Hotwire

I booked a car reservation on Hotwire, and noticed that the pick-up time on the final page was reset to the default 12 noon. I of coursed changed it to the right time before booking, but the final reservation confirmation still showed the default time of 12 PM!

I called, and they offered to book another reservation and cancel the previous one. Sounds good, but now it costs more, and they refuse to pay for the difference. The difference is only $2! I said it's a matter of principle that they should pick that up. They said they have no way of verifying that it was a system issue, so they can't do anything. I said so you don't believe me, your customer, and you're risking losing a customer over $2! They were very rude and I will never use Hotwire again.

I will not recommend Hotwire to anyone based on my recent experience with booking a hotel. Their hotel selection is of very poor quality. They will put you in a very cheap hotel with extremely poor ratings. The staff is very unhelpful and rude. They wil NOT allow you to change no matter how unsatisfied you are with the hotel. I lost my reservation fees because the hotel was unlivable.

Hotwires ad wording is ambiguous and misleading. They booked me for a hotel, great price, but left out the fact that there would be an added $50 a day to park at the hotel. They refuse to refund and reserve a different hotel. They tell me they don't actually include the parking fee bc most hotels don't have those fees. So, they are admittedly banking on the fact that, though it says in some inconspicuous place (that we never saw) that there may be other charges, we consumers will naturally assume there isn't a parking fee. Completely misleading. Customer service was extremely rude and condescending in their emails. We were never able to get through by phone. I know the strength of the consumer voice, and after reading a plethora of complaints on the web, I am hopeful that at one point the parent company and/or consumer laws will eventually hold them accountable. False advertising, misleading and ambiguous wording...I join the ranks of so many other voices in saying,"I will never use Hotwire again."

Hotwire has really good deals. I go to specialtraveloffers.com To take advantage of hotwire travel offers. Find that they have great pricing most of the time.

Hotwire is not trustworthy.

According to their website, Holiday Inn hotels fall into the 3 starts category. However, they rate some Holiday Inn as 5 stars hotel!!!! The rating they use is their OWN rating.

Once a reservation is made, it is not cancellable. I've spent hours calling, waiting, aking for a supervisor... no way to get anything: "This is a final reservation".

In short, buying on Hotwire is like going to a blind date. Their rating system is a joke.

That's unfortunately something I've learned after being fooled by Hotwire. I hope this review will help others avoid this trap.

My flight got cancelled.  Hotwire did not call or inform me about the cancellation.  Nonone was not willing to assist with rebooking - just kept sending to the aircompany.  The aircompany said that Hotwire was supposed to take care of that since I booked a flight and paid through Hotwire.  Disappointing and irritating.

HOTWIRE SUCKS! We paid $700 for a 2.5 star hotel . When we arrived it smelled like pee and was nasty. We left within an hour & used hotels.com to find a better room. Hotwire looked into it and said they still felt it was a 2.5 star and there are no refunds. The hotel was under MAJOR construction as well. DO NOT BOOK WITH HOTWIRE!!!!

Hotwire is a complete fraud. It is a shame the executives are not in prison.

Try and book a last minute flight at hotwire and they will post what looks like a cheap flight. Then when you click on it to lock in the flight it magically becomes unavailable and the actual price is the same as orbitz or expedia and often more. This happens every time.

They should be forced to close down for fraudulent activity. Why they are allowed to do this is upsetting.

A truly horrible experience.   First time Hotwire user- I will never, ever use it again, and want to make sure I share my experience with any other potential customers.  I booked a rental car through Hotwire for "Houston".  There was never any mention in a pop-up or a warning that there are apparently two airports in Houston, approximately 45 minutes away from each other.  My flight was booked into one airport, and when I got my confirmation, I realized that the "Houston" option Hotwire gave me was in the wrong airport.  I contacted Hotwire three days before the scheduled pick-up to switch to the correct airport and after three transfers and two disconnects (one from a supervisor in India) I was told that it was my responsibility and that they could not help me.  National was equally unhelpful because it was a "Hotwire" reservation.  I am disputing the charge on my credit card.   A miserable experience.

I booked a 3 star hotel in Houston, TX that was comparable to a Holiday Inn express. I figured, what the heck? For $65, I could gamble on the particular hotel. I then found out it was a less than 1 star ECONO LODGE. How can you claim to give me a 3 star hotel and then bait and switch me to a 1 star. Secondly, I asked for a non smoking room since I had kids with me. They gave me a smoking room. The hotel was very rude and inconsiderate, basically telling me I was SOL and to call Hotwire. I am a travel agent myself with 2 travel websites. I called Hotwire and told them I would be willing to put my travel credentials on the line that the hotel I was staying at was NOT a 3 star hotel. This place was totally nasty. I will NEVER use these folks ever again. It is a gamble when you book with them and you are always going to get screwed.

I am very dissatisfied with my recent purchase at hotwire.com. I rented a car for 6 days in which my boyfriend was going to be the driver. As it turns out the only way he can be covered on his car insurance is when he uses his business credit card to pay for the rental. Well I had already put the charge on my card and when I called to try to change it, I was told there was no way that could be done and I couldn't even change the name of the driver to myself!!! So now we have to pay an additional $9.99 per day to add me as the driver, or pay an additional $11.99 per day for their insurance. So much for a good deal. Then I also found out that it is just as cheap to rent a car using your AAA Card or AARP Card. In other words, I will never use Hotwire again.

Used hotwire to book hotel and car rental and saved substantial money. Cross-checked prices on biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com. Some of the hotel reviews can be found on tripvisor.com. It did take a bit of homework to determine if I was getting a good deal but was worth it. Will use hotwire again.

The worst system I've ever used. I will make sure I report this to every travel website I use. I found a car two classes better and 25% lower after I booked with Hotwire. Horrible set up that you can't back out or renegotiate your price after booking 3 months in advance thinking you're getting a good deal. NEVER USE HOTWIRE AGAIN and I'll be sure to let EVERYONE know what a rip off it can be. I will copy this note and post it anywhere I can.

I have Used Hotwire 4 times in the last year. The best deal was a 4 star hotel in indy last year at this time. I gave 66.00 plus taxes and stayed at the Omni. The next time i used them i stayed in st louis at the Sheridan suites for two nights and gave 152.00 for two nights. Great hotel and was rated 3.5 stars. We also stayed at the holiday inn holidome in lexington, ky for 49.00 a night. That was rated a 3 star. Avg room with great ammenities for kids. Our next hotel is the Gault house in louisville, ky this weekend rated a 4 star. I'm not sure about the rating on this hotel yet but its for a convention and everybody else is staying there for 149.00. we got it for 210.00 for both nights. Just use common maps and search any hotel site to see what hotels are in the area where ur gonna stay and u can get within a hotel or two of where your prolly gonna stay, as long as it's a four star or above. at least that has been my experience. Good luck and go HOTWIRE.............

Horrible customer service. I'll never use these people again nor will I use their parent company, Expedia for that matter.  My wife and I booked a trip to London in June. In late July I was diagnosed with cancer and was not allowed, due to my MD orders to go on the trip, as I was going through chemotherapy. To make a long story short, we had to cancel the trip. We did get our money back from the hotel but are still going thorugh hell and back triyng to get something out of our flight. They said we had to use the same airlines, United and BMI to get our full credit. Amazing how they told us 2 months earlier it would be flight credit. Needless to say, all Hotwire cars about is getting your money then screwing you over when you need them most. Go through Travelocity. They are cheaper by a few dollars anyway. I can only hope no one will lose the thousand some odd dollars we may lose. My only hope is that Hotwire will fold and disappear so honest consumers won't be taken advantage of again.