Hotwire Reviews

As a pet owner, we know most hotels charge a pet fee. The problem with Hotwire is that since you can't see the hotel prior to booking, you don't know what that fee may be. Here is my situation. I booked a four star hotel for $55. I was told by Hotwire that there was a $11 resort - nice courtesy notice. Once I was booked I went to the hotel website to find out that the pet fee is $100/night. I would have ended up paying $110 for my stay and $200 for one dog. I have two, so I could have been charged $400 for two nights. That is absurd. Why can Hotwire tell you about a $11 resort fee, but not about the pet fees. Of course, no refund.

Well I gave Hotwire the opportunity to make good on them stealing 250.$ from me. They're lying thieves who know nothing about making the customer happy. NO-THING. They are sly and dishonest. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH HOTWIRE. The CSR quoted me a price for a car rental. Said it included tax. I needed the car for five days. She made the reservation for six days by making my drop-off time 30 mins later than pick-up time, and included taxes and fees on top of the quoted price. My husband heard the convo on speaker phone. Hotwire has "listened twice" to the conversation after my complaints. Only to repeat back to me nonsense that was never spoken to me on the call. They are like foreign-speaking robots with no regard for the truth or customer service. None. They so badly need to be run out of town. I see here, that I am not the only one they have screwed.

My first time using Hotwire and I booked a "Hot Rate Deal" for an upcoming trip. First of all they did not provide the name of the hotel before booking. After providing my credit card information, then I get the name of the hotel. I have never traveled to Indianapolis, IN before so I googled the hotel. SHOCKER -- first of all, the hotel was not in the area that I requested. It was almost 20 miles away. Then I find hotel reviews and I see numerous complaints (most recently the day before). Five minutes after the booking I find that this hotel is old, nasty, dirty, burn holes in the carpets and spreads, and that the place should have been torn down years ago because it is known as a place that prostitutes, junkies and drug dealers frequent!! WTH?

On 4/13/16 I booked a hotel for 1 night, via Hotwire.com (hot rate). On 4/14/16 I checked my email for my itinerary and receipt of purchase. I did not receive anything. I checked my bank statement and found that the $75.00 I paid for the room had been charged to my account. I immediately sent an email to Hotwire (I prefer email communication since It documents everything) asking them to resend both the itinerary and receipt. I was emailed back instructions to view my itinerary online. These instructions did NOT work.

Crazy! I booked a HOTWIRE HOT RATE (Mystery hotel) where it states "Get better rates" and confirmed me at the Hilton NYC Fashion Place. The total reservation was $418 for 2 nights. I went to the normal site where it lists this hotel and looked at the price. It was the same total $418 but $15.00 more per night for the room rate. How can that be? What Hotwire did was tacked on an additional $30 fee to my hot rate reservation to make up for the lower room rate. I have been on the phone for 3 hours, disconnected twice and pretty much worthless support. Never again.

How is this company still in existence? My "4.5" star hotel turned out to be a W hotel, which is nice, but I paid $34 more for the hotel than if I went to Expedia (Hotwire.com parent company) or booked directly with the W. I notified Hotwire how unhappy I was and... No response. Very disappointed with them.

I called to add my middle name to my reservation on a domestic flight with JetBlue so I could use my KTN and TSA PreCheck. I was put on hold after speaking to the first representative, then transferred to her supervisor. I spoke to him, he reiterated everything the first rep said, asked the same questions, and then repeated himself again. And then again. Then he put me on hold. Then told me luckily it's JetBlue's policy not to charge to make this change. And then repeated himself, and again. Then put me on hold. Then answered again, repeated JetBlue's policy AGAIN, and put me on hold. Then finally he said, "Even though it's JetBlue's policy not to charge to add a middle name, we must reissue the ticket. Luckily, it's JetBlue's policy not to charge to add a middle name, but the new ticket costs $140 more. Even though it's their policy not to charge to add a middle name, but we must issue a new ticket."

