Hotwire

Do not use hotwire.com.  I reserved a rental car through them.  I tried to get on 3 different flights standby for that day.  When I couldn't get to my destination, I called to cancel the reservation and they would not refund my money.  Since it was for a funeral, which I missed, there was no reason for me to wait at the airport another day.  I had to dispute the claim with my credit card company.  They claim there was a notice saying no refunds, but I never saw it, or it was in the fine print with the other legal mumbo jumbo. 

Please don't use Hotwire service, they don't keep customer interest when they book. I was provided a hotel reservation in Chicago Ohare (ALoft) for $60 a night, but this hotel charges $26 for parking which no one else does in the vicinity.

Hotwire doesn't check any of this and doesn't take responsibility for this as they consider this as outside of the room service, they don't show names for hotel like Aloft in their list, this is simple cheating.

They don't cancel the reservation, to get through their customer service minimum wait time for me was 50 minutes

This is simple extortion of the consumer in the name of best rates.

I had an absolutely horrible experience with Hotwire!

Although much of this was my fault, I am extremely dissatisfied with how Hotwire handled a Fraud Report I filed with them.

I had left my computer in a public place at my residence, and someone (unbeknownst to me) used it to place a hotel reservation with Hotwire. I have a program which stores my credit card info, etc. so when this person placed the reservation, all of this was automatically filled in. Whether maliciously or accidentally, the person using my computer placed the hotel reservation with my information. As soon as I got the confirmation e-mail in my inbox, I called my bank to cancel the card and Hotwire to cancel the reservation.

Now Hotwire is being INCREDIBLY difficult about refunding my money, and I fear I am going to be out $206 for a trip I AM NOT TAKING!

I have used Hotwire over 50 times and I'm 90% satisfied with the results. To minimize those dissapointments I have learned a few things: i) Don't go below 3 stars, and, ii) If prices are high in general for a select date, just go with a known hotel.

Hotwire doesn't differentiate between hotels, motels and so forth; further they don't have reliable neighborhood data. For this reason, every time you go below 3 stars you run the risk of a motel, a poor neighborhood, or both.

If the bargains are gone and prices seem relatively high for a given date when compared with orbitz, expedia, etc.., then hotwire price is only a slight advantage over retail. Considering the added risk of not knowing the hotel, it might be worth biting the bullet and getting a known hotel. You can still spin the wheel with hotwire, but you won't get that 'Hyatt Regency for $75' deal you're hoping for...

I used Hotwire a few times, and I found their so-called deep discount rate is really only a few bucks lower than what I can get elsewhere. They cheat you by not letting you know the name of hotels so you cannot really compare. Since they don't allow you to make ANY change, so the risk is too high to justify the benefit of only a few bucks of saving. Stay away from Hotwire and use other places.

I was not happy with using Hotwire and feel I was deceived about what I was paying for. The web site described the hotel as a 2 star hotel with the following description:
Our 2-star hotel suppliers include:
Comfort Inn, La Quinta, Days Inn, plus other top brands and quality hotels.
However, I was booked at the Port Vue Hotel in Clearwater. Which is described as follows on a a Trip Advisor posting:
"a cheap motel a guy rents after a day of working on a fishing boat. A place where he can flop on the bed without taking off his fishy smelling clothes."
So, beware of the description of the hotels. I will never use Hotwire again.

First time user: I wanted to book a package that I had been monitoring for some time and it finally dropped to a very cheap rate. I called Hotwire on the phone to ask a question and was ASSURED that my package price would hold in the time it would take me to call the hotel to ask another question. It didn't: the flight and hotel booking failed ("technical difficulties"), but they managed to bill my credit card just fine. I did get the funds released from my credit card company, but what a pain. And in the meantime (approx 10-15 minutes), of course, the price went back up significantly. When I talked to a supervisor at Hotwire looking for some compensation, she said there was nothing she could do. She also said, "THE PRICES THAT ARE SHOWING NOW MAY NOT EVEN BE THE REAL PRICES" due to their technical issues. Seems, then, that they would shut the site down, but they don't. When I asked how anyone could trust that what they were buying was really what they were getting, she dismissed the question and suggested I just take my business elsewhere. I will. So should you.

