Hotwire

Terrible, terrible, terrible. If things go well, you might save a few bucks, however, if you are tricked into buying trip insurance that lists "trip cancellation" as its top benefit, you might be up the creek. I called a week in advance to cancel my "insured" trip and was promptly informed that only well documented medical emergencies are covered (as per fine print in a FAQ somewhere). The insurance company was able to transfer me to Hotwire in 2 seconds (meaning that they deal with rejecting claims from other duped customers day in and day out), and I was treated worse than I can put into words by both the first attendant and the "manager". The venom the manager had in her voice was unmistakable. Consumers: Stay far far away. Investors: Ditto, this company needs some intensive training in customer service.

I booked a hotel room for Myrlte Beach, SC with hotwire to find that it wasn't even close to the beach.  They described the hotel as being in Myrlte Beach West which is about 20 miles from the actual beach area.  When I spoke to customer services, they were not only rude but not very helpful at all.  After staying in the hotel I found that the rate would have been cheaper had I booked with the hotel.  I checked with Hotwire again on there price gurantee and they would not honor it because that is the price they pay the hotel and the make the additional 25 dollars instead of trying to save the customer money.  I would NOT ever use Hotwire again only for the fact that the customer services was not in the least bit helpful.

Wow! I had been looking for a hotel in Beaver Creek, CO during the weekend of March 14 - 16, 2008. Apparently, this is a very busy weekend for this resort as typical prices increase by 100 - 200%, but my family and I wanted to attend an event scheduled for this weekend. I couldn't find anything slopeside for under $500.00 per night, and that was for the more run down rooms. I took a chance with Hotwire and got a $600+ per night room (according to the hotel's own website)at the Charter at Beaver Creek for $323.00. Hotwire promised me a 3.5 star hotel and I actually ended up with a 4.5 star hotel. I am familiar with this hotel and am really counting my blessings. I may not be this lucky in the future, but this time it really paid off.

I booked a supposedly 3-star hotel for two nights in Las Vegas for $101 per night. Turns out that on most websites it's a 2-star motel, and the Tripadvisor and other review sites state that it is run down, dirty, moldly, in disrepair, staffed by rude people and last but not least, HAUNTED! Not only that, but if I'd gone directly to the property's own website, I could have booked it for only $98. The next day I found yet another site offering it for $94.50; but Hotwire now tells me that they take only the first discrepancy reported for their stupid "double the difference" guarantee. (wouldn't the fact that the hotel underprices Hotwire be a good indication that they're dealing with an unscrupulous property?) I was refused a refund, and will be given only $12 back Anyway, I am just disgusted, as I've had some good experiences with Hotwire in the past. However, I am done! I have protested the charge with my credit card company.

Customer service was unsympathetic to my plight after I immediately contacted them when I saw where I was staying. The hotel is quite nice, however it is a "boutique" hotel, meaning small, sheik rooms with ONE QUEEN bed that a friend and I will have to share. In addition the only thing separating the bed from bathroom is a GLASS wall. I didn't want THAT kind of view for $300.00 per night!

I have made many hotel reservations through Hotwire and been satisfied in the past. This time however i was very unsatisfied. I specified a hotel in Long Beach, Ca thinking that the hotel would actually be in Long Beach. I was wrong, the hotel was located 8 miles outside of Long Beach. They told me i agreed to the area when i selected Long Beach! maybe they should state long beach and surrounding area. If this was the case i would certainly not purchased the hotel from them. The customer service i recieved was the worst I have ever recieved from any travel company. I was cut off, put on hold for 1/2 hour and told by the supervisor not to book with them again! I would strongly advise you dont use this service....Use travelnow or priceline instead!

Beware of Hotwires small print (no changes or refunds allowed), but in the end, the Airlines get the money. By the airlines overbooking every discounted flight if you try to change for whatever reason (with out purchasing Hotwires insurance)and you cannot redeem the ticket, the Airlines resells your ticket thus doubling the money. My experience was with American Airlines who would not even consider changing the ticket, who's representative stated "All the airlines do it". And a supervisor who treated me as I had a severely rooted personal problem. Maybe this is just an add for there insurance (Orbitz, Hotwire,etc.) But I lost my money anyway. I hope you will learn from my $325.00 mistake!

