINE links, and let us know if you have further questions. There are few 4.5*'s in NYC on HOTWIRE, and they do not always show up.

FABSAVE10 or REVIEW10 are two coupon codes that offer 10% off at many properties via Orbitz.com, and 10SEP should work for $10 off per night at hotels via Expedia.com.