When making the reservation they offer you an area to choose from. This supposed area will totally mislead you. I choose Bonnet Creek and they gave me Disney Maingate. Allegedly you cannot guide yourself only for the area name. You have to be a wizard to guess in the shaded map. The map is B/S trust me. This is a scam, usually you won't even get anything close to what you hope for. So sad, it was our anniversary. :(

So, I was told by the Hotwire reservationist that any of my bookings can be cancelled. I had to change my flights and thus my arrival time was later than was booked. I was told that the reservation could not be changed, could not be cancelled and that no one at Hotwire is authorized to do this then they hung up on me.

I always book my car reservations on Travelocity. When I went that site on top of the page was a link to "Click here save money". It took me to Hotwire and it asked me for a deposit (Not a purchase). I gave my credit card number and got an email saying I just prepaid for a car I actually was not sure I wanted. I immediately called Hotwire. 3 agents and thirty min later I got a cancellation code and was satisfied. Then I saw my credit card bill and they charged me. When I called and told them I had a cancellation code they said there was no record of my call. This company is unethical and liars. Do not use Hotwire. Repeat: Do not use Hotwire.

I rented a Canadian hotel room in Canada, where I reside, and used my Canadian credit card, expecting to pay in Canadian dollars. It was only when I reached the payment window I realized I was paying in US dollars. Unfortunately I missed the VERY small print showing this information. I called them back immediately to cancel. I contacted the hotel and got permission to cancel with Hotwire. I was informed by Hotwire my cancellation would be approved immediately. Upon receiving my credit card statement, there was an additional charge of $10 posted. I have been told by my credit card holder this is due to the exchange rate change between the time it was posted and time of cancellation. I am disgusted with Hotwire for taking advantage of me as a potential client and charging me an increased rate for the limited time they had use of my credit information.

I will never use Hotwire again. Tried to book a hotel close to where my kids live in Florida. I clicked on central and when I was done the hotel that they chose was nowhere near my kids. Yes that's right, wouldn't let me choose a hotel that was close. And the hotel that was chosen is not even central FL. It is South Florida. I was mad and called them to complain and told them where the hotel was. The lady at the other end said there's nothing she can do. Not even cancel or refund. Well that is so stupid. So I will not be using their website again.

Hotwire emails you a booking confirmation assuring you that "You're Confirmed! No need to contact the Hotel!" Unhappily, I've learned that's just not true. I've been quite a regular Hotwire customer for several years. Sometimes I got unexpectedly shabby rooms or hotels in inconvenient areas, but I thought, "Well, serves me right for chasing a bargain." Then, a few Saturdays ago, we had our Las Vegas melt-down. We had a one-night layover, and booked with Hotwire about 10 days earlier. We got the Orleans, and when we arrived at about 10 PM, a quite rude front desk manager informed us that they had no reservation for us, and that they were full. "You must be mistaken", said I, and showed her the Hotwire confirmation number on my iPad. She retorted that this was Hotwire's confirmation number, not theirs and it meant absolutely nothing to them.

I am a small business owner and myself and employees do a lot of travel. We have used Hotwire in the past and have been satisfied with its service. I would rate my service as an F this time. I booked a HOTEL in Miami for a couple of weeks. Turns out it is not a hotel but an apartment in an apartment building. This is NOT A HOTEL and if apartments are going to be used it should be disclosed 100% that apartments can be used as part of the bookings. I booked a hotel and expect to stay in a hotel and to then change it to an apartment without any disclosures to me is fraud and deception and really cuts the credibility of Hotwire. Never had this issue with any other.

My wife decided to book a hotel 4 stars through the Hotwire website for a weekend in Quebec City. We drove 3 hours to our destination where she is 8 months pregnant and we have a 2 yrs old baby in the car. When we arrived in hotel (Best Western Plus) around a lot construction they said "we don't have parking, you have to pay an extra $24 per day". I thought, ok. This is fine! But I found a parking in front of the hotel with the security camera for $5 per day. First bad impression!

