keithandmissy

To answer the question, I would guess that was the rate that Hotwire was paying the hotel. Of course, Hotwire will charge you more than that amount (that's how they make money). However, you would never get the $62 rate with the hotel directly. At least in my experience, the times I've had a rate on my bill when booked through Hotwire it has been because the hotel's reservation system will not allow them to hide it. I'm making assumptions but I would guess that's the rate you saw. You paid $89 plus tax and fees per night, Hotwire keeps $27 per night plus their booking fee, and the hotel gets $62 per night, and the government gets their taxes. That's probably the breakdown of what you paid in this scenario.

This is definitely not just a Hotwire and Priceline problem. Resort fees are quite common in almost all tourist areas now. You could be staying at a 2-star dive and they will charge you a resort fee simply because they are located on Hilton Head Island or within miles of Walt Disney World. It really is a false way to lower their rates but it is a problem with the hotel - not the booking service. If you use Expedia, your local travel agent, or other booking method you would experience the same problem.

I have encountered what the OP is talking about. I understand fees that hotels have are not included like a resort fee, internet access fee, parking fee, etc. I understand those and they are quite common at hotels (especially 4-star ones) and it comes with the territory. However, what the OP encountered and I also did at the America's Best Value Inn near Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is another story. When I checked in they tried to charge me about $12 as a Hotwire Customer Fee. This fee put the rate I paid up to the advertised rate that was on their sign outside the hotel. When we complained to the hotel the manager said that in order to stay in business he had to make up for the fee that Hotwire takes from the booking and that he doesn't get. I tried to explain that that was a cost of doing business but it was like talking to a wall. I went on to call Hotwire Customer Service and they were very apologetic and called the hotel to find out more details. The hotel told them the same line they told me and Hotwire informed them they could not do that. Since it was peak season and we needed a room, I paid the fee, but Hotwire refunded it in the end. So, outside of the normal fees that hotels charge - for specific services - if the hotel tries to charge you a "customer fee" or whatever, make sure to call customer service as they are not allowed to do that.

Used your PRICELINE link to bid. Did $40 for 3* in Knoxville West, was offered an instant rebid if I increased by $12. I didn't do it, I continued to bid $41 by adding the airport zone, and then $43 by adding another free rebid zone and got it. Priceline calls this a Holiday Inn Select but looking on the Holiday Inn website it is just listed as a regular Holiday Inn. With the price on their website at $97, I think $43 is a good deal. The date is one night June 24, 2010 Thanks!

I am trying to decide between the following two options. We will be driving to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area from Tennessee for our cruise departing from Miami. The hotel stay would be 03/08/09-03/09/09. We don't mind driving from Fort Lauderdale to the port in the morning if it means a better or better-assured hotel from Hotwire. Here are the options: 3* Miami (Golden Gables-Miami Springs) for $64 (I don't think this hotel has been ID'd yet) or 3.5* Fort Lauderdale (Weston-Plantation-Davie) for $66 (Amenities are Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Hi Speed Internet) - I believe this should be the Sheraton Suites Plantation We are leaning towards the 3.5* in Fort Lauderdale simply for the fact of knowing what we're getting (at least reasonably so), and then driving to the Port of Miami in the morning. What do you think?

Got the Delta Toronto Airport West for $59 in the Toronto Airport area. This is for a stay from July 1-2, 2008. Amenities: Airport Shuttle, Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, High-Speed Internet, Spa

I got the InterContinental (100 Chopin Plaza) for the 4* Miami (Downtown) at $99. This is for 09/12/08-09/13/08 pre-cruise. Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Laundry

Got this for one night for $47 for 07/22 to 07/23. Cheapest price for that night was $90 on the internet. Total with taxes and fees came to $61 and change. Very nice hotel with friendly and helpful staff.

There are two Extended StayAmerica properties in Blue Ash, this one is the one on the south end, not the one on Kenwood Rd (I forget the name of the street).

I bid, $22, then $28 on 2* in Cincinnati Northeast/Blue Ash and was accepted for the $28. December 26-28, 2005.

The Kenwood Inn & Conference Center doesn't have their own website, they are part of the Best Western chain.

Our stay went well at this hotel. It is conveniently located near Highways 401 and 404 and the Don Mills subway station (with parking) is only about a two minute drive away. The rooms were great including Sleep Number beds! However, there were multiple hockey teams travelling and staying at the hotel and it was very noisy. When we returned to our hotel after being at the movies on Saturday night we found the hotel surrounded by eight police cars - nice! The security people at this hotel cannot handle hundreds of teens at once with no parental supervision. They should obviously not accept those types of groups reservations - they actually break a lot of property while they are there.

Kept adding areas that had no 3* hotels on Priceline and kept raising my bid from $25 until I got to $34. It was accepted by the Midwest Hotel & Conference Center. Cheapest price for this hotel is about $80 on the internet.

Did a bid for $40 in North York area for 3* (highest star rating available). It was rejected, increased by $12 to rebid in same area (an important factor for me), totalling a bid of $52 and I won. Got the Radisson Hotel Toronto East, it has a pool, whirlpool, restaurant, fitness center. Lowest price I found was $100 US per night on Priceline (Shop & Compare), and the hotel's website was selling for about $140 US. Over 50% savings - not bad!

The stay at the hotel went well. The hotel was very clean and very well decorated. It was exactly as we expected, we stayed on the 14th floor with a wonderful view of the city and pool deck. We had room service deliver our breakfast in the morning and the service and food was what you would expect for a high-end hotel. The hotel did tend to try to nickel and dime you (even local calls cost $1 each, valet parking at $22 per day, and high speed internet for $10 per day). We avoided all additional surcharges, except $20 for our continental breakfast. Overall a good stay and great value on the room rate, but watch the other expenses during your stay. The only issue was the hotel has been under constant renovation since being taken over by Marriott (it was formerly an Adam's Mark hotel). Also, the ice machine on our floor was out of order.

I e-mailed Hotwire and Priceline to find out if they ever plan on adding this feature. I haven't received any response. I will, however, be using Priceline and Hotwire when I don't care if the dog comes or not. When I do, I'll just use Hotels.com or some other discounter.

Got this room for $40 by searching downtown, Easton, airport, and Worthington areas for 4* and 3* hotels. Tried $35 and was rejected, changed to $40 and got this hotel. I checked and the lowest price available for this date at this hotel was $119 from Marriott's website. A great deal!