Priceline Hotel: How many rooms do we need in NYC?

[jheller]

Traveling to NYC with my wife and 3 young children (youngest is 4). Do I need to get two rooms? When I call a hotel to book a room, I usually just ask for a room with two double beds or two queen beds, which is fine. The last time I used Priceline in NYC my room had a king bed, which was fine for just me, but not for all of us.

Once I get the room on Priceline, can I then request two beds? Thanks.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Priceline only guarantees double occupancy/1 bed. The best option in this situation would be 2 rooms or there are a few suite properties in NYC that may be okay with 5 in the room. If you search for 4 people on HOTWIRE, you would get more than 1 bed (generally 2 beds, but may be 1 bed + 1 sofabed - exact bedding isn't guaranteed), however, some hotels may have issues with more than 4 in the room (possible issues w/city code) - this would be a risk and if you would go this route, I would recommend not making it obvious at check-in that you were a party of 5.

Please provide date/s of travel and desired budget and we will be happy to look to see what is available.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[jheller]

I'm trying to find a hotel in NYC from 4.19.12 - 4.21.12. Would like to be in mid-town or theater district, but that's not crucial. Budget is in the $150-250 range per night. I saw some cheaper hotels, but they looked like they had shared bathrooms, which will not work. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

What have you decided regarding the number of rooms/occupancy issue? What is your desired star rating?

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

[jheller]

I don't know how that old post about number of rooms got combined with this new one. Sorry. That was from march of 2010.

This trip (April 19-21) is just me and my wife. Not sure about star rating. It doesn't have to be the most luxurious place in the world, but we don't want to stay in a dump. Certainly don't want a shared bathroom. More concerned about cost. $250+ a night is just too much. Looking for a strategy. I've read some posts about booking a cancelable room, and then trying to "low ball" a bid a week or so before the trip. Does that make sense? We'd like to be in mid-town/theater district if possible, but that's not crucial.

What is a realistic cost per night in mid April, in a 3* hotel in NYC?

Thanks so much.

[thereuare]

I don't know how that old post about number of rooms got combined with this new one... That was from march of 2010.

I had merged your threads thinking it was the same stay since i only saw the posting date of March, not looking further to see it was in 2010. Please follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for each trip (even if not PRICELINE or HOTWIRE) as it helps keep the board better organized and more useful for everyone.

I've read some posts about booking a cancelable room, and then trying to "low ball" a bid a week or so before the trip. Does that make sense?

Only if you believe that rates will only go down... and not up. What if a hotel is available today for $150 but in the coming weeks hotels get more reservations/fewer cancellations than they anticipate and 'opaque' rates go up... while you may have been successful for at $150 today you might not be a week before your stay. You can see our thoughts in the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

At the moment, if you're willing to stay Downtown i'm guessing a 3* or better hotel will cost about $150... if you only want to stay in the midtown zone(s) you're likely looking at ~$175 or so.

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

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.