Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Ft. Lauderdale (Downtown) Amerisuites

[LglBlonde]

Total price $188 - VT - $99 - diff of $66 x 2 = $132 refund - should have been a $55 net rate.

Following the lead of Treycass - I attempted to book Hotwire's 2.5 star in the DT zone of FLL - sure enough it was the Amerisuites on 17th Street. I submitted my DTD request w/ the mistake of only sending the Valuetrips.com website price and not actually having a confirmed (cancellable) reservation with them.

I booked Friday night 2/3 and received the following email today:

I am sorry to advise after reviewing the information you submitted, we

have determined that you are not eligible for a refund under the Low

Price Guarantee, because the rate you provided is not shown unless a

reservation is completed and credit card information entered. The Terms

and Conditions for the Low Price Guarantee state:

The Low Price Guarantee applies only to non-qualified rates available

to

the general public in the same hotel, on the same dates and for

equivalent room types as were booked by the Hotwire customer. The Low

Price Guarantee does not apply to membership or corporate rates or

special discounted rates including AAA, AARP, employee, military,

government or convention rates.

At first I attempted to call HW - but was placed on hold so long - and in the meantime, I realized I needed to confirm w/ VT before "making my case." I sent the VT submit form about 9 am this morning (Sunday 2/5) but have not received confirmation and I'm not even certain they work Sundays.

Looks like 1) I've learned a $138 lesson; 2) this is due to the fact that previously, I used the hotel's own website for my DTD requests - which have LIVE inventory as opposed to "request" inventory.

If I can get the VT response prior to this evening, looks like I'll be disputing w/ my CC company.

[thereuare]

If you do get information that the VT rate is bookable, i would submit it to Hotwire (even if you don't get a reply until Monday). If rejected, then bring it to your CC company.

[LglBlonde]

UPDATE:

Valuetrips.com confirmation came late Monday - I got it this morning (Tuesday Feb. 7) - I first emailed Hotwire, then decided to call them instead. They asked me to fax it to them, and I'll be doing so shortly.

[LglBlonde]

Prior to having the chance to fax the information (I'm on the ground floor of my building and the fax is on the 4th floor!) - I received the following email from Hotwire.

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for contacting us regarding a refund decline, Hotwire

Itinerary Number *********.

We appreciate your feedback and regret that we are unable to honor your

Low Price Guarantee claim. While we realize this is disappointing for

you, we have not changed our decision regarding the validity of the

claim. Again, we would like to offer an explanation as to the basis for

this decision.

For your review, I have provided below the portion of the Low Price

Guarantee terms and conditions that explains why your submittal was not

accepted.

We have determined that you are not eligible for a refund under the Low

Price Guarantee, because the rate you provided is not shown unless a

reservation is completed and credit card information entered.

To view the Terms and Conditions in full, click on the link below or

copy and paste it into your browser

I've emailed them back and let them know I'll be disputing the charges w/ my Credit Card Company.

[treycass]

I hope this works out for you and Hotwire will change their mind and credit you with the $132. I have felt bad for missing your previous post.

[thereuare]

Hotwire is just plain wrong in this instance, as the above is not in their Terms and Conditions. I believe they are trying to use the information below which is in their T&C:

The lower rate must be available for booking. Some sites display rates that are not actually available when you try to book.

This does not say that the rate shown has to be bookable online, but that the rate must be available for booking. If they stopped at the first sentence i could possibly see their interpretation, but the second sentence reinforces that if the rate is available, which you have proved with the email confirmation, then it should be a valid claim.

The following is further evidence that the rate does not necessarily need to be directly bookable online, since a user viewing an online only rate would never need to speak to a hotel representative.

In order to verify its availability, Hotwire may request additional information regarding the lower rate from the customer including, without limitation, the URL address reflecting the lower price or the name of the hotel representative that quoted the lower rate

I'd also recommend printing a copy of their current T&C while you dispute with your credit card company, just in case they change the wording in the next few days.

Please keep us updated.

[LglBlonde]

Thanks - I've filed a complaint with BBB and I've also emailed my Credit Card company. I'll let you know how that goes. Do you think I should keep pursuing HW too w/ a phone call?

Any idea how dealdiva is fairing?