I have used Hotwire; for last minute family trips to the Florida Keys, business trips, and a cruise. So far I have been pleased with the speed and accuracy of the service. While I might have stayed elsewhere on some occasions, the great rate I was paying more than balanced out the weakness in the accommodations. So far I have not had any issues that would keep me from using Hotwire again.

I will not use Hotwire again! I booked a hotel on their website, for my 16 year old son and myself. After buying the room, I learned I had ended up with only one queen sized bed in the room. I learned it would be an additional $10 a night charge for a roll away bed. Some savings! The insult continued, after I learned that I could have went directly to the hotel's website to book this same room for $25 less. One must not assume to be getting a good deal.

Initially I was ecstatic that I'd used hotwire.com to find a rental car.  200/week was awesome.  It was so awesome that I used it again during the week to book a hotel room.  When I went to pick up my "car" which was supposed to be similar to a Pontiac G6 or Chrysler Sebring, I was offered a PT Cruiser.  To get the Chrysler Sebring (from Avis) I had to pay an additional $7.00 / Day.  This does not seem like decent / fair business practices.  I instead took a downgrade, a Hyundai Accent for the same cost as the mid-sized wagon.  I will never use hotwire, nor Avis, nor any of Expedia Inc.'s companies again.

Everything works fine but they only saved me $4 on a 4 star hotel and I didn't get to choose which hotel I was going to stay at. It is a GAMBLE and you definately have the chance to LOSE when you gamble. Look for more reviews and you'll see the majority are NEGATIVE. I feel lucky I didn't lose out too bad.

Hotwire let me down... but I'm lucky... as it was only in principle... and a few $$$.
I booked a hotel in Rome for 4 nights... and when I found out the Name of the hotel after my win... I checked Venere.com and found it to be slightly cheaper. I actually booked the cancellable reservation through Venere.com and contacted Hotwire about their lowest price guarentee. They told me that they checked, and that their price to me was lower than Venere's. Huh??? Wait a minute! I *have* a reservation from Venere.com that is less than Hotwire's, and yet theyre telling me that Hotwire's (higher) price is better?
I re-email them to reiterate that I hold a reservation for a lower amount, and they tell me that it has to do with a) Conversion rates, and b) Venere's total amounts include VAT and fees are not detailed for comparison.
Right.
I ask to have my Hotwire purchase cancelled, as I hold a reservation for less $$$ and Hotwire won't honor their price guarantee. No luck.
I had a great stay, it wasn't much money difference, but. HOTWIRE Customer Service SUCKS.

My Wife works for a small PR firm and needed a cheap fight and hotel in Philly. Her boss did not tell her a specific time for arrival or departure, just the days. So she put in her info and hotwire found her a flight on US Airways and a hotel.

The hotel turned out to be 5 blocks from the convention center even though it was supposed to be only 1 block. The prices for the hotel and plane fare were both the same as you could get by going direct to the hotel and airline. Finally when my wife decided to try to change the flight both Hotwire and US Airways would have nothing to do with her. The only option offered was to purchase a totally different flight at full fare.

If you work, have children or at all have a life that you would like even the smallest amount of control over DO NOT USE HOTWIRE! My personal experience has been that Expedia is the easiest and cheapest to use when you have to have things your way.

Hotwire is a scam. Plain and simple. They actually don't have any true deals available, just the same prices available anywhere. They show a low "price" but always tack on horrendous "taxes" when you finally make the purchase. Of course, their low price guarantee only applies to the meaningless initial price, not the total. They keep the hotels' names secret not for the sake of the hotels, but to make it impossible to discover the scam by price comparing. Truly disgusting.

I booked a hotel room in San Diego through Hotwire. It was a 4 star hotel and after paying, I found out it was a new hotel I'd never heard of. Ok fine, let's check it out. So I went to the hotel's website and found the room I paid Hotwire $153 for was offered on the hotel's site for $129. So I called Hotwire customer service and they acknowledged the difference and said I'd be eligible for their double the difference guarantee, which would be $48. That was 3 months ago. Since then I've spent literally hours on the phone and heard every excuse known to man. I guess they feel that after enough time and frustration (I was on hold for 50 minutes this last time) that I'll give up. That's not going to happen because if I do, then their obvious opinion that my time is worthless will be validated. Consumers beware...Avoid Hotwire.com at all costs!