Hotwire
Reviews and Complaints

I was confirmed a room and when I arrived the hotel told me the hotel was sold out and they contact Hotwire. I then sat in the parking lot for about 2 hours on Memorial Day weekend trying to get this resolved. They told me they could get me another room but I would have to pay the difference. LOL Ummm...NO. Then into the third hour they agreed to pay the difference but they would need my credit card information again. Umm...NO. So, we were stuck paying double to get a room so I didn't have to drive back home after the stressful night. They never refunded the original amount and I'm not letting them get away with this. I'll make them pay even though it's a drop in the bucket to amounts they rip people off. It's my piece of mind they stole.

I thought i had found a really good rate for my family's memorial weekend vacation. I asked for a room for 4...and assumed it would be non smoking. After boooking I saw the crappy hotel that was supposed to be a 2+ star hotel. The hotel informed me I was getting a king sized bed...and it was in a smoking room. When i called hotwire.com to complain I was told sorry...they were rude..not willing to get me into another hotel nor would they refund my money. i have used other online booking companies like hotels.com and have never had an issue. I would stay away from this bait and switch company!

Hello i wish i could of read your comment about hotwire before i decided to book a flight from them. Last night after i booked the flight i get a call from someone claiming to be from Hotwire fraud department well when i tried to get verification from the guy he got really rude with me telling me is doing me a favor and called me BUDDY! Well after i called Hotwire and i asked the rep to see if they had their fraud department contact me but he couldn't tell me anything cause nothing was showing up on the file, so i asked them to refund my money cause they voided my flight reservations and low and behold they couldn't do anything and told me i have to go through the fraud department. Next morning i call hotwire fraud department and guess what they are unreachable so i call hotwire back and tell them and they just tell me sorry there is nothing we can do about it then wished me a good day. Not only does this company have bad customer rep they are thieves DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! I am now trying to get my bank to return the funds to my account HOTWIRE= scam artists.

My lesson was not as costly as yours, but angered me just the same. I purchased Hotwire's flight insurance for the sole purpose of being able to change my flight. Because I didn't read the fine print, I thought the insurance covered ANY changes in the flight. I was wrong. I wanted to change my flight and depart two days sooner. I thought the insurance would cover the cost. It does NOT. The change would cost me an additional $150, plus the difference in the cost of the flight. The insurance company told me I could file a claim for the additional charge, but didn't tell me until I asked them that routine changes are not covered so my claim would be denied anyway.

I am with you. I think that an attorney should be contacted.

You want me to give YOU an advice? Try taking responsibility of your actions next time.
Listen, I do not work for Hotwire (thanks God!) but I am a travel agent who have worked in the industry for 11 years now, ever since getting off from H.S and let me tell you, that there is absolutely NO WAY that the Global Distribution System (GDS) could have a "glitch" that would cause it to put a different name, specially "one that she hasn't used in 40 years". Believe me, there could have been cases where there are glitches in the system as far as fare calculation goes, schedule changes, of cancellations but never name misspellings.
About the note that you are talking about, it is called an OSI and that is the best that they could do. Of course they can't just "change the name" like you suggest because the tickets are non-transferable, which means that name changes are not allowed. Minor name corrections as such are allowed with a penalty fee usually with a penalty of $100.00-$250.00, and if you ticket was not refundable (which is most likely the case) then the original ticket cannot be refunded.

Now, I don't know if I should feel pity for you or tell you 'I told you so' but when people start playing travel agents and buying tickets online on their own just to save 15.00 that an experienced travel agent/consultant charges for her expertise then they should know that they are on their own when it comes to problems with the airlines and tickets.

So next time, stop being a cheapskate and go directly to a reputable travel agency and know that you can't compare yourself to the expertise of someone that deals with travel on a daily basis.
Remember: Without a Travel Agent you are on your own!

I just came back from the Trump, where we had to put down a security deposit of $100/night per room that was not explained anywhere during the booking process. Hotwire and the Trump are deceptive.

Hot wire sucks!
On March break we booked a flight from LA to Mexico, but both my daughter and I were sick. So we called the hot wire to cancel the flight, and told us we must use the credit in ONe year. We're OK with that.
Now we wanted to book tickets from Bufflo NY to Madison WI during the holiday seasons. I checked onlline, there about $400/person. I thought we still had some credit on my account that I can use. When I phoned the customer center of HOT Wire, I was told the fare was $1150/person. PLUS $150/person change fee. I told the REP, the fare I just checked was $400, he said if I wanted to use the credit exchange then I couldn't get the best rate, which mean I had to pay the highest rate.I can't use my credit which totall is $1165. That's ridiculous ever!

