Hotwire
Reviews and Complaints

I secured a large SUV online for 8 days. After I was charged hotwire connected me to a rental car company almost an hour and a half from my house. After on the line with an agent, she couldn't locate what I wanted near me. I was transferred to a supervisor which found the SUV but over $300 more than I had agreed to. I asked for her supervisor and she stated she is the last point of contact. I said I wasn't getting off the phone until she could help me or someone else could and she hung up on me!
Itinerary [protected]
6-1-18
Full Refund

05/27/2018-reserved a Hotwire deal, via my mobile app, for a room in Southfield, MI (A Victory Hotel) and when we accessed the room, it was beyond disgusting, unsanitary, black mold visible and had a foul odor. Never placed my bags down, due to the unsavory look/smell of the room and went back to the desk clerk, after my 3 min once over. Oddly, enough, I have never had a bad experience with rooms from Hotwire, so I was out done by the fact that they clearly never looked at or inspected this place they are allowing frequent users of their service, to even entertain the idea that any one would pay to stay at hat hot mess. Luckily the desk clerk agreed to issue me a refund, as long as someone from Hotwire contacted him directly, which they did and he allowed the refund.

My next issue had to do with the refund process, which we were advised would occur back on my debit card in 2 business days. Fine, it was inconvenient, giving I was traveling and had not planned on wasting my money on an inhabitable hotel. So, it is what is. However, it is now 05/31 and those funds are still missing from my debit card. I place a call today, to do follow-up on my refund and no on seemed to be the wiser. I advised the purpose of my call (locating my money that was to be refunded) and the rep I spoke to seem to be unable to locate any of my information or address the refund issue . I request to speak to a supervisor, hoping for any assistance at this point and I spoke to an extremely rude Jenean*, which her lack of professionalism and tone was comical, given that I am the one calling about my bad experience. The supervisor states that same thing, she has no records of any refund ever being addressed or advised will occur. Irate yet, still willing to get an understanding of how my information is not available, I asked her if Hotwire recorded their calls. She said they did. I asked her to review the recordings, gave the date and time and she proceeded with the driest, condescending attempt to rush me off the phone and threw in a 48 hrs before hanging up. Not clear as to why someone in hospitality, let alone and leadership position would possibly be a representative of a company that primarily deals in customer service...My issue is still unresolved and the lackluster representatives I have spoken to, make a bad situation that I was willing to move past because !@#$ happens. But this is unacceptable and absolute reason to ensure that anyone willing to listen, to go never do business with Hotwire and try another option.

I Booked my son room for vacation thru Hotwire monies were completely taken from my account and confirmation was received...I was excited until my son arrived at the hotel in which was 20 hrs away from home and he couldn't get into husband room.. The hotel had no reservation for my child .. Spent an hr on the phone with the hotel nothing in the system .. So I called Hotwire ... They said they faxed the hotel but the hotel couldn't receive faxes... In what world is that possible (lie) The Rep Kathy 691 then tells me my only choice was to book another hotel thru them and they would refund me my money for the original hotel after being on the line with them for 2 hrs.. In what world would I book thru this incompetent company again when my 18 yrs is stranded with no where to sleep for the next 5 days.. Not only did they not care the rep had an attitude bc I wasn't willing to accept her solution ... I will never book thru them again I will stick with my other option... Horrible Horrible company..Then I called the main office with no help there either 4 days later they had in my file they called with no answer ... And they where unwilling to give me a refund due to there actions

Marie Iberico
Reservation: H6813592513

Hotwire, Inc.
655 Montgomery St, Ste 600
San Francisco, CA 94111-2627

I reserved a car online with Hotwire, Inc. on May 29, 2018, for June 8 - 10th, to be picked up in Philadelphia. On May 30th I had to cancel the reservation due to a cancellation of the meeting in Philadelphia. I was informed by Hotwire, Inc. on the phone that I could not cancel any of the days for any reason. I was not aware of your company's no cancellation policy since this is not the case with most car rental companies. I find it appalling that I will be charged $62.21 for a three-day rental that I will not use. I misunderstood the card was used just to hold the reservation.

