MadFlyer

I noticed this 'Hotel Fee' as well on 4 star bids including the Times Square zone. It seems to be a Priceline fee and is not included when choosing a 4 star option from the Express Deal. The fee does not disappear even when bidding a high amount that is over going direct rates and remains constant. The 'Hotel Fee' is $27.50 per night for the date I am looking at booking. Even in a re-bid situation for a lower priced zone like 'Downtown, Financial District' the 'Hotel Fee' is included and thus the zone can not be used for a re-bid strategy.

The Renaissance had a normal rate 159 and elite rate of 135 for these nights.

Your post is very interesting for me. I have been a frequent Hotwire user over the years and use Priceline with even more frequency. I have been noticing a change with Hotwire over the past two years. I have had a couple of wins where the reported Trip Advisor did not match. I most recently had have had an incident where after I clicked the button, Pay this amount, they changed the amount on my billing on the next screen and they insisted on a screen shot of the price. I provided it and they then did not reply. When I complained again, they finally replied that they would remove the extra charge, but it might take 3 months or so, but I could get dollars to spend again with them right away. I also won a hotel in Madrid that has been on the Hotwire list here for years and they showed it having just 18 reviews and 100% recommended now. Now, the issue you have pointed out with this hotel is interesting. A December 2012 post states, 'What a transformation" Almost all the reviewers of this hotel with Trip-Advisor have only one review posted. Then, also very odd, is that this hotel has every single post getting a helpful vote. This inflates there rating. While if I was Trip-Advisor, I would research a property with this many single review posters and all with helpful votes, there is another issue. Trip-Advisor and Hotwire are owned by the same company. It seems hotels can now re-set their Trip-Advisor rating somehow. I wonder if this hotel really did just open in 2012 and find it odd that all the reviewers have been so helpful. I have about 80 Trip-Advisor posts out there and in years have only 50 or so helpful votes. While it does not help you, I had figured out this was this hotel by using a Hotwire foreign site. There they tell you over how many reviews a hotel has. This hotel says 25+ reviews on the international websites. The American Hotwire website does not provide this feature. So, if you know a foreign language, you can get one more piece of info prior to booking. Thanks for your post. Unfortunately, it will only help those looking at this particular zone, but it seems to be happening all over with Hotwire. Well, another point is that the 3 star currently on Hotwire also shows a 4,5 rating but is a Comfort Suites that is even farther away. I know that as it shows only 60+ reviews on Tripadvisor through Hotwire international sites.

Hotwire had a promo on their website to save $20 and as this hotel was showing 100% recommended now and a score of 5 for location, I went ahead and attempted purchase. To get the promo the total with taxes had to come to over $100 total. This hotel was just over the limit and made it a good value. I usually only use Priceline in Madrid for 5 star hotels as the 4 stars have just way too much variance in quality. Tryp Ambassador Upscale hotel Cuesta De Santo Domingo 5 Y 7, Madrid, ES, 28013 011 34 91 541 6700 Was a little disappointed as it was not a new hotel listing as it was showing only 6 reviews giving it it's almost perfect score. Not sure how Hotwire allows a hotel to 're-set' ratings, but this hotel has been around on Hotwire and Priceline for years. This hotel was showing 'still gathering reviews' after I booked, but showed 100% when I booked. I consider this activity by Hotwire misleading and not really appropriate. The listing of ratings should be consistent. Headline for listing : "Landmark hotel in great location" Current Amenities showing : Free Internet Fitness Center Self service laundry Rate per night: $86.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $17.59 Total:$103.59 Discounts: -$20.00 Trip total: $83.59 This converts to just 61 Euro. While this sounds like a great rate, I was able to book the Eurostar Plaza Major for the Sunday night following on their own website for just 43 Euro, but it was not available for this Saturday night. That said, this hotel is showing for 109 Euro on other websites and the hotwire rate with additional discount represents a total of 56% discount using Hotwire.

