Priceline vs. Expedia

[Guest Ruben]

I am planning a trip to NYC sometime next year, probably in the spring. I have been looking at hotel prices via Expedia. The prices seem rather high, and I am thinking of trying Priceline. I have used Expedia quite a bit, but I have never used Priceline.

 

For those of you who have used both discount services, may I ask if you have found a real price advantage with Priceline over Expedia? I have the web address of that site that explains how to use Priceline, but it seems pretty complicated, and I have not yet made a real effort to figure it out. I do not know enough about the City to prefer one part of town over another; so long as there are subway connections, does it matter?

 

One more thing: Where should I start the bidding for a 3* hotel, and where should I start the bidding for a 4* hotel?

[eastbayguy]

>For those of you who have used both discount services, may I

>ask if you have found a real price advantage with Priceline

>over Expedia? I have the web address of that site that

>explains how to use Priceline, but it seems pretty

>complicated, and I have not yet made a real effort to figure

>it out. I do not know enough about the City to prefer one part

>of town over another; so long as there are subway connections,

>does it matter?

 

Do you mean biddingfortravel.com? If so, that site contains a wealth of handy information about how to use Priceline. Yes, the site does seem daunting. Once you read the directions and see a few sample bidding strategies, it is pretty simple and straightforward. Bidding carefully on Priceline has gotten me some real bargains.

 

As far as where in NYC to stay, I'd definitely try to find a place in Manhattan. Going farther out can save you some $$$s but can also dampen the fun.

 

I'm sure some of the many Noo Yawkahs here can provide you with some very good guidance about places to go and specific places to stay.

 

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

--EBG

[ServeUncutUncle]

Priceline Rates are around 30% less than Expedia, but you never know the name of the Hotel until you've paid, but then in New York a Room is a Room is a Room. Usually undersized with Noisy Traffic.

 

Suggest you go for Midtown East - Biggest range of hotels are situated in that area and start at $120 for 3* and $150 for 4*

[OneFinger]

I've used the "HooBoy's Discount Travel" link at the top of the page. Always got a great deal.

 

For example, I like to stay at Ramada New Yorker. (It's not a fancy place but is conviently located for both train and subway travel.) HooBoy's link has it during December for an average of $155 per night. Other sites have it for $225.

[ServeUncutUncle]

>I've used the "HooBoy's Discount Travel" link at the top of

>the page. Always got a great deal.

>

>For example, I like to stay at Ramada New Yorker. (It's not a

>fancy place but is conviently located for both train and

>subway travel.) HooBoy's link has it during December for an

>average of $155 per night. Other sites have it for $225.

 

 

Hooboys Link takes you to Travelnow.com, who are affiliated with Hotels.com which is owned by IAG who are Expedia.

[+ newatthis]

I'm a great fan of priceline and of [http://biddingfortravel.com]. I've gotten many terrific deals on priceline by following BFT's advice, with prices substantially under what’s available on either hotel or discount travel sites, including hotwire. It is true that BFT is not very user-friendly, especially for beginners, but it’s worth investing the time to master it. Start with the hotel FAQ and the hotel bidding form, then take a look at several postings in the section for the city you’re interested in to get the hang of it.

 

A more expensive alternative, still likely to be less than other discount sites, is hotwire.com. Hotwire, like priceline, doesn’t tell you what hotel you’re at until you’ve committed, but if you note the amenities on offer at the hotels listed, and then try the hotel+car packages (which DO list the hotel names) and compare, you can offer figure out which hotel is which before you commit.

 

Both hotwire and priceline are completely non-refundable once you’ve committed (on priceline, at least, insurance is available).

 

As for areas of NYC to stay in: Manhattan is where the action is, as others have written. For more precise advice, you’ll need to specify what you plan to do while you’re there. There are lots of NYC-savvy people on this MC who can advise you further if they have that information.

 

Good luck!

[Michael]

>I am planning a trip to NYC sometime next year, probably in

>the spring. I have been looking at hotel prices via Expedia.

>The prices seem rather high, and I am thinking of trying

>Priceline.

 

It might help to know what kind of prices you think are "rather high" - what sort of prices were you seeing?

 

I tend not to use either Expedia or Priceline and prefer to deal with the hotels directly.

