Looking for a great deal on travel or hotels? You might come across a website called Hotwire.com. They claim that you will save big booking their secret rates – where they only reveal the hotel to you after you put the payment on your credit card. Here are some things you should be aware of:
10 Reasons Not to Book with Hotwire:
- They give you an estimate of what the value is per night for the hotel you are booking. Note that this is not the value for the actual hotel you get. According to Hotwire; “Savings are based on the median published rate we’ve found on leading retail travel sites in the last 24-48 hours for the same neighborhood, star rating and stay date.” So you may think you are getting a $200 hotel deal – since that is the value they post – but your actual hotel that you pay $121 for is available elsewhere for $108 per night. Only you don’t find that out until you have booked the ‘$200 value’ room and find out you got one worth less than what you paid Hotwire.
- The description may list amenities such as a pool or gym. Again – that does not mean it applies to the hotel you get. It only means it applies to hotels in that category.
- No matter how much you dislike the hotel, how little it is worth, or if it doesn’t have the amenities you want – you are stuck. There are no changes or transfers permitted. They take your money before you find out which hotel you get.
- Hotwire will give you a general area on a map and tell you the hotel is within the boundaries. You may want to try and enlarge that map as big as you can – since the boundaries often stretch out of the desirable areas into surrounding ‘sketchy’ ones. For instance, I booked a hotel in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area and ended up with a hotel in the neighboring red light district of Kubuko. Apparently, it was still within their map borders even though I thought I was booking a hotel in Shinjuku per my search specifics.
- You have no say of what type of room you get – smoking, non-smoking, king bed, double, parking lot view -or of even being near each other if you book more than one room.
- You cannot make any changes to the dates despite plans being changed, death, sickness, flight cancellations, etc. No changes. No refunds.
- You cannot earn miles or points at the hotel with their frequent stay programs if you book through Hotwire.
- You are responsible for all additional fees including local taxes, resort fees, parking, etc.
- You should still confirm your reservation as there are untold numbers of people who complain online that their room was not held, there was no record of a reservation, the hotel requested payment even though they prepaid, etc. Make sure to bring a printout as proof.
- Lack of control. There are so many deals online through travel sites and information online through travel review sites that you can easily compare and contrast to find great hotel deals. This way you know the hotel is reputable, you may book without having to prepay, you can request the room type you want and you can be sure the hotel has the amenities you want in the location you want.
It is important to note that Hotwire is trying to get rid of inventory that the hotels can’t sell. They are working to sell consumers this inventory in the form of ‘deals too low to publicize’. I just wish I had read more user reviews rather than believe the’ 60% off hotel rates’ banner on the Hotwire website. Skip to the small print at the bottom of the page for a truer statement: “There is no guarantee these savings or rates will be in effect at the time of your search.”
So when booking Hotwire’s secret deals, you may end up getting a deal or you may not. Either way – you are stuck with it. Your card is charged and no changes or cancellations are permitted -as their less than helpful customer service will curtly inform you. It really is a case of buyer beware.
As for me, I prefer to know what I am getting before paying for it. Having been burnt once, I will not risk my vacation where the odds are stacked against me.