Same thing happened to me. Booked a room in State College, PA through HotWire, ended up with a reservation at Rodeway Inn. Was never given an option to select Non-Smoking room, although that's clearly what I would have selected. Showed up at the dump of a motel, and was told that there was only a smoking room available. Was shown the room and it was disgusting, there is no possible way I could have stayed there. The manager said this happens all the time, and I should have just booked directly with them at the same price I got through HotWire. Called HotWire customer support (what a joke that is) and was told there was nothing that could be done. Tried to dispute the charge through my bank and after several weeks, they told me I was out of luck. I WILL NEVER USE HOTWIRE AGAIN AND WILL TELL ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN NEVER TO USE THEM! THEY SUCK!

Yep, just went through the same thing w/ Super 8 in Carlsbad booked thru Hotwire. Non-smoking couple booked into smoking room, neither Super 8 nor Hotwire would make right. (I asked Hotwire directly: Are you, Joslin (rep of Hotwire out of Florida) not willing to do anything to make this right? She said "I can only refer you to our TOC" to which I said "So then there is nothing Hotwire is willing to do" and Joslin said "No."). Hotwire is a ripoff, and Super 8 is in on it. My opinion only as a consumer of both their "services" (as a bull services a cow).

I am dealing with the identical problem right now. Their site said my booking did not go through, so I went in and booked the second time. When I went to check my e-mail there were two bookings listed, the second with the wrong dates. Their system changed the dates. They refused to help me saying their system showed no error. I will never use Hotwire again!
Does anyone know how to get in touch with Bill Gates?

Bill Gates owns Hotwire if you follow the money like we did. I will now boycott all of his companyies. My booking date on Hotwire was wrong myshusband and I called them back 2 min after the error and they wouldn't budge. Due to this I will tell all never to use Hotwire as they lost business for Amsterdam and the Hotel. We will book a different agency and just not pay.. So my credit gets hit at this point and date in time does it matter? Not .. to me.. the whole country is going bankrupt and this kind of customer service will not survive. Hotwire will keep loosing money and laying people off due to bad custome service. They can shove their rules .. Not even our ex president and vice president obeyed the rules of this government. Get Real Hotwire. Better Customer service means more money for you.!

I too had a bad experience last night on changing the departure time to an earlier date 3 days sooner and keeping the rest as is. This would have in turn given the hotel more business and Amsterdam city also would benifit as well as we would spend more money there by staying longer. They will not budge. The wrong date was entered in by mistake... You know who owns all this ? It goes back to Microspfts Bill Gates! follow the money! I will boycot now

I recently booked several hotels through Hotwire for our family's spring break trip. I had used Hotwire once several years ago and felt I got a great deal, but this time the results were disappointing. Hotwire tacks on such high fees that you end up paying a lot more than you think. What's worse, even though they have the "double the difference" guarantee if you find a cheaper rate for the same stay, their high fees make it so that you STILL lose out! I did find a cheaper rate on one hotel's own website ($4 cheaper) and a MUCH cheaper rate for people over 55 or over (which I am), but of course Hotwire wouldn't recognize that rate since it was not available to the general public. So I got my $8 back from Hotwire, but still lost more than $20 over what I would have paid if I had paid the over 55 rate on the hotel's site and avoided the Hotwire fee.

Like other people, I noticed Hotwire seems to be fudging on the star ratings.

Another thing I have grave doubts about is that a clerk in one of the hotels accidentally gave me a printout of Hotwire's statement when I checked out. I had paid Hotwire a rate of $45 for that hotel, plus taxes/fees. The statement showed that Hotwire was paying the hotel only $33.

I thought Hotwire was supposed to be making its profit on the high fees it tacks on to the rate, but based on this it looks like they are double-dipping: inflating the rate and then adding fees on top of it. I sent an e-mail to Hotwire questioning this practice, after I got home. But all I got was a standard form e-mail in reply saying how they seek to provide us the best rates available.

The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If I can find lower rates AND choose exactly the hotel I'm going to stay at, AND in the process avoid Hotwire's questionable policies--I'm pretty sure from now on I'll just forget about Hotwire and book my hotels directly.

Shouldn't you complain to the resort?

I recently rented from Dollar at Love Field in Dallas. I paid for a toll tag and the toll tag did not work. I pulled up to a toll tag booth and the gate would not open. There were ten cars behind me. I was trapped and the other drivers were mad. I complained to Dollar and they would not refund the amount I paid for the toll tag. Unbelievable.

