Priceline guide discussion area

Roger1

If 2 beds are important, I think it's better to make a specific booking rather than rely on Priceline.

New York is different from most other US cities in that (a) rooms are smaller and (b) there are far fewer rooms with 2 beds. As for 2 doubles, rarer still.

The exception is booking away from Manhattan, for example in New Jersey, Brooklyn or near the airports, but if you want to be near Manhattan, you'd need to factor in the extra time and hassle of travel in and out. With a 2-year-old, that could be significant.

nmanatious

Hi there,
I am new at this bidding system and after reading about it I couldn't help but notice that no one mentions how long before you should start bidding... Is there an optimum period prior to the trip where you could get better deals? I am planning a trip to NY in 5-6 weeks from today and I already got some good ideas on how to do the bidding itself, should I be aware of something in special? Another problem I might face is the fact that I currently live in Germany and don't have an address in the US, at least not personally. Could I use a friend's address?
Thanks a lot!

blindman

nmanatious wrote: »

Hi there,
I am new at this bidding system and after reading about it I couldn't help but notice that no one mentions how long before you should start bidding... Is there an optimum period prior to the trip where you could get better deals? I am planning a trip to NY in 5-6 weeks from today and I already got some good ideas on how to do the bidding itself, should I be aware of something in special? Another problem I might face is the fact that I currently live in Germany and don't have an address in the US, at least not personally. Could I use a friend's address?
Thanks a lot!

I take it you've NOT read my guide ?

When to bid, early or late?
There is no good answer to this question. Some great hotels load their Priceline inventory months in advance. Others only load inventory or their best rates shortly before the dates.
Bid as soon as your dates are firm, but the lowest bid you’ve found with your research.
If you aren’t getting what you want, don’t keep bidding and raising your price through impatience. Stop bidding and make a cancellable backup.
Watch the two forums for winning bids in your city\zone and or wait until about one month to three weeks out, then bid more seriously.

And

Should I use Priceline.com or Priceline.co.uk ?
A few facts:
The USA site is really for US or Canadians only, however there is a work around for this

.........
You CAN bid on US hotels using Priceline.co.uk See Post #265

You can use either site with your German credit card and address.

nmanatious

Thanks for your answers! Since I am still working my way around this website, could you help with the links for the both forums you mentioned before?

blindman

nmanatious wrote: »

Thanks for your answers! Since I am still working my way around this website, could you help with the links for the both forums you mentioned before?

Click on the words "my guide" in my post and then click on various links in there :cool:

Here's one to start you off- New York winning bids

donniet

Hi - first time user to the price bidding thing and trying to bid on New York hotels. Have read your guide and used the link to take me to the UK based site of Priceline as I had already been told that you had to have a USA registered credit card to use the US version. I get as far as the page where you input which city & dates you want (on the UK site) but when I click for the next page where you pinpoint the areas in that city and class of hotel - it has jumped to the USA version ....... and then the next page wants a USA/Canadian address etc. Doesn't matter how many times I try via the UK site - I always end up here. Whats going wrong ??? :-(

blindman

donniet wrote: »

Hi - first time user to the price bidding thing and trying to bid on New York hotels. Have read your guide and used the link to take me to the UK based site of Priceline

as I had already been told that you had to have a USA registered credit card to use the US version.

Didn't read my guide that well ! You CAN bid on the USA site using a NON USA issued CC

I get as far as the page where you input which city & dates you want (on the UK site) but when I click for the next page where you pinpoint the areas in that city and class of hotel - it has jumped to the USA version ....... and then the next page wants a USA/Canadian address etc. Doesn't matter how many times I try via the UK site - I always end up here. Whats going wrong ??? :-(

Looks like the PL UK site is having problems TBHO
It does as you say revert to the USA site and asks for $ etc.

Was Ok last week when I used it :cool:

Maybe wait a day or two (if you have time) and use this time to do a dummy run so you get used to the interface etc.

donniet

I did read the bit in your guide about using a fake USA address / phone number to get round their site rules - but would prefer to go via the UK version if I can. Will keep trying and hopefully the site will be up & running again soon :-) Will let you know if I'm successful or not. Thanks for all your helpful tips :-)

blindman

donniet wrote: »

I did read the bit in your guide about using a fake USA address / phone number to get round their site rules - but would prefer to go via the UK version if I can. Will keep trying and hopefully the site will be up & running again soon :-) Will let you know if I'm successful or not. Thanks for all your helpful tips :-)

Priceline UK looks to be working OK now :cool:

donniet

Well it took me about a week of putting in bids - but finally secured my 5 night stay in a mid town New York hotel :-)
Its just outside the area I was initally looking at - but a higher star hotel. Booking direct would've cost £988 ...... I got it for £699 !! I am thrilled - loving Priceline.co.uk ...... thanks to Money Saving Expert & also Blindman for your step by step guide :-x
Sooooooooo excited !!! lol