Only 14 hours have passed since the reservation. The reason to cancel is out of my control, and I am sure Hotwire will rent that car to another customer. They will not lose the money. I find it appalling that the company is willing to charge for a rental I will not receive or use, now or in the future.

I believe an exception should be made in this instance since I needed to cancel 14 hours after reserving, eight days before the trip, and for reasons completely out of my control. In my experience, rental companies hold a credit card until the final charges come through after the car is returned.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you within the next two weeks and receiving a refund for $62.21

Sincerely,
Marie Iberico
cc: Mr. Mick Mulvany, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
1700 G St NW, Washington DC 20552
cc: Federal Trade Commission
Sixth St and Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20580
cc: Small Bussiness Administration
409 Third Street, SW, # 7000, Washington, DC 20416
cc: Capital One, VISA Fraud Protection
PO Box 30279, Salt Lake City, UT
[protected].

HI,

I recently stayed at The Timbers hotel, Denver for 3 nights (05/26/18-05/29/18). Hotwire confirmation # is [protected].
The beds were infested by bed bugs and we were severely affected by it (we were given a new room which had issues like bathroom door getting jammed etc). Because of it we had to cancel few of our visits because of the uncomfort caused by rashes because by bed bug bites, also we had to do laundry for getting rid of the bugs and it almost costed us missing the flight.
We spoke with the hotel management but they replied saying manager is not available, which I seriously dont believe.
I would like to complain regarding this and would like to request for a refund.

Online Complaint System.
Your complaint has been assigned case # [protected].
Correspondence regarding this complaint will be mailed to : 1307 Cobb STR. GOLDSBORO NC [protected]
Please print a copy of this for your records.

Filed on : May 24 2018

Filed by :
Edward Kelly
1307 Cobb STR.
Goldsboro NC [protected]

Filed against :
Enterprise Leasing Company-Southeast, LLC
505 N Berkeley Blvd
Goldsboro NC [protected]

Complaint Description:
Unfair Bussiness trade practices. Will not accept payment in Cash or Debit card.Cash No. Debit card required bringing bills from home.Tuff after Drop. I book my rental online.Thru Hotwire I3309881229 5/23/[protected]@1:29pm. Enterprise Conf. [protected] .5/24/[protected]@12:00pm-5/25/[protected]@3:00.Afterwards I called to try to make this a smooth transaction. No answer. The next morning no answer. After being dropped off. With my binder/Licence and credit card. Since it is a debit card. She. said I need a bill from home. I was just dropped off. I then offered cash. We don't accept cash. Only Credit Cards.It was a horrible experience.With no help or concern, just get out of the way. Mind you this was a budget Mystery Compact plus.Using my Insurance Full Coverage.All I needed was a vin.

Your Desired Resolution:
Start answering the phone.If a debit card or cash is no good. Let the public know. I'm claiming Unfair business trade practices. There rules on "Other currencies " are profound. Customer help is nonexistent.

This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the BBB, and then forwarded to the business for their response if appropriate. Please allow up to 30 days for the business reply. You will be notified when the business has responded.

What would you like to do next?
View the status of your complaint
Return to the BBB Homepage BBB Privacy Policy

Another answer...
How do you file a complaint to Enterprise Rent a Car?
You should call the Cor. office. It is impossible to get any information from customer service. When you put in your complaint just know that they will disclose your complaint to the branch. The corp office number is
[protected]
Don Ross.

