Priceline Hotel: 4* Newark (Jersey City) Westin

[kalti]

Hi everyone,

thanks for this awesome forum and collection of usefull stuff.

After reading quite a while i decided to book flights to New York from 29th december to 7th january 2011 and spend New Years Eve with my girlfrind in New York.

So flights are booked (unfortunately not very cheap) so i need a good deal on the hotel.

I don't know whats the best area and stars rating (have never been to the US before), but i would be willing to spend up to 200 Dollar (less is even better) per night per room (2 persons). I thought about a very central hotel to have all sight seeing and shooping just around us - Whats your thought and whats the way to get the best possible deal :)

Thanks!

Daniel (writing from the Octoberfest in Munich :-) )

[jugenjury]

New York City can be very expensive during the holiday season, especially for New Year's Eve. You should consider at least for part of the trip a stay at the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge in downtown Brooklyn. Close to lower Manhattan, nice hotel and it should be competitively priced.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages.

I agree with jugenjury above... it will be difficult to get a great deal for dates which include New Years Eve. As most hotels will be at or near full occupancy for this nite, there is little reason to offer third party booking agencies deep discounts in order to help fill rooms. If any hotel uses 12/31 as a black-out date and doesn't give priceline or HOTWIRE inventory for this nite, then that hotel is not available to accept your bid at all.

Is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option? I would look to stay in NYC from Jan1-Jan9 within NYC, but i'd look sty stay outside the city for Dec29-Jan1, although i tend to favor a 4* hotel in Jersey City over the Brooklyn area.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[kalti]

Hey - thanks for the good advices.

and i have read and understood the message an will support that!

Splitting could be an option, but should then be a very good deal :) we have only limited time and packing and moving to another hotel would cost at least half a day ...

I thought probably to take a hotel in hoboken or jersy city, because it should be much cheaper and you can get from there to manhatten in less then 15min.

Would that be an option, or isn't it a good idea?

Is it better to book asap or should i wait until later? Is there any trend that hotels get more expensive or cheaper the closer the date at New Years?

thank you,

daniel

[thereuare]

Hotels in this area are typically expensive thru the New Years Even holiday, then drop dramatically thereafter.

I think the best deal at the moment for this stay is to book Hoboken-Jersey City for 12/29-1/1 where i think you can get a 4* hotel for under $150/nite. From there i would book 1/1-1/7 in NYC where it think you can get a 4* hotel at $120-$145/nite.

You could stay in Jersey City for the entire length of your stay, but with NYC being so inexpensive (relatively speaking) for the second half of your stay it is worth the few hours of inconvenience to change hotel in order to have the convenience of NYC at your fingertips for the rest of your stay. As well, think of the time you'll be savings commuting to/from the city each day, plus staying directly in the city gives you the convenience to easily return to the hotel during the day to drop off bags you many have bought throughout the day, a rest before dinner, etc. It's also your first time in the US/NYC, so you should experience staying in the city itself.

Nobody can say for certain if rates will drop, or continue higher between now and your stay, but the rates above are are "pretty good" for this time of year, especially if you can get Jersey City-Hoboken for less than $150/nite, imo.

Let us know your thoughts on the above and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[kalti]

thank you so much for your help!

so i slept over it and i think i will do it exactly the way you described.

making the first 4 days (12/29 to 1/2) out of Jersy City/Hoboken and then move into manhatten (1/2 to 1/7)- right into the heart of the metropol :)

I wouldn't change rooms on 1/1 just because i think we probably will have a huge hangover and we need to recover on that day :)

Thanks for your support,

Daniel

PS: does someone have some "insider ideas" for the sight seeing stuff, or probably know a board where i can find something like that? - THANKS

[thereuare]

So let's take care of the Jersey City nites first as i believe if there is any wrinkle in the plan it will more likely be with the nites which include New Years Eve. In fact, in checking HOTWIRE for your dates, a 4* hotel in Hoboken / Jersey City appears for 12/29-1/1, but does not appear for 12/29-1/2, but let's try for 12/29-1/2 first and if turned down we'll take it from there.

When bidding 4* in Jersey City you have SIX re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* Jersey City...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $140

Any questions feel free to ask.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[kalti]

I've just tried 110$ for 12/29-1/2 but the deal was not accepted.

When you speak about 6 SIX re-bid zones? does that mean that there is no other 4* hotel in the other areas of Newark:

Jersey City

Meadowlands - Rutherford

Newark

Newark Airport (EWR) - Elizabeth

Secaucus - North Bergen

Short Hills - Summit

West Orange

thanks!

[thereuare]

Yes, at the moment these other zones don't offer 4* bidding, but this can change at any time, so you need t know how to check this information yourself just before you bid to make sure nothing has changed. See this Priceline Re-Bidding Explained thread for details on how to check your re-bid zones... if you read the previous thread and are confused just post back and we'll break it down further for you.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[kalti]

Thanks - now I understand :) thank!

I tried all my bids, but haven't been succesful. 140$ is not an option for these dates and the area :)

[thereuare]

My advice would be to re-try for 12/29-1/1.

If successful you can try to extend the stay one additional nite, if doing so is turned down, then just deal with changing hotels on January 1st (and hope to get a late check-out from the hotel you receive). Ultimately it's your stay and you need to be comfortable with your plans, but i do think that $145 for Jersey City is a pretty good deal for these New Years Eve included dates.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know your thoughts and/or how it goes and we'll take it from there.

[kalti]

WOW - awesome.

I got a room at Westin Jersey City Newport for 130US for 12/29-1/1.

Extension was unfortunately not possible ... but i think we can handle to check out at 12 and make our way to the next hotel.

i am so excited :)

So next should be a very central hotel with very short ways to all the sight seeing spots in manhatten. 1/1-1/7.

thank you so much.

and of course - i used the one and only PRICELINE Link

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

An excellent deal for this property during these busy holiday dates. Glad to see you're pleased with your purchase and have what are likely to be the more difficult dates take care of.

We'll use this thread to reflect your Jersey City purchase and have moved it to the PRICELINE >> New Jersey section of the board... please start a NEW TOPIC for the balance of your stay and we'll help you there.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy this leg of your trip.