eizyman Posted February 8, 2005 Report Share Posted February 8, 2005 Hi, I'm new to this board and have found the information listed very useful. My question is this:I am flying out to Manhattan on 3/31 and staying for 4 days. I obviously would like the cheapest hotel I can find and have had great luck with Priceline in the past. Being I haven't been to NY before, I want to stay close to the Time Square area or in the safe part of town...maybe they all are. What would you suggest for bid strategy?I would like an ok hotel that is close to Time Square, something that doesn't have to have a lot of ammenties, just a nice clean place to sleep. When should I bid knowing I have approx 2 months before I fly out, and how much should I bid? Is there anything for around $50?Any advice would be very much appreciated. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Welcome to BetterBidding!As you may have already found out, $50 isn't going to get you very far in NYC, and if it does, i would tend to question the cleanliness/safety of it. EasyClick offers some shared bath, dorm, and or YMCA-type accomodations for under $50, but i wouldn't necessarily recommend them.A better idea is to stay in NJ. The upper tier hotels in Jersey City offer great PATH train access to NYC and can have you in midtown in 18 minutes and downtown in 8 minutes. If this is an option let us know and we'll give you additional info.Also, please clarify your check-out day, as 4 days to some means 4 days, while to others it means 4 nites. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 NJ would be an option if it is a hop, skip or jump to midtown and downtown...I guess I'm trying to weigh my options. What type of hotels and prices could I expect to get in NJ and what type of hotels and prices can I expect to pay in midtown? Can I expect a nice hotel for $50 in NJ or can I expect a nice hotel in midtown for say $80-$100?I would need the hotel on 3/31 for four nights stays. Thanks for all your help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 What is the actual date of your check-out? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted February 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Sorry, April 4th is the checkout day. March 31st we would check in. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Can I expect a nice hotel for $50 in NJ or can I expect a nice hotel in midtown for say $80-$100?"Nice" is a relative term but here is my asssessment....Rates for you complete stay are high in Jersey City, but i think you may be able to have success near the $50 price you mention above (assuming you are talking about bid price and not including taxes/fees) for part of your stay if you're willing to SPLIT YOUR BID.You could then bid for Jersey City for part of your stay, bid for NYC for the other part of your stay, and hopefully between the two you'll come close to an average of about $100/nite.If you're looking for lower-priced budget accomodations i would check out EASYCLICK, but may of the places that are sub-$100/nite for your dates are not what most would generally consider 'nice'.I think you should take a step back and do some research of NYC prices, and get a better feel for the cost of the area. The opaque services can certainly make a NYC stay much more affordable, but the prices of the opaque services are still derived from the general prices of hotels in the area... what do you think a hotel would cost if you booked outside of a Priceline? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hi, I have narrowed down my dates for New York and need a bidding strategy for the following. I will need a hotel for March 31, April 1st, and will be checking out April 2nd. So two nights and looking to spend anywhere between $100-$150 including all taxes a night. I would prefer to stay in a hotel that is close the the hustle and bustle like Time Square, etc.... Can you advise a bidding strategy that will allow this to happen? I'm not familar with NY or the areas so MTW, MTE doesn't really do me anything. Thanks for all your help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 What is your maximum bid before taxes and fees. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I would say a maximum before taxes and fee of $130-$140. Link to comment
thereuare Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Sorry, never realized you never mentioned a star level... what quality level are you looking for. That's the last bit of info i think we need to formulate a strategy. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 2 1/2 to 3 star. Link to comment
eizyman Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 What is the best strategy to achieve this? Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 I'm going to guess that the MTW and UM/CPS zones are fine for you, but you should confirm that these are fine with you. Most of the MTE zone should be fine, but you could get 'stuck' far east which is not in the 'center of the action'.At the 3* level you have one re-bid zone and this is how i would proceed:Select 3* MTW...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 3* UM/CPS...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select 3* MTW and UM/CPS...Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $130.If rejected wait 72 hours and repeat, starting each bid $10 higher than above.Let us know how it goes after the first round.Any questions feel free to ask.Good Luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 What is the rebid zone that I should use? Thanks. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 It is important that you know how to check yourself, as they need to be checked each time before you start bidding. We can tell you that ZoneABC is a re-bid zone, and although the chance it small, it is possible that by the time you bid it is no longer a re-bid zone (a hotel added, another hotel downgraded, etc).You can learn how to check your re-bid zones in this link: PRICELINE RE-BIDDING EXPLAINED. Feel free to confirm your re-bid zone with the board to make sure you understand the concept and have it correct. If after reading the previous link you are confused, there is a suggestion near the end of the thread on how to proceed for additional help. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Upper West Side....got it...thanks for making me get the hang of it...it now makes sense!! :) Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 You got it now... good luck with your bid. :) Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Unsuccessful on all my bids and my last bid with MTW and MTN CPS I used $135 as the price.Any other ideas or places that might be around this range?Would a 2 1/2 star hotel in these areas be ok?? What brands of hotels are 2 1/2 in the areas? Thanks. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 I suspected that this could/would be difficult.I wouldn't take the chance of a 2.5* hotel in manhattan. It could be ok, but it could also be something you really don't want... but that's me, others may feel differently.I would recommend including more areas (such as MTE) and then consider SPLITTING YOUR BID... although i'm not sure how much either is going to help. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
eizyman Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I looked at Hotels.com and found a lot of 2 and 2 1/2 stars that look ok in the same areas. I would be ok staying at a 2 1/2 star. Can you give a bidding strategy for a 2 1/2 star? Thanks a lot for your help. Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 We really don't see much 2.5* bidding in NYC because it's not recommended... what hotels are offered and at what price on Hotels.com?Although some of the hotels may seem 'ok' to you, the problem is that with an opaque purchase you can't choose the property, so you're subject to any hotel in the zone you bid... some of which are not very good at that star level. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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