You can complain all you want to but Enterprise is one of those companies that doesn't even have a department that cares or even pretend to care. Even though I have rented from them at least 50 times in the past 20 years on my last trip I found myself scared and stranded at one of their inner city offices with no place to go even though I had made a reservation the day before. Why? Because I didn't bring anything but debit cards with me. The fact they should have your name and history on their computer doesn't matter. The fact you can have your wife or an employee call in a credit card that belongs to you and matches your address and name doesn't matter. This attitude starts at the top and is part of the corporate culture which is why if you deal with them you'll find yourself one day as I did, stranded in an office surrounded by young know nothing arrogant people who seem to actually enjoy having the power to not only inconvenience you but to put a 65 year old man's life in danger. It happened to me once but it will never happen again.

Unfair business practices encompass fraud, misrepresentation, and oppressive or unconscionable acts or practices by business, often against consumers and are prohibited by law in many countries. For instance, in the European Union, each member state must regulate unfair business practices.

I booked a room through hotwire for basketball tournament on 5/15/18. The location of the tournament changed on Friday 5/18/18, I called hotwire as soon as I was notified of the location change. I was told due to timing I would need to call on Monday. Needless to say hotwire would not refund my money, and every excuse as to why they wouldn't refund my money

On April 30, at aproximately 10:50 PM of EDT I booked a return flight Toronto-Prague.
Itinerary # [protected]. My first name was slightly misspelled as Franmtisek Franek instead of the correct Fantisek Franek. I phoned Hotwire immediately and was told that the change could only be made after the 24 hours period for the cancellation. I called in approximately 24 hours and was told that the booking had to be cancelled and a new one made, and it was done. The new booking was Itinerary # [protected]. I was told that the charge had been made and that I would be refunded in a short while. On my arrival to Prague I checked my credit card account and found out that indeed I was charged twice, but till today (May 19) I have not been refunded. I have phoned Hotwire three times and always got run around by people with no knowledge and not desire to help. I was always told that itinerary had been cancelled and that I was not charged, which is not the case. When I asked to speak to a supervisor or somebody else, twice I was left waiting for a long time without anybody actually answering the phone, what an unprofessional behaviour. I have all the emails and documents from the bank that you charged me twice for that one flight and never refunded. I am so appalled that I am decided to charge Hotwire at a small claim court on my return to Canada in June. I hope that you have enough decency to resolve the problem before my return.

I booked a Car through Hotwire in Orlando Florida. We had to fly in a day earlier and I spoke to the agent, who informed me that I had the Hotwire special rate. What there were no other options other than a special rate or what they call a special rate. The fee was 211.00 for the week - I just wanted one day earlier and said I would pay the regular fee or any other fee that might be associated with that, what would it hurt. Both Hotwire and Thrifty refused to allow me to even rent a car for the additional day. The guy at Hotwire, who was a [censored], said no changes, cancellations or anything period because it is a special rate. Really I had never booked through them before. I said well since I rented it for the week, then if I couldn't pick up a day early, not even 24 hrs early, then I would need to pickup on Thursday and he said no I couldn't do that either. I informed him that I paid for the week what does it matter where the car sits. Nope you have to pickup within a 24 hour period so they make money from that vehicle twice. I got online through Enterprise and this was no Hot Deal, the price was basically the fickin same. I had to book a whole other car for the week for basically the same amount. The customer service rep tried to convince me that car rates constantly change - uh not that I have ever seen. Hotwire needs to be another company that gest shut down by the Government like several companies already have just like hotwire. I have written my Senator and when I get back I will make this well known on my internet and facebook including my 300 clients, so no one else has to lose money. They never even emailed me a confirmation including the terms like everyone else did - what a racket. I had to call and request it so I knew what car rental company this was... [censored] service. The reason they do not email out is because you have 24 hours to find your things cheaper so they price match. If they do not send out your reservation, then the 24 hours goes out the window and no price match, which is FRAUD. Hotwire made a lot of money off me and didn't have to do anything - this should be so illegal. I had to change my flight as well and for a small fee I got my airline tickets changed... go figure. Hotwire is a big scam company as far as I can tell. This is why they do [censored] with strict guidelines (because nothing happens in the real world - BS), so they make money doing virtually nothing. So I lost the 77.00 I paid for insurance, the 211.00 that I paid for the car. My daughter and her company will no longer be utilizing Hotwire either. I am going to make sure that 100's of people know my story and use Kayak or some other venue to book their trips... that will be cheaper and a lot less stress and customer service is much better.