I've booked a 4 star hotel for the weekend of 18th of Feb. in Amsterdam to 21st of Feb. The Memphis Hotel Hotwire reserved for us wasn't a 4 star. They had a ongoing constructions in the Hotel which were very noisy and disturbing from 6 A.M it was already extremely too much for us! Then we called Hotwire to ask to canceled that booking. Then after 2 hours she could finally send us to a Ozo Hotel way out of the city as we reserved and offered us Ozo Hotel without knowing where it was, cost us 104 Euro. When we realized the taxi meter was going over 50 Euro asked the driver to return to the area where we were picked up and find Best Western. Now after waiting for Hotwire to refund 207 Euro to us!!! Hotwire apply some strange attitude to steal our money.

I searched for a car rental through Kayak for a car trip I needed to make the next day. I entered the reservation information on the Kayak site and Hotwire was the lowest rate offered. I booked the reservation. An email arrived a few minutes later with my receipt for the car rental and I noted that the date was for the wrong date, (over a month out). I immediately contacted Hotwire to notify them of the error. The representative was completely unhelpful and simply stated our software doesn't have errors and we have a no-refund policy. I tried to escalate the request to no avail. I then contacted American Express since I had made my reservation using that card. Turns out that there is no way to challenge a bogus web transaction from Hotwire once you have booked it. The receipt is merely proof you will be charged. LET THE BUYER BEWARE. THERE IS NO HOTWIRE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I booked online for a hotel in Washington, Missouri. After the booking I discovered by doing my own research that the property is actually in Washington, North Carolina. After 3 phone calls, and on hold for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes the problem is still unresolved. Very poor customer service. They first accused me of being incorrect, and now admit it is a problem with their site. I am very disappointed and have been using Hotwire for many years.

I recently purchased a flight ticket from Toronto, Canada to Greensboro, NC on Hotwire's website. Changed the person flying to my name and thus I lost my money. I will no longer be doing business with this company and will urge others to not use them. They refuse to change the name on the ticket and offered for me to book another flight and that was not happening. I will have an attorney or the courts address this in court.

I booked a hotel on Hotwire and then it took me to the transportation page suggesting a shuttle to the hotel. I booked that and when we go to the airport, the shuttle service does not go to that hotel and paid for a cab. Called Hotwire and they had me on hold for over 30 minutes. They should research their services before selling them. I will go back to using Expedia.

We booked a hotel through Hotwire. After learning what hotel we're staying at we went to the hotel website and found out that all we're getting is a $5 discount. Had we booked through the hotel we could cancel reservation anytime, we'd know what we were paying for before booking it, etc. I see no value in Hotwire. Nothing but frustration. False advertising in saying it's deeply discounted and the little number they scratch out on the website (i.e. they are slashing the price you would normally pay) means nothing. Contacted customer service (Philippines) and was on the phone for 1 1/2 hours with them. Passed off to 5 different reps, could barely understand any of them. Zero resolution.

We have just been burned by Hotwire, and it was our first time using them so also our last! We booked 5 nights away just before Easter staying in places in coastal South Africa. The places were fine but we had to pay to stay each night as the hotels had NOT received the payments which Hotwire HAD taken from our account a month earlier when we booked. I have tried contacting Hotwire and Expedia (as the hotels said the bookings were done under Expedia, they had not heard of Hotwire) but have only been told I must phone them to sort this, which will cost me as an international toll call, even though I have sent them all the details they had asked for as well as a letter from A Hotels. I feel ripped off badly and will tell others NOT TO USE HOTWIRE OR EXPEDIA.

I rented a car. I got a stomach virus. I called to get a refund and was told I could but they would have to research to make sure I did not rent a car somewhere else. They said I needed to bring medical documentation. I had a stomach virus. I did not go to the doctor. I am very disappointed in the service I was provided.