My family and I booked a flight to Punta Cana, D.R. Hotwire held 1723.00 on my H&R Block income tax refund card that I booked the flights on. It has been 5 days since we've booked the flights and I have called and complained every single day! It seemes that every person I talk to had a different explanation of why it was still on my card when the airline has already charged my card individual seats. So basically I got charged twice.I had to call the bank that issued my refund card and hotwire.com has to send them a fax stating that it was only a hold so they could take it off of my card meanwhile... My car payments are over due and checks are bouncing! I will never use hotwire.com again and informed my travel agent to warn others of the double charge "policy".Bottom line is if they do not return my money to my card I will report it as a fraudulant charge. Please dont use hotwire.com try orbitz.com I have used them before and never had any problems.

I am so sad and upset. I booked with hotwire thinking I was getting a hotel on the strip, which to any person, except hotwire, means las vegas blvd. The hotel ended up being the on flamingo road. Nothing against the westin, I just wanted the rooms to be on the actual strip! Aside from not being on the strip, I booked it thinking it was a 4 star hotel. I went to the westin's website after finding out that's where I was staying, and they consider themselves a 3 star hotel! Double whammy! I called, of course, and they are adamant about not refunding or exchanging. I offered to pay more, including upgrading to a 5 star, but they call that a transfer, which they also don't do. I had had great experiences with them before, but I guess it was luck! I will no longer gamble that way, and never book with them again. Spread the word, it's really not worth it. Pay $20 more a nigh somewhere, but stay somewhere of your choosing.

Will not use them again!

Booked a car incl. insurance through hotwire. Car was just 'booked' without pay, but had to pay for the insurance upfront. So far so good.

When I picked up the car the agent said 'sorry, we don't accept 3rd party insurance'. Means, I had to use rentals insurance, which was more then double the cost compare to the prepaid one.

Hotwire should simply not sell 3rd party insurances for car rentals were such insurance is not accepted.

Luckily the insurance money was paid to an external insurance company (Allianz) and not hotwire. After I explained the case to Allianz they gave me a full refund.

But Hotwire no more!

I booked a hotel on Hotwire.com and paid $90 for a room. When I arrived at the hotel I found out that their regular price for a room is $10 less than I paid. Hotwire says they have great discounts because hotels sell them unsold rooms. But I did not get that "discount".

I contacted Hotwire and their response was that they can charge anything they want, and it's up to me to pay or not. I see their point, but because they don't say the name of the hotel until you pay, charging more is cheating.

There is no customer service at all! I suggest Hotwir.com can get rid of the icon of customer service. I try to reach the customer service regarding my flight. I waited about half of hour, finally one man pick up my phone, he mentioned that he can't heard me, and drop my call immediately. I thought that might be the technical problem. Then try one more time, another half hour. A lady pick up the phone did the same way as the man. What is going on with the hotwire.com? I'll never gonna have a business with Hotwire.com

Where can I exercise my consumer right?

My sister and I booked online with hotwire for a so called "4 star" hotel. Since hotwire does not reveal the hotel to you after booking (another ripoff ploy), we ended up at a hotel we had stayed at in the past that was a bad experience. Well, we perserved. This time the hotel was even worse. No where near the "4 star" rating that Hotwire claimed. Broken lights, no elevators, they put us first in a room with one queen bed, sis and I like our own beds thanks, haven't slept together since we were 5 years old. They put us in another room that was noisy, had to wear earplugs to sleep at night. The room looked like it hadn't been dusted in ages, and the constant door slamming from our wonderful next door neighbours really annoyed us. We went to the hotel restaurant that tried to be 5 star but had about 5 things on the menu that were obviously well overpriced. Several broken sprinkler heads on the property had us leaping over spraying water. We hated the place. Sis demanded her money back but Hotwire wouldn't budge, rude and inconsiderate to boot.

If you want to avoid all this unpleasantness, and get a good deal for your money, go to Expedia or some other website that gives refunds and allows you to see where you will be staying before you pay.

Do not book with hotwire. After their recovery charges I paid more than the cost of booking with the hotel itself. When I called customer service, "stephanie" was literally the rudest person I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with. Stephanie laughed at me when I expressed frustration, refused to transfer me to a supervisor after I asked at least 30 times (This is not an exaggeration, they can check the tapes), tried to refuse to give me her name, laughed at me again when I explained that it was mathematically impossible to pay more in taxes on a rate that was less than the hotel website and then, when I asked for her id number so I could report her poor service, she told me she didn't have one.