Hotwire had a $20 off offer today only and went ahead and booked using Hotwire, even though could have 'won' this hotel for around same rate with Priceline. Turned out to be a hassle as even though the $20 off showed in my confirmed amount to pay, when I hit submit, it removed the rebate prior to booking without notice. I ended up having to call and was required to submit a screen shot showing the rebate. If I had not caught immediately and been able to back up browser and copy the page they said they would have refused to give me the $20 off even though it was clearly showing the 'pop-up' when you logged in to Hotwire each time still. They refused without screen-shot. After I submitted the screen shot, Hotwire emailed me back about 5 hours later saying that the refund of $20 would be processed, but I can not confirm that yet. This know leads me to make the recommendation to those using special rebates to make sure to take a 'screen shot' showing the discount and to always check the actual receipt directly following the use of an offer. I actually consider it fraudulent behavior for a website to have the phrase "Confirm payment , You will be charged a total of 122.13" and then to charge another amount as payment. InterContinental Madrid Paseo De La Castellana 49, Madrid, ES, 28046 011-34-91-700-7300 Current listed amenities Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Spa Services Rate per night: $121.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $21.13 Trip total: $142.13 Rebate $ 122.13 (converts to 89 Euro) 153 Euro best rate on other websites for 42% discount with Hotwire.

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Sunrise-Ft. Lauderdale for just $48 a night. Happy with this hotel as near Sawgrass Mills shopping for last minute shopping prior to cruise to Panama and right where wanted to be. The four star options were not coming up using Priceline on this date. Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Sunrise-Ft. Lauderdale 3 star West Ft Lauderdale - Plantation 3003 North University Drive, Sunrise, FL 33322 Room $48.00 Taxes & Fees: $13.04 Total $61.04 $99 / $110 total with other websites for 46% savings. Expected same hotel coming up on Express Deal for $55, so a minor savings. Showing 7+ rating with free parking and internet featured. Then showing features in listing: Free Internet in room Outdoor Swimming Pool Free Parking Pets Allowed Restaurant Business Center Fitness Center

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Courtyard By Marriott Miami Downtown / Brickell for just $82 a night. Happy with this pre-cruise hotel, with rental car return just next door and only $15 a day self parking in Downtown Miami. Courtyard By Marriott Miami Downtown / Brickell 3 star Miami Downtown 200 Southeast Second Avenue, Miami, FL 33131 Expected hotel from $96 PRICELINE EXPRESS deal. Won for 15% under express. Showing 8+, guest favorite, free internet, pool, restaurant, business center and fitness on Express deal description. $199 Bid 1 $76 Denied with $18 re-bid offer for $94 Bid 2 $81 Denied Bid 3 $82 Accepted Room $82.00 Taxes & Fees: $18.99 Total $100.99 $199 / $224 total on website for 55% savings.

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel for just US$81 a night. Renaissance Zurich Hotel 5 star Glattbrugg - Zurich Airport (ZRH) Thurgauerstrasse 101, Zurich-Glattbrugg, Switzerland Room Subtotal: US$81.00 Taxes & Fees: US$14.34 Total Charged to Card: US$95.34 Did not try $80 but won on first bid at $81. 67% stated Priceline savings. $259 total on other websites.

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel for just US$81 a night. Renaissance Zurich Hotel 5 star Glattbrugg - Zurich Airport (ZRH) Thurgauerstrasse 101, Zurich-Glattbrugg, Switzerland 41-448745000 $255 on Marriott and other websites. Same hotel $96 as Express deal. 66% savings. Room : US$81.00 Taxes & Fees: US$13.96 Total : US$94.96 used link.

Sorry, Could you update to 8/29 to 8/30 for one night. I do always use the link to book and search, by the way.

$52 hotwire, $77 on other websites. Internet in lobby or 9 euros in room. Frequent shuttle. 3.5 trip advisor score, (international hotwire global websites show with 400+ reviews now as additional information) Am Weiher 20, Kelsterbach, DE, 65451 011 4961077680 Pet friendly Boutique Hotel Indoor pool(s) Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

When at $62 won on Priceline at $56 on another night. At this rate, not available with Priceline bid of $60. Will use Entertainment Book voucher for additional savings as a rebate. Last rebate took almost 3 months to post. Rate per night: $64.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $13.99 Trip total: $77.99