 

Holiday Inn, for example, has pretty good "advance purchase" rates available - the catch is that you have to pay when you book and it is not refundable, but you know exactly what you are getting.

 

For example, the New York Midtown Holiday Inn on 57th Street is showing an advance purchase rate of $115 per night (+ tax of course) for dates in mid January - see: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/nycup?irs=y

 

You might be able to do better than this with Priceline, but a rate of $115 per night for a reasonable hotel in New York is "good enough" for me.

[arthur]

Try http://www.quikbook.com. Or telephone 1-800-789-9887. You might be pleasantly surprised with their rates.

ag

[Guest Ruben]

Thank you all for your help. There is a long winter ahead, and I should have plenty of time to work out the secrets of BFT once I get started on it. I'm thinking of NYC in May when I would like to do a ball game at Yankee stadium in addition to all the regular tourist things.

 

If I should start the bidding on a 3* at $120 at this time of the year, how much more should I add in May? And if a 4* strats now at $150, what price should I start at in May? My guide book says May and September are the most expensive months in the year for hotels.

 

Can any of you bring me up to date on what's going on at Ground Zero?

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Priceline

 

>Thank you all for your help. There is a long winter ahead,

>and I should have plenty of time to work out the secrets of

>BFT once I get started on it.

 

You really need to read the basic bidding advice on Bidding For Travel. For one thing, they do not recommend bidding this far in advance for hotel. However, they have shown winning bids that were placed far in advance, so it is definitely "doable."

 

You have to think in terms that hotels are trying to sell what they percieve to be excess inventory. If there is a convention in town and hotels near a convention center are not sold it, you have a good bet of getting a four star hotel in a part of town you may want to be in. This has always been a good strategy for me to get a hotel I specifically wanted in San Francisco and Boston, for example.

 

New York is generally always a more expensive area. If you are staying over the weekend, you will have good luck in the financial district/lower east side, because these hotels cater to business travelers (with Monday-Friday) schedules. However, you are also stuck in a business district that is essentially closed up (no places to eat, no drugstores, no shops, etc.) and having to cab or take public transit everywhere.

 

>

>If I should start the bidding on a 3* at $120 at this time of

>the year, how much more should I add in May? And if a 4*

>strats now at $150, what price should I start at in May? My

>guide book says May and September are the most expensive

>months in the year for hotels.

 

There is a way to request bidding strategy advice on BFT. I think the people giving the advice can be bitchy, crabby and rule-fixated, but if you go through all their hoops, they will give you far better and more accurate/timely advice to your specific needs.

 

However, were I you, I would try Expedia, Orbitz and Hotels.com for a specific area(s) recommended by your guide books and for dates which appeal to you, and see what rates you come up with. Pick some hotels which are within the price you want to pay and up to one third over. Contact some of these hotels directly and ask if they would accept what you want to pay. Conversely, going to sites, such as was suggested above, may be a good idea for you.

 

Good luck.

[+ cougar]

I agree....Quickbook.com is usually the best for hotel rates. Also might want to look into Travelaxe.com....this site will search all sites at the same time and you will be shocked at the difference in prices listed for the same hotel for the same night on different websites.

http://babydb.male4malescorts.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=63254&mesg_id=63254&listing_type=search

check out this link if it worked, it is full of great information from January of this year.

[+ Charlie]

I just tried this, and you are right. I had looked on hotels.com and found something I liked, then clicked on Hooboy's link and found exactly the same place at the same price. I decided to call the 800# on the Hooboy link rather than book online, and when I got a real person on the line, she identified herself as Internet Discount Hotel Hotline, but the confirmation information she gave me on the reservation was for hotels.com.

[send2hnl]

You might try http://www.travelaxe.com. It's a search engine that checks out a lot of online sites. It links you to the online site to do the actual booking though. It's a really great planning tool.

[samwhygy]

Keep in mind that if you book on priceline its non redundable. So if your plans change for any reason your sol. I did get a good deal on priceline last august, got the broadway milennium (very nice property with a good location) for around 125.

[samwhygy]

forgot to mention that I also got my wallet lifted at what was the old adonis on 8th ave. watch your money closely. i recommend a money belt or in your sock. leave your credit cards at home or bring only one and keep it safe.