Priceline Hotel: Looking for a good strategy for bidding

[isnilk]

Hi everyone

I'm a bit nervous about starting my first bid on PRICELINE so I decided to ask the board for help. My husband and I are looking to stay any central area(easy access to subway and restaurants) in NY for about 4-5 nights, and we're thinking of period between 5/17-5/31. We'd like to bid for hotels with 3.5* and above. Based on the winning bids I've seen, I guess our budget would be $150 max.

I've used HOTWIRE before. This is my first time using PRICELINE, so I'm not really sure how to go about using the site. I did read the relevant tips and posts on this forum. But any help would be MUCH appreciated! :)

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'd actually start by searching HOTWIRE for 4-5 nite stays within your date range and seeing when 3.5* and above hotels are offered for ~$150 or less... this will give you an idea of which date ranges may be better than others.

At the 4* level in NYC i favor PRICELINE, but an argument can be made that at the 3.5* HOTWIRE is a good option as well due to some 3.5* hotels in some PRICELINE zones being a bit out of the way, and HOTWIRE gives you the ability to take a guess as to the hotel's location (and therefore know how close to mass transit).

What is it that you're looking to gain by using PRICELINE (for the first time) vs. HOTWIRE for this stay?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[isnilk]

I guess we're just looking for a good deal on the hotel. Hotwire gave us a good deal on our last trip but that was also during off-peak season. Our travel dates to NY is around end of May, which is the beginning of spring travel season...so we're just really hoping to keep the hotel budget down so we can still do all the fun stuff in NY!:) LOL I know we're probably asking a lot, but I'm also curious to how much Priceline can save us.

I don't mind starting at 4* I guess, I just didn't think we stand a change getting a 4* hotel with $150 max bids (before taxes). What do you think?

[thereuare]

This is a peak period for NYC, and $150 for a 4* may be a bit of a stretch, but with the economy slow, there may be a string of dates within your range where you can get lucky and a great deal... which is why HOTWIRE searches may reveal dates of lower price hotels than other times.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[isnilk]

I bidded at PRICELINE without success so far (I kind of expected this).

MTE+CPS

4*

$120 rejected

$125 + rebid zone rejected

$140 + rebid zone rejected

$145 + rebid zone rejected

$150 + rebid zone rejected

$155 + rebid zone rejected

MTW+TS

4*

$140 rejected

$150 + rebid zone rejected

$155 + rebid zone rejected

$160 + rebid zone rejected

$165 + rebid zone rejected

$170 + rebid zone rejected

I did take a look at HOTWIRE before bidding on Priceline. The prices for 3.5* on there were ranging $155-$185 depending on zones and dates. Wanted to see if I could get a 4* hotel on priceline for what I would have paid for 3.5* on PRICELINE. I guess I was asking for too much lol.

We went ahead and booked our flights (to get the best deal we fixed our travel dates 5/17-5/22), although this probably restrict our choices as far as hotels are concerned.

BTW, is downtown Soho hard to travel from to midtown? We're planning to do all the typical touristy stuff, mainnly concentrated midtown. I previously did not consider Soho as an option since I thought it'd be too difficult to travel.

Thanks for all your help!

[thereuare]

Downtown/Soho is do-able but certainly not as convenient as staying in midtown... about a 20 minute subway ride to midtown (which doesn't sound too bad, but gets old after a few days/trips) Midtown would be desirable, but a case could be made to stay Downtown if the savings (vs. a midtown hotel) are significant enough.

What is your gameplan for your next round of bidding?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[isnilk]

To be honest, I am not really sure what my gameplan is at this time. I'm hoping the prices MIGHT go down closer to the date as hotels try to fill rooms last minute, but that's a gamble, especially since it's spring travel season. I also started looking at other travel websites. Travelzoo has nothing for travel dates past April right now and the prices on other websites are even higher than on hotwire. I might wait for a while before bidding again, including ESB zone this time. I think I'll stick to 4*. Based on what you said abt 3.5* on priceline vs hotwire (which makes sense) I'm reluctant to downgrade to 3.5* on priceline at this point in time.

[AaronJB]

Waiting until the last minute is much like placing a bet - sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't as prices continue to creep higher. Personally, I'd continue to try to bid and possibly keep a "ceiling" on it (bid to a particular price level, if it isn't accepted, start over again and bid up to the "ceiling" 2-3 days later.) If you keep bidding to the "ceiling" and a couple of weeks go by, you can boost the ceiling higher or look at alternate options.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[isnilk]

I think that's a good idea. I did book a back-up at Ace Hotel for $129/night through Travelzoo. It had good reviews on Tripadvisor (and it looks interesting design-wise!), is at a good location and it's such a good deal! However, my "less-adventurous" husband is kinda apprehensive abt Ace so I will keep on bidding, maybe something will turn up.:) Thanks for your help!