I recently purchased a Hot Rate Hotel on Hotwire.com. The purchased was for a 90% customer recommendation hotel, but I received a hotel that is less than 90% customer recommendation. I spoke to customer service representative and a manager.

The manager gave me a few excuses:
1. Manager: The email confirmation stated 90% customer recommendation.
Me: As a consumer, purchasing anything, you will not get an email confirmation until you made the purchase.
Manager: stayed quiet.
2. Manager: The rating is based on only a few customer ratings rather than the overall ratings.
Me: If that is the case, then all the hotels can potentially get 100%, so essentially it's false advertisement.

The manager then suggested that I check into the hotel and then contact Hotwire so that they can speak with the hotel. However, the booking is final and can not be modify or refund - This solution fixes nothing, and consumers are still being lied to with the false information provided on Hotwire.com

The manager then hung up on me.

Booked a room through Hotwire and thought I would go with one of their Hot Deals. They advertised it as a 2.5 and it is a 2 star hotel. Once the hotel was revealed it showed that I paid way over the price the actual hotel charges! You cannot contact them about such matters, they only have select items to call about. I will never use them again! I feel very deceived!

On May 5th i booked a reservation through Hotwire. It said the hotel was in the entertainment district of Niagara Falls. (IT WASNT - it cost me over $40.00 to get to the entertainment district and back to the hotel).
I was asked if I wanted to pay an additional $35.00 cash to upgrade to a king bed with a Jacuzzi...I did.
At about 12:30am I had a pretty serious leak coming through the ceiling of my room as well as chunks of stucco falling on my bed. I was not too happy and was in no mood or desire to switch rooms at that time so I left this Hotel. The guy at the front desk would not give me my money back because he said the manager wasn't around. Really?

I don't know what constitutes getting a refund from Hotwire but if this isn't it I don't know what is. Not only do I want my full refund for not even staying at this hotel I should be reimbursed the $40+ I spent on Uber's to get to the Entertainment District.

I will not use Hotwire again until this matter is resolved sufficiently and I will also be posting this on Facebook immediately to deter others from using Hotwire if they aren't going to take care of their customers.

Brad Hotchkiss is my name
[protected] is my nmber
[protected]@hotmail.com is my email

I booked the hotel through www.hotwire.com. The hotel's name was not disclosed but you advertised that it is 50% off regular price. I paid $72 plus $8.19 taxes and fees for a total of $80.19. After I paid, your website showed me the name of the hotel : Hotel Anjo De Portugal which costs $71 per night - regular price (as per the hotel website or www.booking.com and www.travelocity.com. I am complaining because your website falsely claimed that I will get 50% off while indeed I paid more that regular price. I appreciate your explanation. My email is [protected]@yahoo.com. phone number [protected]. Sincerely, Dorota Kaszuba

Dead body laying in hallway at a hotel Hotwire booked us at, later found out young man had been murdered, called Hotwire to relocate us as me my wife and son felt terrified and very unsafe, Hotwire stated they could not help us as we booked a hot rate, I could not believe the lack of sympathy and concern for my family safety on behalf of Hotwire, hotwire would not move us, credit us or give us any type of incenitive for our horrific troubles, point being if you want a booking agent to help you be and feel safe Hotwire is not the the company you want to book a room through hopefully me and my family don't end up dead in this hotel, my wife and son could not sleep through the night shaking and trembling out of fear for their lives, as incident happened at night and Hotwire would not accommodate us, Hotwires lack of concern for me and my family's life was totally unexpected and uncalled for, All I wanted was for Hotwire to get me and my family to a location where me and my family would be safe, we did not want refunds, our money reimbursed, All I wanted and expected was for my booking agent Hotwire to make me and my family feel safe and be responsible, and do the right thing. Isaiah, itinerary#[protected], I will be sharing my experience with everyone I meet, and all media resources, I had been a loyal Hotwire user for years spending a lot of money through until a few years back when we started having issues with them, I really didn't even want to use Hotwire as a booking agent but I hoped Hotwire had changed and hoped things would work out a little better this time, obviously not, I hope this helps someone

