brentwoodgirl

I am happy to post our Priceline wins and dates to the correct threads. We booked them during our trip, so I didn't have time to put them here. We appreciate the information here as it helps people bid smarter. The money we saved on our Priceline stays help offset the $300+ night hotels we had in DC and NYC for 6 nights. I do think this is a great service and didn't mean for my last post to sound harsh. Our expereince with Hotwire was truly awful, and I think it's fair to let other people know so they can consider that when planning. I am assuming most people have better experiences or Hotwire would no longer be in business. Had Hotwire honored their guarantee and refunded the $5 at the beginning, that would have been the end of it. We would have still been paying more then the hotel rate and the hotel would still have been awful, but I would have felt like they honored their guarantee. I would have considered it a lesson about what Hotwire considers a 2.5* star. End of story. Maybe we got bad customer service reps at Hotwire, I don't know. But the frustration of paying more, the hotel being so bad, and them not honoring their guarantee for $5 made me decide to file with the BBB to warn other consumers. And I posted here to warn other people to be careful when booking with Hotwire.

We stayed at this hotel Friday July 16th for one night. I don't remember the amenities listed for the hotel room when we booked, we stayed in 8 different hotels during our 2 week trip. I checked the confirmation e-mail from Hotwire and don't see the amentities listed. Hotwire said they couldn't find the lower price on-line, even after I read them the URL. Then I sent it to them as requested, and they never responded. I understand that trying to undermine my credibility helps you because of your site. But this is the first time I have ever filed a BBB report against anyone. On the time vs. money scale, the $5 was not nearly worth it. I own my own business and have 3 children. But I felt like Hotwire misrepresented their services and guarantee, so I took the time to file the BBB complaint. We used Priceline 3 times during our trip and got great deals on nice hotels- an Embassy Suites, a Radisson, and a Residence Inn, all for $55 or less. We love getting great deals on travel and appreciate this site. But it's also fair to warn other people when Hotwire is charging more than the hotel directly for hotels that are worse than represented and not honoring their guarantees. Isn't this site about giving people information so they can make the best decisions regarding their discount travel?

I just wanted to follow up on this. I filed a Better Business Bureau Report against Hotwire for not honoring their Best Price Guarantee. The BBB reviewed the case and filed an official complaint against them. Hotwire has offered $25 in hot dollars or whatever they call them. Basically a Hotwire credit. We have turned down the credit (as it is not enough to book anything and we don't intend to pay them any more money.) So the BBB is now requesting they give us the credit back on our credit card instead. We will see what Hotwire does. The hotel was awful- peeling wallpaper in the hall, rooms, and bathroom. Mold growing in the bathroom. Water stains all down the wall by the air conditioner, Trash in the hallways. We stayed in 2 other Comfort properties on our trip that were lovely. This one was truly a pit. It was hard to believe they were all the same brand. We sent the information about how bad the hotel was to Hotwire during the course of the BBB compaint process and they responded that they had "inspected this property this summer and were confident in their rating." So be very, very wary of Hotwire's rankings.

Thanks for the replies. We did do research before booking. The 2.5* seemed to be averaging about $135 a night, so $79 seemed like a good deal. We also checked the list here, and it only showed one 2.5* star and it had great reviews and was about $140 a night. But I totally understood before booking that the list here wasn't complete and we could get a different hotel. I'm sure they are constantly adding and removing hotels. We have done 2.5* on Priceline many times and been very happy. We almost always have gotten something in the Marriott chain (usually a Residence Inn). I go to Midtown ATL several times a year and we always Priceline that and get one of 2 very charming Residence Inns there. I also understand that their guarantee only applies to the room rate. So in our case $2.51 difference. Doubled would only be $5.00 and we woudl still be paying $6 more. But I still expect them to follow their own guarantee for the $5.00. We travel very often and aren't newbies to discount travel sites. But this was my first Hotwire experience and will be my last.

We used Hotwire for the first time last night for a 2.5* in Williamsburg, VA- paid $79.00 rate, $97.04 including tax and fees. Got the confirmation and it was for the Comfort Inn Central- a 2* hotel by pretty much every other travel sites ratings. We go to the hotel's website and see a "Internet Users Rate" which is $76.49 for the same night, same room. With taxes & fees- $86.14. So we are paying $11 MORE to stay in this hotel because we booked through Hotwire. I contacted Hotwire and they are not willing to honor their "Best Price Guarantee", even for the rate difference of $2.50. So we are stuck paying $11 more than if we had booked it ourselved and we are staying in a 2* hotel after buying a 2.5*. We are going on a 13 night trip and were planning to use Hotwire to book most of it. But after our first experience, we will not ever use Hotwire again. Buyer beware- Hotwire doesn't always offer better deals and doesn't always honor its Best Price Guarantee when their price is higher. We will direct book and use PRICELINE for the rest of our trip. (Using the search on the top here.)

We have used PRICELINE often and loved it. Decided to take a chance on HOTWIRE. I booked a 2.5 star on Hotwire last night for $79.00. Got the confirmation and turned out to be the Comfort Inn Central- a 2 star hotel by almost every other travel sites ratings. So I was already a bit upset that the rating seemed artificially raised. Then I go to the hotel's website and see the "Internet User's Rate" of $76.49 for the hotel. With tax, that rate ends up being $11.00 LESS than what I am paying on HOTWIRE! I am so frustrated! I contacted HOTWIRE and they won't even honor there "Best Rate Guarantee" on the $2.50 rate difference. So we are stuck paying more than we should be and staying in a 2 star hotel. Caveat Emptor- Buyer beware!