Priceline Hotel: Bidding strategy-boutique 4* 2/6-2/12

[zuribride]

My husband and I would like to stay at Morgan's or another 4+ star boutique hotel in Midtown/TS/etc. Any tips to bid for boutique hotels with Priceline (clearly this can't be specified but maybe some come up a lot)? Any idea what sort of bid to start with? Thanks for your help, we have never tried Priceline before.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

My first instinct would be to disuade you from a Boutique hotel thru Priceline in NYC. Everyone's tastes are different, but here are my thoughts as to why:

-boutique hotel in NYC is often another name for 'small hotel rooms'

-Priceline doesn't designation quality level with their boutique properties, so no assurance that it will be up to the 4* standards that you are seeking

-by bidding boutique you can still be upgraded to a 4* hotel (many of which are large and inpersonal business hotels... nothing wrong with these for the average visitor, but probably not what you are looking for when you seek a boutique property)

-NYC is still very inexpensive in the beginning of February, so chances of an upgrade to 4* is more likely, plus there are great deals to be had at the 4* level

This may be a special occaission or money may be less of a concern than style, but i just want you to be prepared if you don't get the class of hotel you are seeking (or a Boutique hotel at all).

If you'd still like to try Priceline with the above caveats, let us know your maximum bidding amount and we'll suggest a strategy. If you're sold on a boutique hotel, the Morgan is available HERE for $209/nite, which is better than the hotel website's $295.

Let us know your thoughts.

[zuribride]

Hi, I hear you, thanks. So true-boutique can just mean tiny!

Glad to hear Feb is inexpensive!

Maybe I should say WHAT we are after in case there is a nice 4* whatever that fits better!

We are 30-something adult designers on a belated honeymoon (well, honeymoon, part 2). Appreciate detail, quality, unpretentiousness and value.

Modern design, clean, personal (not necc small property but shouldn't feel like a massive cookie cutter thing), fluffy duvet and good linens, great service, hi speed internet. Midtown (East, Central, etc)

Strategies for a priceline bid to help zone in on something of this sort?

[thereuare]

It's going to come down to your budget... how much are you willing to spend on a hotel room nite for what you're looking for?

[zuribride]

Ideally not more than 175/nt. Even better would be 150 (not incl tax).

[thereuare]

I think you're going to have to compromise somewhere... either in price or in what you expect.

If you look at the PRICELINE HOTEL LIST for New York you'll see that the majority of what Priceline deals with are the large® chain properties. In NYC, most of these are geared towards the business traveler. This isn't to say that this is good or bad, it's just not really what you have in mind. Even if there are few hotels on the list that you'd be happy with, there is no way to avoid the other properties that you don't want.

I did find the Westin Essex House for $176 plus taxes and fees, but assuming fees add $6/nite onto this stay, bringing it to $182+taxes, aren't you better off with the Morgan's above at $209+taxes and get exactly what you want?

If you decide what you're willing to compromise on we can help you with a bidding strategy, but as i see it a Boutique may give you nothing 'special' and simply a small room with old furnishings, bidding 4* would likely get you a business-like and 'typical' hotel experience.

Let us know if you have any better ideas or a different take on things.

[skelman]

May I suggest you look at Hotwire offerings, as they actually allow you to make sure you get a "Boutique" room, whatever that means ;-)

Sample prices at the moment include $140 for a 3-star in the Theatre District or $210 for a 4-star in Midtown South.

Hope this helps...

[TravelGuy]

A good friend who is also a designer (cars mostly) highly recommends Le Parker Meridien. It's available on easyclicktravel.com as an "Off the Record" hotel starting at $149 - a really excellent rate - although "By Request", so you have to wait up to 48 hours for a confirmation. If you're interested, thereuare should be able to give you a direct link to the property listing at easyclicktravel.com.

[zuribride]

Hi, thank you. I did have a look at them. I think the first one is the Paramount and the second one is Morgans.

After speaking with my significant other and looking at the Priceline list again-we both feel good about all the 4 stars on the Priceline list in CPS so I think we'll work on a bid there. I'll let you know how it works out. If we don't get a good deal there, we'll try these with Hotwire.

[thereuare]

If you'd like help with a suggested strategy to follow just let us know and we'll be happy to help.

[zuribride]

Think we might try dkerley's path from post "4* New York City (UM - CPS) Le Parker Meridien, $120 ... 1/10/05"

as a start. We have some time so can play around a bit.

Otherwise the other easyclick suggestion for the Meridian sounds as plan b if we repeatedly get rejected with Priceline.

BTW what 4*s in MTS work with Priceline? none listed on list-just curious.

[thereuare]

None reported here... prices for 4* are much higher than in the other zones.

[zuribride]

Tried to bid on Priceline only to discover that only US residents can use it. We live in Switzerland. Doh!

[thereuare]

You can try following the same methods as those in the PRICELINE CANADIANS thread or go with HOTWIRE.

If there's nothing on Hotwire that interests you and you're forced to otherwise book conventionally (at higher cost than an opaque would cost) you may want to have another loook at the MORGANS at $209 (since i don't know how much cheaper a hotel will be for u than that if you don't use Priceline or Hotwire) or here is the Le Parker Meridien that TravelGuy mentioned above.

[zuribride]

We did the easyclicktravel for the Parker Meridien per the Travel Guy. 149 plus tax=174.65

Not bad. Have to wait for the confirmation.

Caveat: We just read the reviews on Tripadvisor-yikes! pretty scarry!

But we'll have a good time no matter what and hopefully will have a more positive experience than those folks.

[TravelGuy]

I find the Frommer's reviews to be usually quite accurate, and it looks like they love it. I was in there myself a year ago to look around in the public areas and was impressed. Definately a nice New York buzz going on inside. But if you begin to have second thoughts, you can always cancel your Easyclicktravel.com reservation - up to 72 hours before your stay, I believe.

[TravelGuy]

Did they every get back to you with a confirmation?

[thereuare]

They only need to get back to you on "On Request" offers... if the hotel says "Available" then it is booked right away.

[TravelGuy]

Le Parker Meridien is On Request.

[zuribride]

Hi, thanks for checking up.

We called and cancelled that reservation before they processed it because we heard some bad reviews from multiple sources. Just sounded very nice but non-consistent. Also because we realised that our deal did not incluse a park view (which was available for a higher price but for that price we could have a hotel upgrade...) Also because we found a great deal in a neighborhood (ME) that was more convenient for our needs really. BTW the easyclicktravel person was really nice and ok about cancelling.

We got the Beekman Tower (so NOT what I originally said I wanted! After looking at the tiny rooms at Hudson, Paramount, etc. the space seemed really relevant. Having breathing room suddenly seemed more important than having cool furniture. I stayed there for a month some years ago and it was great. Kitchenette is handy too!) for 119. on easyclicktravel.com It was 'on request' but the status said 'confirm' rather so we need to check in with them again and make sure it's set.

[TravelGuy]

Glad things worked out satisfactorily.