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale At Port Everglades for just $56 a night Saw the good HOTWIRE rate on same date and saved only $5 more with PRICELINE. Bid 1, $55 denied with $11 rebid at $66. Bid 2, $56 accepted. Rate on Marriott.com $109. Renaissance Fort Lauderdale At Port Everglades 4 star Downtown Ft Lauderdale 1617 Southeast 17Th Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Offer Price: $56.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $56.00 Taxes & Fees: $14.13 Total : $70.13

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, O'fallon, Illinois for just $31 a night. You saved even more with your $1.55 Priceline Hotel Coupon! Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, O'fallon, Illinois 2.5 star (used the PRICELINE link) O'Fallon - Shiloh 116 Regency Park, O Fallon, IL 62269 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $31.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $31.00 Taxes & Fees: $11.22 Priceline Hotel Coupon: -$1.55 Total $40.67 66% reduction

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Intercontinental Madrid for just US$98 a night. You saved even more with your US$4.90 Priceline Hotel Coupon! Intercontinental Madrid 5 star Castellana - Chamberi - Salamanca Paseo De La Castellana, 49, Madrid, Spain Room Subtotal: US$98.00 Taxes & Fees: US$18.74 Priceline Hotel Coupon: -US$4.90 Congratulations! Your 5% coupon applied! Total : US$111.84 Bid 1 of $97 not accepted with $114 rebid offer. Same hotel was most likely showing at $110 with Guest Favorite and 8+ (which eliminated the poor choice Melia in zone) Free Internet Free Parking Restaurant Business Center Fitness Center $175 rate showing on other booking channels for 44% savings.

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Wingate By Wyndham Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport Iah for just $34 a night Wingate By Wyndham Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport Iah 2½ star Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 1330 N. Sam Houston Pkwy E Houston, TX 77032 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $34.00 Rooms: 4 Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $136.00 Taxes & Fees: $31.76 Total Charged to Card: $167.76

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis At The Arch for just $46 a night 7% Bonus cash coupon applied. Hyatt Regency St. Louis At The Arch 4 star Downtown St. Louis 315 Chestnut Street, Saint Louis, MO 63102 Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $46.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 + Add nights for the same rate! Room Subtotal: $92.00 Taxes & Fees: $23.12 Priceline Hotel Coupon: -$6.44 Total Charged to Card: $108.68

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel for just US$90 a night. Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel 5 star. Central Turbinenstrasse 20, Zurich, Switzerland Room Subtotal: US$90.00 Taxes & Fees: US$14.50 Total Charged to Card: US$104.50

This was actually for Thu, 12/20/12 - Fri, 12/21/12.

This is a follow-up post. This reservation was not honored and the guest was sent to a hotel very far away from the center of Barcelona at the AC Hotel Barcelona Forum. The other hotel was paid and a cash refund was given directly in hand in Euro. I think many travelers would just accept this and they must know that. The taxi driver used for transfer said this is a frequent situation at many chain hotels in Barcelona as they overbook their top hotels and then send guests to their lesser properties. He specifically added the Hilton as a big offender of this practice for future reference. This was a unique booking as it was post cruise. I wanted a room for very early arrival and booked the night before in the name of a friend for 2 nights. The room was booked for double occupancy. When he arrived for check in at 8 pm on Friday the 19th of April he was told that the hotel was overbooked and he would be sent to another hotel. When requesting a stay in the same area at another chain, he was told there were no hotels available in the entire center of Barcelona. This was proven imediately to not be the case, with almost every 5 star hotel coming up when an imediate internet check was done on his mobile connection in the lobby. They still refused and called and paid a taxi. I arrived at the hotel at 8 am to get a copy of the key as my name was on file and to their suprise I presented my elite member card from Marriott. I had called the hotel and had said we planned to pay the 60 euro executive upgrade and gave them my elite number to have on file. This was necessary to get a room with 2 beds. It appears that there was no record of this put in the reservation. I have had 16 Priceline Marriott stays so far this year and they are starting to count the nights toward status now, but not always. I have had several business trips with Marriott as well. Upon my arrival, I demanded to speak with the Duty Manager of the hotel. She was not available and was only available when I went to the desk again 2 hours later. I asked her to call the Renaissance and inform of my plan to come and talk with their Manager on Duty. I asked for a copy of the voucher sent with my friend, but only an email was produced. I had told the security guard that I was there to see this manager and no offer was given to call him for me. I waited 20 minutes in line at the reception and to my surprise the Duty Manager I was there to see was the receptionist I got when I finished waiting. Why the guy did not tell me that was him I found odd. I asked him to be taken asside as I did not want to cause problems and most of the others in line were from the ship I had been on and I did not want further embarasement. Several checking in ahead of me had used Marriott Rewards points, as I overheard. They had already arranged a hotel change and I was very happy with the new sollution. I do feel this solution was only made available to me due to my elite status with Marriott though and other travelers might want to be prepared and that is the intention of my post now. The Manager handled this situation very professionally and performed well under this difficult situation. The problem is that this was not all settled until 2:30 pm. This also became a very negative comment on Priceline as the dinner conversation with a group of friends turned to how I had used a very cheap booking channel and that they were sure this happened due to using Priceine. Everyone was very frequent travelers and not Priceline users and I now doubt that they will ever use this service now. It did seem unusual to turn away a 2 night guest, to use a hotel only in the same chain even though many nearby available hotels and to send a 5 star guest to a 4 star hotel with no security safe. I want to add that I have booked hundreds of Priceline hotels and this is the only major incident that I have had. That said, the Spanish Pricline number on my confirmation did not work and an email to priceline was not even acknowledged with an auto-reply nor with any assistance. I could not call the toll-free number of course from Spain.

