Hotwire Hotel: Booking problems !

[tenerifesharon]

Hi Thereyouare and all:

I've spent most of the past hour trying to book a hotel through the HOTWIRE link above on this page :)

The details are 2 1/2* San Francisco Union Square West for Sept. 29 - Oct. 3, 2007 - price is $65.00

According to the cross-check with the package offers, I'm thinking it's the Diva Hotel (same amenities). I get to the final booking page, after entering credit card information etc, hit the button A N D get the error message that the hotel is no longer available. I close the browser to see if it's really sold out, give in all the details again, A N D voila, again the same offering of the 2 1/2 * for $65.00 This is getting to be a bit silly :)

I've tried calling Customer Care, but can't reach anyone because, of course, I have no booking number!!

Any ideas how I should proceed now?? Looks to be an O.K. deal IF I could book it.

Thanks - once again - for all your help.

[thereuare]

Give it a few hours (or a day) and try again.

The hotwire rate could no longer be available (although given this is so far in advance it's hard to imagine anyone else booking these dates at the same time as you) and the search is getting cached on the side of HOTWIRE's server.

[WillTravel]

This happened to me a bunch of times a year or so ago. Hotwire had a silly response as to why this was, but it didn't make sense. Basically, I think there is a bug, and there's not much you can do except trying again. I did eventually get the hotel.

(Possibly the response had something to do with the hotel not making inventory available, but if so, why did the hotel show up at all?)

If you want the hotel badly enough, you could try searching with more people, and see if that makes a difference. (It might not show up at all, then, though and the price is likely higher.)

[bbbb]

Did you try calling their reservation # 1-866-468-9473 ?

[tenerifesharon]

Thanks for all the help up to now!

I just reached Hotwire at the 1-866 number (had been trying before on the number to use internationally 1-920-634-3150 since I'm in Spain at the moment) and was told that the hotel inventory is being updated. Whether that's true or not I'm not sure, but since it's now 1 AM here, I'll put the computer - and me - to bed now and try again tomorrow.

Does anyone think that I'm correct in the assumption that it is the Diva Hotel? Amenities are: breakfast included, fitness center, restaurant, business center. (Same as in the packages.)

I know it's a long way out, but we get back to San Francisco on a cruise on the 29th of September and so I know that the plans are firm. If it is the Diva for $65 per night that would be o.k., if not then I'm stuck with it. The 4 stars are listed at upwards of $200 and priceline has been unresponsive up to $95. I guess I shouldn't be so impatient :)

Thanks again.

[thereuare]

That would be the best guess.

[tenerifesharon]

Continuing on with the San Francisco mystery story -- I'm still trying and still getting "itinerary no longer available" messages on this, 48 hours and multiple tries since I began.

The story gets better in that the second of the hotels I was interested in (2* showing restaurant and business center icons, which I believed to be the Metropolis Hotel at $64 per night), is now showing at $29 per night. GREAT -- tried booking it, same problem! Called Hotwire again and they tried booking it. They also couldn't get it to go through. They were very apologetic, but that doesn't alter my problem (and it would be a great price). Since the Diva Hotel and the Metropolis Hotel are under the same management, I can only assume there is some problem with their updating of the offering. But then, why reduce the price?? :)

[thereuare]

It could be a communication problem between HOTWIRE and the hotel... the system for the hotel to update prices may work, but the communication in the other direction may have hit a glitch.

At least if this is indeed the problem, nobody else is currently able to book it either so the inventory should remain the same :)

[tenerifesharon]

Surprise, surprise -- all the inexpensive hotel options were gone, POOF, when I checked again today! No $29, no $64, no $65. Guess I'll just keep looking and bidding through priceline - naturally through savingsbarn!

I do have 9 months -- enough for some people to have a baby or for me to find a hotel :)