I then asked how I would report her if she were to tell me "screw you" in the course of our call (Note: I did not curse) and she told me I needed to act like a lady. When I explained again that I did not wish to wait on hold to speak with a representative who actually would connect me with a supervisor (She told me that was the only way I could because she was not allowed) she put me on hold. When she came back she asked how long I had waited on hold and I told her 5 minutes. She said "then you're lucky." I was furious. I asked her if she was proud to do her job because it did not sound like it. She laughed at me. I forced her to say that she was refusing to send me to a supervisor and when she agreed I told her I was unsatisfied with her service and that she had not helped me at all.

My agency of 30+ people will never, ever use hotwire. Not only because of the fact that they did not give me a lower total price (And that may very well be covered in the t&c to cover their rears but it's poor business and I should know, I work in marketing and branding) but because their customer service is horrible and they are unwilling to undercut their own profit by $2 to make a customer satisfied.

I recently Bought Continental flight using Hotwire.com. I selected the exact departure times I needed and hit the 'purchase' button. I was shocked to find the return flight departure time was changed from an evening departure to 9:45 a.m. I immediately called Hotwire to get this corrected and was told there's nothing they can do about it. I then called Continental and found they cant do any thing. I then called my discovercard t. Svc to dispute the charge and, discover customer service advice me – If I dispute the charge – I will not be able to fly any more to Continental airline .WWW. Hotwire.com is not a good online travel company.

I booked a room through hotwire, clearly indicating it was for myself and one child. The room was a 3.5 star, equivalent to "hilton", etc. It turns out it is for guest quarters which only has rooms with one bed! I am traveling with my 12 year old son. I asked hotwire if I could transfer to a similar hotel with two beds. This is written response I got - in all caps: "if the customer had special needs for this trip then this reservation should have been purchased elsewhere." this company sucks!

I purchased a "4 star" room through Hotwire.com ($200/night). Upon receiving the name of the hotel (one I had never heard of before that is not on their list of 4 star properties), I called the hotel myself to make sure that I would be able to have two beds in the room (traveling with a friend). I was told by the hotel that not only were they sold out, but that I had been booked in one of their small studio rooms (200 square feet with a queen bed)! This "4 star" hotel was advertised as an all-suite hotel...no mention of studios on the website. When I called Hotwire to request the reservation be canceled, I was reminded of their "all sales are final" policy and treated rudely by Zack the floor supervisor (Phone ID 1284). I will never book a room through Hotwire again and I recommend that no one else does. If you were also led astray by Hotwire's dubious hotel ratings and inflexible policies, I recommend you contact the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint. I certainly did!

I booked a three star hotel in San Francisco through hotwire. The location
was described as Union Square West/Nob Hill. There are separate locations
for Union Square East and Union Square West. The hotel is located city central.
It is no where near Nob Hill. The hotel clerk told me it is two blocks away
from the Tenderloin, which is a very marginal and unsafe area of the city.
The same hotel may be booked through Hotels.com, which gives it two and
a quarter stars, and accurately describes location as city central.
I complained to a supervisor at hotwire who refused to help me. He was
unfamiliar with San Francisco neighborhoods, and did not acknowledge
discrepancies in representation of the hotel. I plan to dispute the charge
through my credict card company. I will never book rhough hotwire again.

I would not use Hotwire.com again for anything less than a 3star hotel. Their rating system is a bit agressive meaning they rate hotels higher than most other places such as AAA. I reserved a 2.5 star hotel from hotwire.com and ended up getting a LaQuinta Inn when Holiday Inn Express was listed as one of the possible hotels I could have gotten. The price I paid on Hotwire.com was more than what I would have paid if I would have used my AAA discount on the LaQuinta Inn web site.
I will not use Hotwire.com again for anything less than a 3star or 4star hotel that is very cheap and I will think twice about using them again at all.

If you have all your documentation, I would certainly take them to small claims court.

I booked through Hotwire for a hotel in Las Vegas. The description of the hotel says "Condo" but when I bought the room stay, all I got was a small dinky regular hotel room. When I called them they said that the description of the "Condo" says "most" of the condominiums would have separate room but in my case it is not condominium even though the name of the establishment clearly says Condo. Beware of them, they are biggest liar I have ever seen.

Hotwire SCAM, I booked a Hotel thru this website, it was a 4 star hotel for a 3 star price "supposedly"
When I got to the hotel (HILTON) they told me that the rate DID NOT included parking, internet, and breakfast, and that if I wanted this services I would have to pay $40 more per night, so I called HOTWIRE to try to get my money back and I was not able to, they told me I'd already agree to the terms, I try speaking to the supervisor and they put me on hold forever I finally gave up and pay the extra fee... DO NOT BOOK THRU HOTWIRE.COM

I agree!
I just moved into MidTown 2 and this is just killing me!
Monopoly = Thieves!
I'll review the whole internet on this, too!