Hotwire car rental - HNL

[Atraveller]

How often should one check Hotwire car rental rates? Should I check each time I submit a new Priceline bid? I have been bidding for a car rental in HNL in October, with no success yet, but I do have lots of time. But I sense that the few times I have checked Hotwire for my dates (since I began my Priceline bidding), the rates on Hotwire haven't changed. And yet on this Board I see others obtain great deals through Hotwire.

Are the Hotwire rates an indication of how high I may have to go for a successful Priceline bid, keeping in mind Pricelines fees are higher? Or is there no relationship between wins on Priceline and offers on Hotwire?

Thanks for your advice.

[Colfax]

The five rental companies that participate in Priceline also participate in Hotwire. Priceline usually (not always) beats Hotwire on rate.

If you see a price drop on Hotwire it's likely the Priceline rate dropped too, and that would be a good time to bid.

And yet on this Board I see others obtain great deals through Hotwire.

The car rental forums on BetterBidding can be misleading because they're skewed towards reporting wins and not all the failures, which I think probably outnumber the wins. There are certain circumstances and certain markets where PL and HW work well for car rentals, and others times and places where they just don't work. I often have good luck with weekend rentals or single day rentals, but rentals that combine weekdays and weekends are often problematic.

If you want more specific help please post the dates and car class you're looking for.

Also it's no longer consistently true that Priceline's fee is always higher than Hotwire's. Lately, on hotels at least, I've seen situations where Hotwire had a higher transaction fee than PL.

[thereuare]

What are the dates and car class that you're bidding for?

What is the HOTWIRE rate... what bid amounts have you made?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.