Priceline Hotel: Help For 11/10 - Marathon

[HenryCorgi]

I read all the newbie stuff I could find so I hope this is not a stupid question. I am familar with boards etc. I have posted over 6000 times on a Italy related board.

I have specific dates in mind way in the future. Dates around the New York Marathon November 3-8 2010. I think it depends on transport (which may be dictated by the rules of the Marathon) the race starts on Staten Island so for Saturday night it would make sense to stay by the south ferry stop. After the race near the finish at Central Park west near Tavern on the green.

(in the past everyone had to take the bus marathon day Nov 7, from the Library midtown, this no longer appears to be the case)

Rates and bids seem to be best closer to the date, do I just wait until October? RR

[HenryCorgi]

When people quote prices and bids do they include tax?. For places like NYC it makes a big difference!

[AaronJB]

Prices posted in the threads here do not include tax (unless the person chooses to post total w/tax within the message) - they are only the initial bid.

Additionally, it would be greatly appreciated if you could post your Helmsley NY win as a separate thread in the New York forum. Thanks. :)

[rc408]

For Priceline quotes look for the specifics listed below:

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $70.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 2

Room Subtotal: $140.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $27.64 (USD)

Total Room Cost: $167.64 (USD)

These give a complete breakdown on cost except for any resort or parking fees unless specifically mentioned.

[AaronJB]

The NYC Marathon is traditionally one of the busiest periods during the year, and I think a big issue is trying to get a hotel that is convenient to the starting line. While bidding nearly a year in advance is a bit too far in advance, this is a set of dates that will start to fill up pretty quickly. What I would suggest doing is to try bidding up to a low ceiling to see if you get any bites.

You could also try to find an acceptable back-up reservation that can be canceled without penalty (make sure to check the fine print.) If prices suddenly rose or bids were not accepted or something else occurred, at least you could have an acceptable hotel locked in. If you were able to get a bid accepted, then you could just cancel the back-up.

Waiting until the last minute - especially with something like the Marathon going on - would not be recommended, at least in my opinion.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE, Orbitz or Expedia.com links.

[HenryCorgi]

I was able to get the Hemsley for a bid of 150 (w tax about 180 total) for 3 nights at Christmas. Would the begining of November be busier? (bid one week in advance)

I was thinking of staying by south ferry for Sat night but I think it makes sense to not move hotels. I don't want to stay that far downtown.Now that I think of it, if taking the bus is not Mandarory I would rather go by subway to the ferry stop.

Start is staten Island.

Being near the finish, central park west seems even better. The Empire hotel is two blocks from the finish.

[AaronJB]

The beginning of Nov may not be quite as bad from a tourist perspective, but hotels - especially the ones more convenient - do definitely fill up for the marathon period.

What would be your desired budget per night?

[HenryCorgi]

More info first- I will not know if we are in the marathon until sometime in the first part of March when they have the Lottery.

I would like to spend under 200/night with tax, so 160-170 without. Total 5 nights, check in wednesday out monday.

I was looking at the Hyatt Grand midtown east.Several people have bidded there for under 150, not sure the strategy to get that, but at a low bid the alternatives would be fine. On the upper west side it looks like the only hotel on "our" priceline list is the empire, two blocks from the finish! But many more show up on the non bid priceline site.

[thereuare]

Hard to say what the economy will do between now and then, but generally speaking the NY Marathon is a near sell-out weekend... i would book sooner rather than later (but of course not until you know if you'll be attending)

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

Let us know the results of the lottery and we'll take it from there.

[HenryCorgi]

I was wondering does the number of days booked at at given bid amount change your chance of being successful?

For a future trip it makes sense to move (3nts one place,2 nights another), but if I can get a good deal maybe not.

RR

[AaronJB]

It would depend on how busy the dates are; "splitting your stay" is a tactic that is considered on a case-by-case basis and is not always necessary.

[HenryCorgi]

Am I missing something? I looked and can't seem to find a review of the Empire hotel or successful bids.

[HenryCorgi]

It would be ideal to split as far as logistics of the Marathon stay. Midtown for 3 nights pre marathon and then moving the day before and night after to near the finish.

But that depends on how much bids are for 4 star Upper west side. (see seperate post,can't seem to find info)

[AaronJB]

There have been few reported wins for the Upper West/Upper East side, as many who come to the city as tourists find these areas too out of the way and prefer to stay in one of the Midtown zones. Additionally, there are not many hotels in either area, and only a couple have been reported as PRICELINE wins. More (although still only a few) have been reported as HOTWIRE wins.

Additionally, PRICELINE and HOTWIRE rates are date-specific; what may have worked for another user in the past would not be a recommended guideline on how to proceed for your specific dates.

[HenryCorgi]

I thought I posted this earlier. The hotel list only has two places on the upper west side. I do not see any mention or review of the Empire hotel. RR

[AaronJB]

Please keep all discussion of this trip in this thread. As noted above, there have been few reported Central Park wins, as most prefer to stay in Midtown. The Empire is listed on the site's Priceline Hotel List for NY under the Upper West Side area, and has occasionally been seen as a win in the past.