[thereuare]

I would make one more attempt on my own (just to give Hotwire the benefit of the doubt). As per your last phone call they asked you to fax in the documentation, which is what they need in order to make a determination as to whether or not your claim is valid (since this is the information that proves that the rate is avaialble for booking).

Not sure why they sent you the additional email before you even had a chance to fax it (perhaps that was in response to a prior contact with them and the fact that it came shortly after your most recent call with them is coincidental?... doubtful, but possible).

I would fax them as you were originally going to do, and add a note "as per your request from our previous conversation, enclosed is the proof that the lower rate i found is bookable and available. Please adjust my account accordingly and notify me once this has been done."

Regardless of their reply, this would be my last contact with them in this regard and i would then leave it up to the credit card company to take care of it (the BBB is worthless in my experience... maybe this is different because Hotwire has the "BBB online reliabilty" logo on their site which means that: "The company has agreed to work with its customers and the BBB to resolve complaints that might arise", but i've never had success in having the BBB help resolve a problem)

[LglBlonde]

Now, upon my phone call - they are stating they've not received my fax yet and they could not

"open the attachment" on my email - even though according to Yahoo, it was "internal" in the message and not an attachment.

So, they are saying once they receive the fax and have time to process it, they will reconsider.

The saga continues...

[LglBlonde]

:) :)

I'm so happy I could cry!!

Dear J----,

Thank you for your message regarding the Hotel Low Price Guarantee for

Hotwire Itinerary Number **********.

I am sorry that you were not happy with our previous response to your

Hotel Low Price Guarantee request for this itinerary. Based upon the

additional information you provided, your request has been approved and

forwarded for processing.

The Hotwire Low Price Guarantee applies to non-qualified rates

available to the general public in the same hotel, on the same dates and for

equivalent room types as were booked by the Hotwire customer. The lower

rate must be available for booking. The format of www.valuetrips.com is

such that it lists rates without confirming availability for specific

dates until after you have provided a credit card and done an actual

booking.

Obviously, Hotwire was unable to take that step for confirmation.

However, your own booking is sufficient documentation of the rate

availability, and it will be honored. Please accept our sincere

apologies for this inconvenience, and allow about four business days

for confirmation of your refund.

Our goal is to consistently exceed your expectations and we regret that

we did not do so on this occasion. We hope to have the opportunity to

better serve your travel needs in the future.

Thank you again for your email and for using Hotwire. If you have any

questions about this message, please respond by email to

[email protected].

Sincerely,

Steve M

Hotwire Customer Care Supervisor

www.hotwire.com

THANK YOU THEREUARE FOR YOUR SUPPORT, SUGGESTIONS, and ASSISTANCE!

[thereuare]

THANK YOU THEREUARE FOR YOUR SUPPORT, SUGGESTIONS, and ASSISTANCE!

We support those who support us!! :)

Bottomline i'm glad to hear that this was just a case of Hotwire not seeing your confirmed reservation (which without the reservation inhand i could understand their position) and that in the end it all worked out very well for you.

Don't forget to contact your CC company and the BBB to let them know it has been resolved to your satisfaction... no sense in them continuing with the paperwork and follow-up since it is no longer necessary.

What was the amount of your refund you received? (as i don't follow the math in the beginning of the thread) I'll also change the title of this thread from "DTD rejected" to "less DTD".

[LglBlonde]

Refund should be $132. I'll post when I receive confirmation of the amount and the date of the refund for those interested in how long the "process" takes.

Thanks again!

[treycass]

I am really glad to see this work out for you!!!! Please post how long it takes you to receive your credit. I am still waiting. Today is the 8th business day.

[LglBlonde]

Yesterday, I received the email from Hotwire confirming the credit of $132 within 10 business days. I will keep you posted on when that comes through.

Treycass - this is my third DTD experience and with the first two, once they confirmed the credit, it always came through.

[treycass]

LGl Bonde,

Received my credit of $132 yesterday. Best deal on a hotel in quite some time for me!! Glad it worked out for you too!!!

[LglBlonde]

My credit "posted" on 2/9/06 but I'm not sure what date it actually showed up.

Net cost of $56.09 :) A real bargain for this area and this time of year - even the Super 8 (or similar) would have been nearly twice that!