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New York hotel for New Year's - Priceline?

New York hotel for New Year's - Priceline?

Old Nov 20, 2011, 9:58 am
  #1  
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New York hotel for New Year's - Priceline?

Hi!

Me and I friend are going to spend New Year's in New York. We are staying from the 29th of December to the 3rd of January. We are students and wanted to stay in a hostel, but most are fully booked for New Year's Eve, and our best alternative is a hostel in Williamsburg for $140 per person per night = total $1400.
I have found a hotel in the same area for around $1100, a hotel in SoHo for around $1350 and a one in the theater district for around $1350. I have read about how to use Priceline.com - name your own price, and I wonder if it might be a good option for us to try that? Do I have to wait until the end of December to get the best prices, or is it possible to get significantly lower prices even now? We don't require very high standards, and the location has to be equal to or better than NY Loft Hostel in Williamsburg.

Does anyone have an idea of what kind of deal we might get through priceline if we want to book now?
vilde is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2011, 10:35 am
  #2  
 
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Your best bet is to try. Check out, for example, http://www.betterbidding.com/ as an example of how to proceed. They'll tell you how to go to PL, check out what's available for your dates, match hotel zones and star values, etc., and maybe go for the 60% off. (But be ready to accept what you bid on, just in case the price and star level is accepted!) You'll be able to get a sense of what's available and price as you go through the process over several attempts, if you do it yourself.
You might also consider hotwire as an option, if they have anything $ and * that looks good.
Good luck.
sylvia hennesy is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2011, 2:41 pm
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That's way too much to spend for a hostel in Brooklyn during a slow (other than New Year's Eve) travel period. You will be able to do much better than that with Priceline but it's too early to bid. I administer a forum on Priceline travel bidding at BiddingForTravel.com. I can give you a bidding strategy if you post all of the information requested in the Hotels forum in the Frequently Asked Questions section near the top of BiddingForTravel.com's homepage on the New York City forum when you are immediately ready to bid as long as you are patient. In the meantime, book a cancellable backup that you can afford.
Sheryl is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2011, 3:30 pm
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Thanks! Do you think there is any chance that all hotels on Manhattan will be fully booked for New Year's Eve, or that there will be only a few rooms left that are terribly expensive - or is this something that never happens (but people think happens)?
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 3:39 pm
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Between Thanksgiving to just after New Years is one of the busiest times for hotels in New York, so don't expect any deals. Occupancy is very high, mostly tourists from out of the country, and since they don't usually look for bargains, the rates are very high, and rooms are few and far between.

You could also look into Jersey City, New Jersey. A short train ride under the river and rates should be about 1/3 lower than they are in the city. Or even lower.

If you were going to try priceline I would say make a reservation someplace you can cancel just in case you can't get a room through Priceline.

Honestly, anything for under $300 in New York at that time is probably a good deal.
cordelli is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2011, 5:16 pm
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Occupancy is relatively low this year. Please just post what I asked you to post on BiddingForTravel.com.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 6:24 pm
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Yet it seems that just last Tuesday the Mayor announced the hotel occupancy rate was the highest of any city in the country, tourism was on track to break the previous visitors per year of 48.8 million visitors with over 50 million visitors this year.

Last year, New York City welcomed a record 48.8 million visitors who collectively spent $31 billion. The City is on track to reach a record number of visitors this year. Room rates are steadily increasing, and occupancy remained at close to 85 percent, the highest in the nation.

I'm sure he's just lying to keep everybody happy, and it's why rates for the holidays are double or triple what they normally are, and why so many hotels are sold out, because occupancy is so low, at the highest in the nation, that many hotels are closing for the holidays and giving their employees the week off.

Sure.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 7:23 pm
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Originally Posted by Sheryl
Occupancy is relatively low this year. Please just post what I asked you to post on BiddingForTravel.com.
Between Thanksgiving and New Years in New York? Can you explain this further? It's counter-intuitive, to say the least.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 7:43 pm
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Originally Posted by Sheryl
Occupancy is relatively low this year.
And you know that because.... ?
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 8:56 pm
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Originally Posted by cordelli
Yet it seems that just last Tuesday the Mayor announced the hotel occupancy rate was the highest of any city in the country, tourism was on track to break the previous visitors per year of 48.8 million visitors with over 50 million visitors this year.

Last year, New York City welcomed a record 48.8 million visitors who collectively spent $31 billion. The City is on track to reach a record number of visitors this year. Room rates are steadily increasing, and occupancy remained at close to 85 percent, the highest in the nation.

I'm sure he's just lying to keep everybody happy, and it's why rates for the holidays are double or triple what they normally are, and why so many hotels are sold out, because occupancy is so low, at the highest in the nation, that many hotels are closing for the holidays and giving their employees the week off.

Sure.
You are always the authority, aren't you, cordelli? I guess you also think the posts on BiddingForTravel and other sites are fakes.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 8:56 pm
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Originally Posted by lougord99
And you know that because.... ?
Postings on BiddingForTravel.com.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 9:16 pm
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Originally Posted by Sheryl
You are always the authority, aren't you, cordelli? I guess you also think the posts on BiddingForTravel and other sites are fakes.
My posts are based on reality and facts, not random internet posts to a message board online from people who have no access at all to official numbers.

That and the facts the city released to the world last Tuesday clearly saying they had the highest occupancy rate of any city in the country and on track for more tourists than ever in history for 2011.

As others have asked, please present numbers to show that the Mayors press release and broadcast conference was a fabricated lie and that every paper in the state that carried it was wrong. The numbers are very clear, tourism is as high as it has ever been in New York City, and the first week of January when they release the final figures it will be confirmed as the highest numbers in the history of the city.

Really, please provide any site with official numbers to back up your totally baseless claim that shows the mayor is wrong. I will be most happy to call in for one of his Friday morning radio question shows and present your findings to him and demand he retract his information, assuming I can get through to him. After all once this scandal breaks, he will probably be forced out of office.

What exactly do your sources indicate the current number of tourists in the city and the hotel occupancy rate actually is?

Last edited by cordelli; Nov 20, 2011 at 9:25 pm
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 9:34 pm
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I don't have that information. I already said what my source is. You can choose to think "random Internet posts" mean nothing. I maintain otherwise. Just as I don't believe what you read, you don't have to believe what I wrote or the postings on my website.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 9:48 pm
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So there are no facts to back it up at all.

Gee that's a shock.

For those who actually want facts, I'll stick with the official numbers the city has released.

Hotel occupancy in the city is the highest of any city in the country at 85% as of last week.

The city is well on it's way for a record number of tourists in 2011.

Easily linked at hundreds of sites, which of course are according to posters to some random internet site, all wrong.
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Old Nov 20, 2011, 9:50 pm
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nba1017, relatively low means in comparison to previous years fior the same period. We have already seen several successful bids for the first two weeks in December, historically the busiest time of the year in New York City and $190/night for a 4* in the Times Square zone for 11/23-11/26, also historically very busy dates over Thanksgiving.

I still think the first two weeks in December will be very busy, just not as busy as usual.
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