HotwireReviews 770

The issue we had with this hotel is its relationship with Hotwire and how this relationship affected us. We were put in a room with a malfunctioning tv. When we asked why we were assigned a room with a known problem, we were told that we were placed in this room because we were "reduced fare" customers. It was 10:30 at night and we didn't want to change rooms; however, for us the concern is that being a Hotwire customer apparently means we may be seen as inferior guests at some hotels. As we would rather not be considered lepers, I believe this will be the last time we use Hotwire which is disappointing as we have used your service throughout the US, Canada, and Europe.

Do not use! Hotwire gives you the opportunity to pay more! By using a "low price guarantee" that compares apples to oranges Hotwire never has to honor this so-called guarantee. Point being, Hotwire requires payment up front, however Hotwire won't consider doing so with the supplier directly equivalent. They always compare their price against less restrictive terms. Pretty cleaver - buyer beware - in fact, I suggest buyer go elsewhere!

NEVER use the Hotwire Hot Rate to book your hotel! Use any other company. Hotwire is totally inflexible when it comes to changing the room even if they book you into a fleabag hotel. Hotwire also charges taxes and fees on top of the listed price. So we ended up paying more than the Expedia rate for the Fleabag hotel room Hotwire gave us. We paid 3 months in advance for this fleabag hotel room from Hotwire and they over charged us with hidden costs. Hotwire charged us $156 and the Expedia rate was 143, payable on arrival and you could cancel any time right up to the date. I will never use HOTWIRE again. They don't care about their customers!

I initially had some great experiences with nice hotels at great prices, and cheap rental cars. However, I have recently had several negative experiences which have made me decide to avoid using this site ever again:
-cancelled flight - was unable to change my car reservation
-booked a rental car only to discover that I could have gotten a much better price on several other sites
-booked a room when stranded at the airport, only to find out that it was a smoking room; because it did not say 'non-smoking' in the description! I could have booked at a similar price at booking.com (which I subsequently did) with total flexibility and ability to cancel. As it was, Hotwire got my $100 and I had to find another room for myself

In summary: there are cheaper, better, more flexible options than Hotwire. I will no longer use this site.

I was burned twice by Hotwire. The first time I bought roundtrip airfare to Miami. The airline canceled out my return tickets, claiming I had made that decision. I appealed to both US Air/American and Hotwire, both of whom couldn't care less that they stranded my family and me. We had to buy new tickets to get home, cutting our vacation short and costing more money.

The second incident was when I showed up in Miami to claim my Hotwire National car rental. National had no record of me and no car. Hotwire struck again! Every time I've had an issue and phoned Hotwire I get offshore people who don't speak English well and who couldn't care less about me.

Hotwire.com is a great way to pick up sweet deals on hotels, but has a bad history in meeting the accommodation requirements that it's customers sign up for. Sources at hotels recount that many customers who previously stated on hotwire.com that they require 2 beds are only provided with a single bed room upon arrival. This lack of attention to detail by hotwire.com creates stressful mix-ups at inconvenient times during already high-anxiety trips.

Hotwire.com has a good premise but it needs to improve upon it's booking system and customer service before I would recommend booking with them.

Written by Nick Mau, hotel review enthusiast

I called Hotwire regarding a hotel room in New Orleans, LA. I was trying to confirm that the facility had a hot tub. The woman with whom I spoke said that she had no way of knowing that information. She instructed me to purchase the room online, and if it didn't have a hot tub, call back and cancel. I could then try a different hotel and go through the process again. I made the reservation, the hotel did not have a hot tub, I called Hotwire to cancel, but I was instructed that the room could not be cancelled per their cancelation policy. I said that this was unacceptable and requested to speak with a supervisor. She was not much help; she offered a $50 credit toward my next Hotwire reservation, and I said that was unacceptable. She said that all of the phone calls are recorded, so she would attempt to get a transcript of the call I had with the representative who instructed me to make the purchase. I never heard back nor did I get the $50 credit. I spent over an hour trying to get this matter resolved with Hotwire.

Once I got to the hotel in New Orleans, I was thoroughly disappointed. The room was tiny, not clean, and the breakfast that was advertised on the Hotwire Website was not edible. We had to go out for breakfast.

Due to all of the above-mentioned issues, I decided it was best to dispute this amount with you rather than wasting any additional time with Hotwire.