Malice

Also... I'd love to know why my post was removed from the main hotwire forum. I wasn't refering to something that is specific only to California, but just the greediness of these companies in general. There is definitely some censorship taking place on this board.

The point of my post was not to say "I got screwed" or "Hotwire scammed me", it was to say "Hotwire has gotten greedy", which was the original title of my post. Yes, I agreed to the price, and once I found out that there was a lower published price, I took immediate action to get my "double the difference" guarantee. Crisis averted. The point is, these travel sites used to have real deals and values and earned a reputation thusly and now it's gotten to the point where if you don't double check them you could end up paying more than the room is worth. Everyone on this board seems to be very into traveling and apparently have the time to study the intricate workings of hotwire and priceline. My post was intended more for the average person who is using these sites based on their reputation for slashing prices, who believe their advertisements that say: "Pay less than standard room rates at top hotels. Save up to 75%!" and who might not bother to follow up. I'm not concerned with the way this board runs, as I'm not going to use hotwire or priceline anymore and therefore, have no need to visit it. I stumbled across this site when I did a search for others who were dissatisfied with hotwire. I just felt like sharing my experience with people who would be interested. If I sound defensive, I apologize, but the feedback I received from "bbbb" seemed a little harsh and the moderator's insinuation that I was trying to "get even with them" was unnecesary and untrue. You can't fight city hall, but you can warn your fellow citizens before they make the same mistake you did. I wasn't asking for a pity party from you Hotwire lovers... I was just trying to share the reality of what these sites are really about. Thank you

I think that all these sites (Hotwire, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.) have just gotten greedy. When they first started out they needed to get users, so they kept prices really low. Now you can get a lower rate directly from the airline or hotel than from any of these sites. In particular, I have a specific complaint about Hotwire. I purchased a 4 and a half star hotel in Century City, CA. (For those who don't know this is an extremely nice area, adjacent to Beverly Hills). The rate was $183, which sounded good to me. I booked the room and was informed that my property was the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa (which really is a beautiful hotel). Being a saavy consumer, however, I went directly to the hotel website and found that the same room I had booked for that night could have been bought through the hotel for $179. I immediately requested my double the difference payment, which i was granted. But it actually gets worse... the hotel then proceeded to try and double charge me for the room. I went to the front desk to clarify and found out that the rate hotwire had gotten the room for was $130. Thats a pretty huge markup if you ask me. Travel agents don't even charge comission that high! If they are getting rates that low, there is no reason that I should be able to book for less directly through the property. I contacted them and they were less than helpful. Nor were they at all apologetic. So I'm not using that scam of a service anymore and I don't think anyone else should either. The best method is to use Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity to find the lowest rates in the market/area and then go directly to the airline or hotel to make your purchase. At least that way you get the full benefits (frequent flier miles, hotel points and more lenient cancellation/change policies). I would love to hear any feedback.