HotWire.com is a site that could be good for a permanent reservation
Written: Dec 15 '07
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| Full Review |
Hotwire.com is one of the many sites on the market that primarily works with hotels, airlines, and car rental agencies to try and snag the best possible rates for its customers. They do come away with some pretty good rates honestly, but you always have to make sure that you take into account taxes and fees when you are using a site like this. Be aware that the $49.00 per night hotel is not actually going to be only $49.00, and it could be as much as $70.00 after the taxes and fees are assessed. That's not to say that you aren't saving a little cash off the top, but I just wanted to put that disclaimer out there.
When you first make your way on to the site, you find search engines where you can seek out things that appeal to your planned trip. The site works best if you have a day set in stone, and you want to go to a specific city, with no chance that you will end up changing your plans or altering what you are looking for in hotels or flights. With that in mind, you might be able to find a really good deal, but there are several other things that go along with it which you must be aware of before you make that purchase (or even start searching). The problems I had with the site are two-fold, beginning with that search engine. When you first get your results for hotels, you aren't allowed to see what hotel. Meaning that you don't know if its a hole in the way or a nice Embassy Suites.
The other major pitfall of HotWire, occurs once you have selected all of your itinerary, figured out the dates that you will be using the services, and have filled out the reservation sheets. It is at this point where you discover that you are required to pay up front for your hotel reservations. They anchor the rate they give you on the site, but in exchange you give up all your freedom when it comes to altering your reservation or even canceling it. Once you reserve, you pay for all nights of your stay, and there are no refunds if you end up changing your mind about the reservations. This could be of major concern if you aver need to change anything, and is one of the main reasons that hotels allow you to cancel reservations in the first place; not so with Hotwire.com.
There are some positives to the site, namely that they return fast search results, and they do seem to offer some good deals at average establishments. They aren't always the best deals possible though, and sacrificing all flexibility when it comes to the reservations is just not worth saving $5 or $10 in the long run to this consumer. If you have to change reservations, have to cancel because of weather or family, or you simply find out you have to work during a trip, you are out of luck. Additional problems that I have heard about but not experienced first-hand, is using the site, paying for the hotel, and then arriving to find the hotel has no record of that. I haven't had that specific event happen to me personally though, so take that little warning with a grain of salt.
My overall recommendation of the Hotwire web-site, is truly that I do not recommend using it. It may be a good place to start with a search of potential rates, but then it becomes time to go price compare with the hotels chain site or other travel sites that you have come to like. Don't give up your freedoms as a traveler, and don't risk paying up front for hotel rooms that you may either have to cancel, or that you could possibly dislike and want to switch out of the first night that you are there. On the food chain of travel web-sites that offer deals like this, I Hotwire.com is one of the lowest on my list.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? hotel reservations which didn''t quite pan out
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