Priceline Hotel: 4* Newark - Jersey City - Meadowlands (Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken) The Westin Jersey City Newport

[Helen from CA]

Looking to travel to Jersey City in September (9/13 - 9/15) and would like to use Priceline's Name you Price, or if that doesn't work I'd be fine with Priceline Express at $267 for a 4* hotel.

It look like for a 4* in Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken, the hotels might be W, Hyatt Regency, Westin or Columbus Suites.  What are the chances I'd be getting the Columbus Suites?  It doesn't seem to be the same quality as the other 3.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

I'm very familiar with this area, but to get started...

The Columbus Suites have never been reported to the board using PRICELINE NYOP or thru PRICELINE EXPRESS, are you seeing this on the 'retail' side of PRICELINE and that is why you assume it would be a possible outcome when bidding?  If so, note that the 'retail' and 'bidding' side of PRICELINE us a different universe of hotels and what you see on one side of the service is not necessarily what you will receive thru the other side of their service.  Indeed there is a lot of overlap, but not all hotels that participate on the 'retail' side necessarily participate on the 'opaque' side, and vice-versa (although of course you could always be the first to report a new property to the board)

 

However, more specifically to your trip, do you actually need to stay in Hoboken/Jersey City for this trip or are you looking for a less expensive alternative to NYC and plan on commuting every day to the city?  If the latter, i'm seeing quite a few options in Manhattan around this price point (or even less), and while i do love this area, it should only be used for those looking for a less expensive option to Manhattan, which in this instance doesn't appear to be the case.

 

So do you have a need to stay in this area or would NYC be an option for around the same price?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Let us know the information above (and any additional information about your needs for this trip) and we'll take it from there.

[Helen from CA]

Thank you for the quick response.  When using the bidding helper tool on your website, I clicked the Priceline Express tab and then for the 4* Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken selection clicked on the link for "Is this a good price?".  That's where it listed the Columbus Suites.

 

To answer your second question, Jersey City is preferred because we are going to be at a retirement party at the Liberty House that Thursday evening and since we'll be with other out of  town guests, it would be convenient and would allow easy access to ferries for Ellis Island or Path to downtown 9/11 Memorial during the day on Thursday.

 

We are planning on extending and looking for places to stay in NY for the weekend but I wanted get this locked in first!

 

One additional question, If I'm booking multiple rooms on same reservation, will they all be at the same Hotel?

[thereuare]

When booking multiple rooms on the same reservation they will all be at the same hotel.

 

For this PRICELINE EXPRESS offer (confirm your dates on the landing page and adjust the number of rooms as is necessary):

4* Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken for $265
Pets Allowed
Business Center
Restaurant
Free Internet
Indoor or Outdoor Pool
Fitness Center
No Smoking Rooms/Facilities
==> best guess would be The Westin Jersey City Newport

 

If you'd prefer to try bidding for this stay (keeping in mind that you need to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star rating, or higher, that you choose) please confirm your maximum bid and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

If you take the offer above let us know how it goes... or let us know your maximum bid price and we will advise accordingly.

[Helen from CA]

I'd like to try to bid on this before going the Priceline Express route.  Maximum bid would be $230 for 4* in that zone and would like to start below $200.  Any strategies would be appreciated.

 

[thereuare]

When bidding 4* in the Jersey City area you have SEVEN 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.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1 is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

 

Select 4* Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken
Bid $150, if rejected add re-bid zone1...
Bid $170, if rejected add re-bid zone2...
Bid $185, if rejected add re-bid zone3...
Bid $195, if rejected add re-bid zone4...
Bid $200, if rejected add re-bid zone5...
Bid $205, if rejected add re-bid zone6...
Bid $210, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

 

Select 4* Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken and re-bid zone7...
Bid $215, if rejected add re-bid zone1...
Bid $218, if rejected add re-bid zone2...
Bid $220, if rejected add re-bid zone3...
Bid $223, if rejected add re-bid zone4...
Bid $225, if rejected add re-bid zone5...
Bid $228, if rejected add re-bid zone6...
Bid $230

 

Any questions feel free to ask (especially confirming your re-bid zones if you're new to the subject or unsure).

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Helen from CA]

Thanks. Will try now and will certainly confirm when rebidding.

[Helen from CA]

So I started at $170 (instead of 150) for 4* Jersey City - Hoboken - Weehawken.  It was rejected.

I read the rebidding explanation and checked the other zones.  So if I add Zone 1 (Downtown Newark), it looks like the highest star rating in that zone is 3.5*. 

 

So I should add zone 1 (Downtown Newark) and increase to $180?  Everything else stays the same.

[thereuare]

Let's back-up...

 

Before bidding again, what are the SEVEN re-bid zones you intend to use?

[Helen from CA]

Maybe I'm confusing priceline zones with re-bid zones?  I checked the following zones for star ratings:

Zone 1 - Downtown Newark

Zone 2  - Irvington (but it's doesn't show any star ratings (greyed out)

Zone 4 - Jersey City West

Zone 5 - Meadowlands Rutherford

Zone 6 - EWR

Zone 7 - Seacaucus

Zone 9 - Union Westfield Clark

 

 

[thereuare]

Irvington doesn't count since it's greyed-out and not select-able... there is one more re-bid zone; do you see it?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[Helen from CA]

Yes, that would be Zone 10 - West Orange.

 

So those would be the 7 re-bid zones to  use as I increase price of each bid.  Since I started with 4* at $170, I'll increase to $185 and add Zone 1.  Then if needed, continue adding the zones listed above while increasing bid price.  Does this sound correct?

 

I am a newbie and you've been a real help!

[thereuare]

Yup, you've got it

 

However, if you wait awhile between bids (if for example you have to run an errand and don't return to resume the bidding for an hour or so) it's recommended that you go back to PRICELINE (in a new window) and re-confirm your re-bid zones to make sure that nothing has changed since you last checked.

 

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

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Helen from CA]

Just as an update - got up to $230 per night and did not get an accepted bid.  Will consider the priceline express deal.  If I go forward with that, I'll be sure to link thru here and let you know.

 

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated and please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance.

 

Please remember to follow-up this thread with whatever you decide for this trip (even if not PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, you cancel the trip, book a regular rate hotel, etc) as this helps keep the board better organized and more useful for everyone.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[Helen from CA]

Through BetterBidding link, used PRICELINE EXPRESS 4* Jersey City Hoboken Weehawken for $265 - 5% discount + taxes and fees.  This is significantly less than booking directly!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success on your success!

 

I have edited your topic title to indicate that you received the Westin as we had guessed, can you confirm that this is correct.

 

I'm very familiar with this area if you have any questions regarding your trip.

Thank you for using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your purchase and sharing your win, helping us update the Priceline Express Hotel List with the new amenity set for this property.

Enjoy your stay.

[Helen from CA]

Yes - confirmed it was the Westin so I am pleased!

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up / confirmation.