Hey people! I want you to know how much #hotwire sucks! Don't use them! I asked them to subtract one day off of my rental car booking because I was off by one day on accident booking online and they flat out refused 😡 even after multiple calls to try to fix it. One "helper" said she would try to resolve the issue and said she would call me back. She NEVER CALLED ME BACK! #hotwiresucks. I hope they go out of business! Grrrrrr

request a refund due to medical injury for Hotwire itinerary [protected] San Francisco
car rental May 6 pick up return $279.06 to my card Doctors report attached I injured my back on the trip and can provide a medical doctors description of the injury which says that I was unable to move well which would make travle impossible and therefor I am requesting a refund and cancellation for this car rental reservation for San Francisco
Intl. SFO 435 South Airport Blvd San Francisco 1 -888 sixtcar Sunday May 6th 7 PM.

Please cancel and refund to my card ending visa 0958 or send a check

Also request a refund for already cancelled car rental in Los angeles for same reason Confirmation # [protected] Pick up 4/28/2018 Los Angeles Int LAX 9150 Aviaiton BLVD
Inglewood CA please refund $246.99 to visa ending in 0958 Thank You

Re reservation mo H6512725668
We made a reservation for car transfer through hot wire but it was the worst experienced I have ever had.We booked it through hotwore and opted with thrifty car rental due to reviews but by the moment we went to the airport it was a disaster .We got a rental car in order to make it to the wedding on time and at the same time because of convenience on having your own vehicle instead of using a bus or commuting using regular vehicle.First and foremost, we went to the thrifty counter after searching it for more than 1 hour from the airport and just to find out that we have to go to another thrifty car rental area instead of the airport.Before going to the airport, we are in Makati area and there is athrifty rental car in that area that I saw while passing so I called if I can just go there to get the rental car so we dont have to go to the airport since its convenient for us but instead they said to go to the airport because that is where are reservation was .So when we are there in the airport it was 1 30 PM and when I called they said I can go earlier than the reserved time but it took as a long time since there is no sign for thrifty and when we finally get to it they said they dont have thrifty there that we have to go to Makati and I argue with them that o was not told that so they finally said they will take us to another car rental that we are affiliated .So we went and when we got there they are asking as more money so I called them again thrifty stating to them that this is not what we signed for hotwire and also we have to pay extra for insurance so I argue with them and turned out they are not related to thrifty they are another small time car rental. I called and complaint and we ended up going to makati branch of thrifty .By that time it was pass 4 PM and the wedding we have to attend to is at 6 which is 2 hrs away from manila .Not only I was not able to attend an impt event that is why I go home from US to Philippines but also we had a nightmare in a hot weather going around with people giving different informantion..
This is an unpleasant situation that ruined our vacation and expectations with reservation that is supposed to be hassle free.
I hope this will be addressed because you have a unsattisfied customer that will not use your company again

Thank you
Donnel Samaniego

I booked a 3 star hotrate hotel in London UK directly from the London train station. The hotel's name was Hotel 65. When I went to the hotel, they gave me a room that is hardly 3 m2 with the bed included. Totally dirty, warn-out carpets, wall, bed-frame etc. I was shocked. I learned from the hotel that it officially is not a three star hotel.

I called hotwire 3 times but we could not communicate. They could not bring a solution. I sent a mail to customer support, I wanted info on what I can do as I can't practically stay in this hotel. I am totally disappointed and could not sleep whole night out of anger and sadness.