I thought HOTWIRE would be a good deal for me to get a hotel room at a major city since the map gave me a pretty good idea of my location. Unfortunately I ended up paying $15 more than if I had just walked in. What really burned me was I saw 2 billboards on my way there that gave a rate of $15 less than my Hotwire rate. I tried to get the difference refunded because their helpful website shows exactly how to do that. Instead I got back a message saying I had not found the lower price within 48 hours of my booking. When I responded that I found the rate within 2 hours of my booking they responded that they could not confirm that rate through the hotel. When I responded I had a receipt from the hotel with that price on it, they said I must be confused & that they could no longer work with me on this. I wish I had checked this site before using them, but at least I know now.

Used Hotwire.com for the first time this weekend (6/30/07) and the experience was BAD. They didn't proceed with their payment to the Hotel which caused the hotel to make me give them another credit card upon check in. Hotwire didn't honor their price guarantee when the hotel gave me a lower price even though I spent almost 2.5 hrs speaking to them on the phone that the problem started with HOTWIRE.com and not the hotel.

Overall...the customer NO SERVICE rep I spoke with was good at providing NO SERVICE. Didn't honor their agreement and their CS was poor.

Hotwire expects two business associates (two 250 lb men) to share a double bed. If the hotel refuses to honor the price you pay when you arrive and find that HotWire has confirmed you in a small double bed, you will be forced to pay any additional amount required by hotel to obtain two beds. In my case an additional $100.00. According to Tanya, a customer care supervisor, HotWire always confirms only one bed if reserving for two people. BEWARE. The cost for a HotWire hotel could easily be more expensive than if you book it directly!

What a fraud! I will never use this rip-off agency again! Use hotels.com at least you will know what to expect before you are required to commit. PayPal is as much of a rip-off; no wonder they are affiliated!

HOTWIRE are liers- its that simple. Had a long run in with them over a difference in there star ratings to what I was given. Told that the quoted Regular retail price was a)the hotel regular rate advertised on other sites b) the average of hotels of that star rating in the area c) A PRICE YOU COULD EXPECT TO PAY. The last two were by supposed executive from customer service. The rate actually is that of the hotel and it fluctuated $40 down after my booking then $40 up after 24 hours. I wish I had more time but there is so many bad things going on...they lie!!!

DON'T USE HOTWIRE.COM!  The reservation stated the price for a Days Inn, Comfort Inn,etc, we got a Tropic Motel, no breakfast, cheaper on hotels.com than what they charged, and was a cockroach Inn.  THIS WAS AWFUL!!!!!  CUSTOMER SERVICE WOULD DO NOTHING ABOUT THE SITUATION!

We were very satisfied with our car rental through Hotwire. The price we paid was half the cost I could find anywhere else. The car was rented through AVIS and we had no problems picking it up. Since there are no refunds through Hotwire, I would recommend it for last minute reservations and for low cost reservations only. I would not want to risk losing a big purchase.

On your own risk!!! I recommend my friends don't ever order anything from Hotwire. Why? Two things: First, their rating methodology is very tricky. I received a dump in Miami Beach for a 4 stars hotel I reserved. They have a small variety of hotels to offer, usually these hotels are unattractive in the first place from various reasons of poor service, bad location or simply unclean and old. Therefore, these hotels offer rooms for a little less (10-15%), but they usually do not worth your money to spend on for your vacation. You cannot complain or cancel, they have a very strict policy that they don't make any exceptions to - NO CANCELLATIONS no matter what happen to you. Second, Their website tends to crush at the time you press the order button, you may think you didn't make a transaction, but you did although you never received a notice of the hotel you "won", you will see it in you credit card record.