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Plantation for just $75 a night. Good location near Sawgrass Mills shopping and free parking and internet swayed me to choose for pre- transatlantic cruise stay. Had been checking for 3 months and beach and city hotels did not hold value at over $115 for 3 star with paid parking. This appeared exactly one month prior to stay for future timing. Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Plantation 4 star West Ft Lauderdale - Plantation 1230 South Pine Island Road, Plantation, FL 33324 Room Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes & Fees: $16.64 Total Charged to Card: $91.64

Congratulations. We just booked your stay at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel for just US$80 a night. Guaranteed amenities: 8+ rating, pets allowed, restaurant, fitness, business center Renaissance Zurich Hotel 5 star Glattbrugg - Zurich Airport (ZRH) Thurgauerstrasse 101, Zurich-Glattbrugg, Switzerland 41-448745000 Room Subtotal: US$80.00 Taxes & Fees: US$13.51 Total Charged to Card: US$93.51

I would not accept this. I would send a written complaint and would have recorded the name of anyone calling and ask that they confirm everything in writing as to the cancellation. The hotel has to open up inventory for it to be sold on Hotwire and can even put electronic limits on inventory sold on Hotwire and if you have a written confirmation and a charge to your credit card you have a booking. They can try to claim that it was open for sale in error, but they need to handle it in another way. While Hotwire can claim Delaware law, the hotel would have to hold themselves to UK consumer standards. That hotel is open for sale across many booking channels and the rate is similar to 3 times what you paid, a similar relationship in price I have seen for other London 5 stars. This would indicate that you had no way of knowing that the price was out of the normal range and booked in good faith. Airlines have canceled reservations that were clearly in error, but most airlines have honored their mistakes out of goodwill. How can Hotwire maintain credibility if they are allowed to cancel reservations and their terms and conditions clearly state that no reservation can be canceled after booking by the customer.

Needed a room for an overnight connection for very late arrival and very early departure. They did not even make me leave a card as there would be no outlets open where I could have charges in the 4 hours I was there. Fine for those purposes or with a delayed flight, but not otherwise. Airport shuttle was slow and hotel farther from airport than looks on map. Shuttle very full in early am with flight crews, so could get stuck taking a taxi in worse case. Holiday Inn Houston-Ictl Airport, TX Midscale See ratings guide 15222 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Houston, TX, 77032 Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Laundry Facilities (self-service) Tennis Nearby Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower Rate per night: $46.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $12.95 Trip total $58.95

With the Sheraton now showing up on Priceline in 3star, went ahead and took this very decent price on Hotwire. Have stayed here many times and always have rental car and like the nearby shopping and restaurants. Free Parking Free Breakfast Free Internet Airport Shuttle Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Wheelchair accessible Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower