Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Getting Discouraged with Priceline...(NYC)

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- - Getting Discouraged with Priceline...(NYC) (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/getting-discouraged-with-priceline-nyc-213778/)

Just a word of warning, Jackie: If you want a flight that's "fast, convenient, and inexpensive," then Priceline is not for you, since it focuses exclusively on the inexpensive part of that equation. Your Priceline flight might leave at some ungodly hour of the morning or night, and might involve at least one transfer.

Thereuare- No, I wouldn't say that I ever noticed people with priceline reservations getting the worst rooms(not at the hotel I worked at at least). I worked for a Hyatt and it was a fairly nice hotel, the standard rooms were very nice and all exactly the same. So when a priceline res came in, they really got what everyone else got. In some cases you will get stuck with those rooms if you check in late and the occupancy rate is high, you just get stuck with what is available. But in other circumstances we often gave nicer rooms, like suites and penthouses to an average joe if we didnt have anything else available. However, I would not doubt that happens at other places.

About the Empire Hotel deal mentioned in this thread: "Twice is nice for half the price: Book One Night, get one night free, from $119. Reservations 888-822-3555 www.empirehotel.com" I called and the deal is not quite what you might assume. You get the last night free for any stay that's at least two days. So if you stay ten days, you pay for nine of them. They're out of $119 rooms for the rest of June; the cheapest room was $149. That's a good price if you're staying two nights, since you'd pay just $74.50/night. But the deal is less impressive for longer stays.

Have you considered bidding on a 3 star hotel on Priceline? I stayed at the Paramount two weeks ago for $100 and others have gotten it for less, depending on the date. The rooms are small, but the location is great. The other three star hotels I have gotten on Priceline were Hilton, Hyatt and Radisson. Good luck! Also, check Hotwire, you may be able to get something there.

I was another one of those Priceline naysayers until I got a $65/night room in Manhattan for Memorial Day Weekend. As I've said before, you get good rates on Priceline the same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice. It is not for the inflexible or the faint of heart. You can get stuck, and you can overbid. But you also can get great deals in nice places. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm certainly a convert. The advice given above is excellent, particularly the part about following the biddingfortravel forum. Read their FAQs, then read them again. Practice with unrealistically small bids to figure out how it works for yourself. Don't want to work at it? Fine. Pay rack rate.

I've done better on Hotwire.com and it seems so much easier to me than priceline.com. I guess everyone has had different experiences. I found priceline.com very frustrating! Kris

The OP is (was?) looking for a place for 4 consecutive nights, which might be the problem. If Priceline has no hotel with all 4 nights available, it will have to reject his bid. In that situation, I'd bid for 2 nights at a time. I'm willing to change hotels to save big bucks!

Syzt has a good point; the other big point is that Marcie was looking in early may for a room at the end of August/Labor Day. No way Priceline.com is going to have much of anything that far out. Look at the biddingfortravel.com reports and you'll see that most bids are in the 1-4 week future, not 3+ months. The hotels aren't going to release inventory to Priceline until they're fairly certain they won't be able to rent the rooms through other means. It's also crucial to read the biddingfortravel hotel FAQ on how to re-bid through use of star levels and neighborhoods. The rooms we've gotten through Priceline have always been standard or better, not inferior. Last week we spent 4 nights in very nice hotels in LA for an average of $50 a night, as opposed to the $189-$219 rates advertised in their "web specials." We are absolutely believers.

Try BiddingforTravel.com. People post bids that being accepted for most cities. http://pub109.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding http://wwwbiddingfortravel.com A great site for anyone using Priceline.

I've had great luck on Priceline in both NYC and Orlando. Just be patient. I didn't find in any of the cases that I was given a less-desired room - my king size bedded room at the Millennium Broadway had a great view and was very large. The front desk clerk has the biggest say in what room you get.

I agree with above poster that says Priceline is a game show or casino. In my opinion, those who have Priceline" "success secrets" can not be correct - the very nature of the company contradicts that - they are selling leftovers, and that can often change. Hotels seem to be guessing that they will not have leftovers before Labor Day weekend. The best tip I have heard is book a backup that is cancellable and keep trying. We booked Baltimore Inner Harbor 4 months out with few problems, even though everyone told us that would not work. Also, biddinfortravel comments are similar to the ones you hear from everyone who has ever been to a casino - ever hear anyone brag about their failures?

I have to admit that I lucked out today and bid $90 for a 4* hotel in Midtown East and was accepted on first bid through priceline. So we are staying at the Grand Hyatt for well under half the room rate the hotel offered me. They just neglect to tell you it costs $40 a day to park there.

Note to LeeAnn - cheaper parking is available. There are places in midtown west where you can park for about $20 per 24 hours including taxes. Just drop off the luggage and one person at the hotel then go park the car and walk or subway back. You could also just park and take a cab. No way I'll pay $40 to park in NYC. I'm there several times every week and refuse to pay through the nose for parking. Note to Gail: I'm a priceline adherent and believer and have gotten incredible deals. I agree that casinos are a rip-off and question the folks who insist that they always win. I don't always get the rrom or price I'm hoping for on Priceline but have studied and learned the bidding process. I research rates and availability carefully. On occasion Pricelin simply has no inventory available for my desired dates at a price I can justify and I make other arrangements. I just did some bidding last night. Tried for a room in Tillamook OR and also in Port Angeles WA. Couldn't get a room for the amount I was willing to bid and will find it through other means. I also bid and got a room for one night in Portland OR at the downtown Doubletree - $33 plus $5.95 Priceline processing fee. If you can find me another source that will provide me with a decent room that cheap in Portland I'd love to know what it is. Later that same week I'll be staying in Seattle for five nights at the new Eliott Grand Hyatt - paid $40 per night on Priceline - that is not a typo! It's not for everybody but success is not guaranteed and there's some work involved in research but I have consistently gotten great deals. I have never, ever gotten a good deal on airfare from Priceline and for that reason have never purchase air tickets through them - always stopped bidding because i got as high as I could justify but still wasn't winning my bids. Other folks seem to do well with air tix but that hasn't been my experience. Why would I pretend that I do well with hotel bids but acknowledge my failure to achieve any savings on air tickets? Because it's all true.

Thanks for posting your PL experience, Owen. I'm hooked on PL too. Taught my next door neighbor the ropes last night. She bid on a Seattle 4* and got the Eliott Grand Hyatt at $40 for an October date. What's not to like?

"What's not to like..." is Gail, the poster above, who has the absolute gall to say that people relating their own experiences..."are not correct." She needs a new four-letter name....maybe PITA.