Hotwire Hotel: 4* Newark (Hoboken - Jersey City) Westin Newport Jersey City

[joanne48]

Booked for 4 people-4*-Hoboken-Nov 2, one night

Got the Westin-$210 plus taxes and fees

Called the hotel to make sure we got two beds. NO Beds NOT guaranteed. Hotel is full so the chances are NOT good we would get two beds. You could book for 4 people and IF the hotel happens to have a room with 2 beds, you may get two beds. Otherwise, you have two choices. Try to fit 4 people in a king bed OR call Hotwire at zero dark thirty and they MAY be able to find you other accommodations.

Hotwire did offer to book the room at RETAIL and GUARANTEE two beds ($94.00 MORE than on the Westin website). BUT I had to pay for the room in full, they would refund the original (opaque) booking in one or two days and it would show up in my bank statment within a MONTH or TWO.

The CSR told me it is right in the "fine print" that beds are NOT guaranteed, no matter how many people you input. No thanks-I will stick with Priceline. At least you KNOW you only get one bed.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Sorry to hear of the issue that you're having... to confirm, how many adults/children did you select when you made this reservation? Did the hotel at a minimum guarantee one bed + a rollaway or pullout sofabed?

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

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

Let us know the information above and we'll comment further.

[joanne48]

4 Adults

I don't know how to get it out of "my account" because I have never signed up for "my account" on Hotwire.

But here is cut and paste from my confirmation:

479 Washington Boulevard,

Jersey City,NJ,07310

(201) 626-2900

Map

Check-in

Fri, Nov 2, 2012, 3:00 PM

Check-out

Sat, Nov 3, 2012, 11:00 AM

Times are subject to change.

Please confirm with the hotel.

Amenities

Indoor pool(s) Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center

Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center

High-Speed Internet Access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf

Free Internet In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible

Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

When I called to verify two beds and ask if we could have a high floor room, was told they only had a King available. The hotel was full, with over 200 rooms booked for a wedding. I asked how we were to sleep 4 people and the front desk told me there was a VERY slim chance they would have a room with two beds. So I would have to call Hotwire and deal with them.

When I called, Hotwire informed me that before I clicked PAY, I AGREED that the room would hold 4 but I may not get two beds. I asked where you were supposed to sleep 4 people. They reiterated what the hotel said-if there wasn't a room with two beds, call them and they will try to find "suitable" accommodations.

This is their "gotcha" just before you click PAY:

"All rooms are guaranteed to sleep the number of guests you provided during your search, but we cannot guarantee the number of beds."

So after all day at a conference, I was looking at jumping on PATH with my new employee who has never been to NYC, going for dinner and a late night view of the Empire State Bldg.

It appears that any sightseeing time would be spent waiting for Hotwire to find a "suitable" hotel.

Thanks for the help. And if I ever use Hotwire again, I am now aware of links through your website.

[thereuare]

This is their "gotcha" just before you click PAY:

"All rooms are guaranteed to sleep the number of guests you provided during your search, but we cannot guarantee the number of beds."

This isn't really a "gotcha"... the room assigned will sleep the number of guests you indicated, but the second 'bed' could be a pullout sofabed or a rollaway brought into the room.

If there is an issue you can call HOTWIRE and have them resolve it and while an inconvenience, it's not going to take long to handle the situation. If you're still concerned i'd call the hotel to see if they have rollaways and/or if the King bedded rooms have pullout sofabeds... if they do, then they're prepared to handle the quad occupancy as per their (and your agreement) with HOTWIRE. If not, then i would call HOTWIRE again and let them know that you're traveling, short on time, and it's NYC Marathon weekend so many hotels will be full and you would like somebody to work this out with the hotel before your arrival so that you are not wasting time scrambling for a hotel room.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

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

[joanne48]

Final resolution:

Hotwire cancelled the room at the Westin and is refunding my money. I know, VERY, VERY unusual because when I called my bank to verify that a refund had been put through, they said Hotwire doesn't refund and they couldn't give me provisional credit. BUT I have email from Hotwire that shows cancellation and refund. I had to send it to my bank.

This is what happened: 7 phone calls to Hotwire-5 told me the I HAD to attempt to check in and THEN they would ATTEMPT to resolve the problem of one bed for 4 people. This included two supervisors.

Finally asked for the boss of the supervisor. Explained AGAIN that the hotel was almost at capacity and they had repeatedly said I would have to call Hotwire as they had NO two bed rooms available nor did they have any extra roll aways.

So we had a three way conference call. The supervisor boss was able to get the actual hotel manager on the phone. I don't know whether this applies to ALL Hotwire room contracts signed with hotels or if this is just with the Westin Newport but the hotel manager informed the Hotwire boss that the allocation of Hotwire rooms with two beds was gone, most of the rest of the hotel was sold out and what few roll aways they had were already spoken for.

Therefore, due to their contract with Hotwire, Hotwire should quit selling rooms for 3-4 people at their hotel on Nov. 2 as there was nothing the hotel could do if people showed up expecting a 2 bed room except refer them to Hotwire.

At that point in time, the Hotwire boss must have decided it was easier (and most likely cheaper for Hotwire) to refund my money than try to find "comparable" accommodations at 6PM on a Friday night in an area with few 4* hotels.

I am thankful that a boss at Hotwire saw how foolish it was to MAKE me check in KNOWING the Westin could not accommodate me. And agreed to refund my money. Starwood has a couple of promotions going on and for $31 dollars more, booked the W down the street with TWO BEDS GUARANTEED. Got to pay $35 per day because the W only has valet parking and the Westin has self park but at least I now have time to show my new employee a little of NYC before we have to get on the plane Saturday.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

[AaronJB]

Glad to hear that you were able to work things out with the Westin and book another option nearby.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

Starwood has a couple of promotions going on and for $31 dollars more, booked the W down the street with TWO BEDS GUARANTEED.

Please note from our Support Page that we are an affiliate of the W Hotels as well as most major hotel chains and online booking agencies, please check for and use the requested links for your future hotel direct purchases.

Thanks. Enjoy your stay.