My booking itenary number is [protected] dated 29.04.2018

I am checking the legal side of things to make an official complaint. I also intend to warn authorities in Turkey so that they are being followed up about their misconduct.

In short I am totally unhappy :-(((

I made a reservation for 2 nights stay at The Pear Tree Persione in Cambridge for April 18-20, 2018. I believe this was an advertised Hot Rate and my receipt showed the reservation confirmed.

My family and I showed up at The Pear Tree Persione on April 18, 2018. We were early for typical check-in but I could not find a check in time on any of my paperwork. The owner was not there so I left a note with my contact information. She emailed me as soon as she received my note and told me she had no record of my reservation and asked me who I booked it through. I told her I had booked through Hotwire and wondered if I had arrived at the wrong location. I used the Map and Directions link that was on my reservation paperwork and it led me to this establishment. The owner was confused because she didn't have any kind of relationship for booking her property with Hotwire. She was in no way familiar with the Hotwire brand.

We went back to the property and Cat, the owner, was there. She told me she was unable to find a reservation for me. I showed her what I had and she continued looking. She didn't originally have any space for us and had called other properties in the area trying to find us a room for two nights, to no avail. She was able to adjust accommodations for her other guests and was able to fit us in. She went above and beyond and was able to accommodate us for which we are very grateful. We enjoyed our time and Cat's property is beautiful and unique.

The inability to locate the reservation, which I understand she was eventually able to find, led us to looking at the charges a little more closely.
According to my receipt, I was charged a total of $309.80. This was broken down as follows:
2 nights at 103.24: $ 206.48
EXTRA GUEST FEE: $51.68
Taxes and fees: $51.64
Total: $309.80

Cat gave me a receipt for the amount that she collected for our stay. It was in the amount of $183.60, which works out to be $91.80 per night. That is $12.00 per night LESS than what you collected from me. AND it doesn't take into account the extra guest fee of $51.68. By my calculations, you collected and I paid an extra $74.56 for our 2-night stay that did not get passed on to the owner. That seems a bit dishonest and I feel like I have been taken advantage of.

I have used Hotwire numerous times and have never had any reason to doubt the validity of what I have been charged. I thought, when I saw the final price, a bit more than the $95/night I was quoted. It turns out that it was.

I would appreciate some feedback as to who pocketed the additional almost $75.00 that I was charged (and let's be clear that taxes were collected on top of this and are not included in this discussion though I was charged them) that did not make it to the owner of the property. It seems like she should have been reimbursed the full amount you charged per night for the room AND the extra guest fee and if not, then I should be reimbursed for these charges.

I will have to think twice before using Hotwire in the future.

Sincerely,
Teresa Bleakley

Case ID #: [protected]
Agent/Employees: Daphne, Eric (Employee ID: [protected])
Date of Incident: 4/10/2018

I booked a HotRate hotel and everything seemed fine, then looked at the confirmation a week later and noticed the resort fee for one night had increased by $700 from what I agreed to when I booked it. Eric informed me that this amount is in pesos (hotel in Mexico), but the confirmation clearly states all amounts are in USD, and everything was totaled by incorrectly adding pesos to US dollars. After about 20 minutes talking with Daphne then Eric, I finally got him to admit that Hotwire made a mistake with currency conversions and my booking confirmation. My main concern is that he could not send me a revised and correct confirmation for some reason, and was unable to give me any formal assurance in writing that the issue had been corrected. They also kept saying everything was fine on their end, that they were seeing amounts in pesos, but they couldn't share with me what they were seeing. Daphne and Eric both gave me "their word" that everything is fine but I'm very skeptical and don't trust them or Hotwire due to the lack of transparency. I feel Hotwire should own up to the fact that they couldn't perform simple currency conversions, list the currencies accurately, or provide me with a written assurance or corrected confirmation - and issue me a full refund for the hotel.