Priceline Hotel: 3* Newark (Jersey City)

[S-Express]

Hi,

I'm new to priceline, and would be extremely grateful if I could ask for some assistance with a bidding strategy. I will of course bid via the savingsbarn link.

-Background-

I have flights booked from the UK to JFK for me, my wife and her parents. We arrive the evening of 30/11 and departing on 12/07. We will require two rooms, and after being shocked at the prices in Manhattan I have decided to look further afield. From my reading both the Hyatt and Doubletree in Jersey City appear to offer much better value for money. The tripadvisor reviews look decent for both hotels, although the Hyatt looks to have the edge.

-Price research-

I have looked on Expedia, Hotwire and the hotels own websites and have collated the following information, I hope this displays okay:-

Date Hyatt Hotwire Doubletree

30/11/06 $405 $380 $229

1/12/06 $239 $225 $229

2/12/06 $239 $225 $229

3/12/06 $305 $288 $229

4/12/06 $305 $288 $229

5/12/06 $305 $288 $229

6/12/06 $305 $288 $229

As you can see Thursday 30th is especially expensive at the Hyatt, which would suggest to me splitting the bid may be a sensible approach? I wouldn't be overly worried about moving hotels once during the trip. But would prefer to stay at the Hyatt throughout if possible.

Any advice is graciously received.

With thanks

Martin.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is your maximum budget per nite?

I assume you don't have any back-up at this point?

[S-Express]

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome. No backup yet, I guess I should really get one in place. In terms of budget under $200/night would be great, but I'm not sure what's achievable at this time of year? Given that I'm with my in-laws I'd be willing to go slightly higher for a superior hotel/location.

I had been considering Eastgate Towers which was the cheapest reasonable Manhattan property I could find at $230/night. But they take a 10% cancellation fee, so thought I would checkout the priceline options first.

[thereuare]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the Eastgate offer isn't confirmed until you hear back from them company offering it... so $230 is their "everyday rate" and you have to contact them with a credit card and then they let you know if available?!?!

[S-Express]

The policy was not very clear on the website, so I questioned the cancellation policy via e-mail and got the following reply.

"CANCELLATION POLICY: NO DEPOSIT WILL BE TAKEN BUT IN CASE OF ANY CANCELLATION 10% OF THE FULL AMOUNT WILL BE CHARGED BY OUR COMPANY"

I have to give them my credit card details with my reservation, so I believe I would lose the 10%.

Thanks

Martin

[thereuare]

Right, but my understanding is that their not showing 'real time' availability... so a room at that rate may not even be available.

Essentially you have to give them your credit card number and then they come back with either:

1) you have a reservation and 10% to cancel

2) sorry, no rooms available

My point is that often with websites that list prices for a general time period and not for specific dates, you have no way of knowing if thosse rates apply to your actual dates. In this instance you have to commit (to losing 10%) in order to even know if a room is available.

This would be a pretty good deal if actually available, i would email them (without credit card info... tell them you'll give cc details if you know it's available) to see if 2 rooms are available for your dates so that you can have an accurate assessment of the situation and the rate you'd be trying to beat via Priceline/HOTWIRE.

[S-Express]

I see what you mean. I should clarify that I have already e-mailed them and they have confirmed availability for two studio apartments for those dates, so I have to take them at their word for now.

It'll be interesting to see if I can do better on Priceline. :)

[thereuare]

Well if you know they have availability then i would re-iterate that it's a very good deal.

I'm doubtful you'll be able to beat this via priceline or HOTWIRE, but are you sure you'd even want to bid as high as $200 to stay in Jersey City? To save $30 i don't think it's a very good trade-off. While if you received the Hyatt is may be nicer than the Eastgate, there is something to be said for staying "in" the city. Jersey City is usually a very good option when there is substantial savings vs. staying in NYC, which doesn't appear to be the case here.

We'll suggest a strategy for you to try nonetheless, but before doing so i thought i should question your maximum bid to see if you'd want to reconsider. Even after booking the Eastgate, you could continue to monitor rates thru the opaque providers. Although nobody wants to needlessly pay a 10% cancellation fee, this amounts to $23/nite, so it would still be worthwhile if in the future (if/when rates drop, which is not exatly a high probability bet given this time of year), if you could find success at a similar or better hotel for $200 or less.

Did you also want to bid NYC? If so, which zones? (and if bidding NYC then your $200 maximum makes more sense, but not for Jersey City, imo)

[S-Express]

Hi,

After taking on board your comments I decided that the $230/night for Eastgate Towers was worth paying. Unfortunately by the time I attempted to make a reservation they no longer had availability. However, as an alternative I was offered "Murray Hill East Suites" at $199/night, and after reading the reasonable tripadvisor reviews I have confirmed my reservations.

Thanks for your assistance, and I hope you don't mind me going a little off topic. I'll keep an eye on rates just in case they miraculously drop to a level that makes the 10% cancellation worthwhile.

Best Regards

Martin

[thereuare]

Call me cynical, but I have an suspicion the Eastgate was never available for your dates.

Enjoy your stay.