I booked a hotel in Long Beach, CA using the Hot rate secret hotel option. The hotel was rated a 3 star at a good price but when we arrived we found it was barely a 2-star hotel in the worst location ever. It was an unsafe crime ridden area. I would not allow my kids out of the room unsupervised due to the nasty area with vagrants wandering the parking lot looking like drug deals going down with no police presence and no security measures allowing anyone to enter the hotel from the back lot right into the elevators and direct access to the guest rooms.

Although the itinerary stated that there was no need to confirm my reservation, I decided to contact the hotel to ask a few questions concerning the many fees that their site stated that they had and the absence of wifi in the rooms unless purchased. During this time the representative at the front desk asked when my stay would be and if my reservations had already been confirmed. He checked their reservations and noted that he did not have a reservation for me in their system. He suggested I contact Hotwire and let them know that I had no confirmation.

We requested a 4 star + when booking on Hotwire and we received a 2-star hotel. Arrived at our hotel, broken window with screen hanging (picture taken), remote control not working, rooms was extremely dirty with food crumbs & popcorn around the base of both beds (picture taken), broken bathroom tiles (picture taken) and shower drain clogged with hair (picture taken). Will never book through HOTWIRE again! They do not provide what they advertised. This is the definition of FRAUD!

Very poor service. I never see such worst service in my life. Customer care is not responding. They disconnect calls anytime. Hard to understand customer cares. Hotwire didn't refund my car booking charges even they confirmed "you will get refund soon." After multiple follow ups I only gave up but still no response from Hotwire and no other communication channel as well like mail, email. You can use any other travel site but don't go with Hotwire in future.

I had to cancel my car reservation as my wife had surgery and her physician advise against travel for 2 weeks. The surgery was on 4.7.16. The car was reserved for 4.14.16 to 4.19.16. I called Hotwire to cancel the reservation on 4.7.16 and the person I spoke to said the reservation was non cancelable. I explained my wife's condition and was told there was nothing they could do - that was the policy. I have never been treated like that. Even the airlines will allow you to cancel a flight due to illness and put funds on hold for a future use. There are policies but there are extenuating circumstances. Needless to say I will not conduct any future rentals with Hotwire.

I had to cancel my car rental and Hotwire would not allow me to cancel. Booking.com cancels as long as it is 24 hours in advance. I will only use Booking.com from now on.

Cancelled my reservations last minute after traveling all the way to the hotel. Didn't send me a cancellation email and never told me why it got cancelled. The money still was taken out of my account and can't get a refund until 5-6 business days. So I was left with no reservations and no place to stay for the night. I called them & they had me on hold for over an hour just to process my refund. They didn't really care about my situation and kept on transferring me over.

We booked 2 rooms for March 3rd at the Best Western Plus Fort Lauderdale Airport. At the time of booking (December 17, 2015) the website for Best Western Plus Fort Lauderdale Airport South Inn & Suites stated in the amenities that the hotel was a "smoke-free property". When we checked in and found our rooms were "smoking rooms", we proceeded to the front desk and we pulled the website on my phone that listed the hotel as a "Smoke Free Property". The Hotel clerk admitted it was misleading and that it needed to be changed. Hotwire initially agreed to find us another 2 rooms at a different hotel but then said it was a third party transaction and they could do nothing.

After many years of booking thru Hotwire, last night dilemma marked the end of my business with them. In a nutshell: We got booked in a hotel that was not ADVERTISED on the booking page. The page had 6 possible hotel options but we received a different one. None of the ADVERTISED hotels listed on the reservation page had available rooms so we end up with a reservation in a hotel we didn't want in the first place.

I had one of the most frustrating experiences with Hotwire. I thought I was getting a deal for 70.00 a night and when the information for hotel came up it was actually a hotel I could have gotten on my own for much cheaper if that was a place I wanted to stay at. To make matters worst I had to cancel trip due to an emergency and Hotwire would not even consider giving me credit for those days that I paid for and could not use, so they gladly took (feel violated) my money. I paid for a room I wasn't even able to stay in at all. So BEWARE, PLEASE do not use Hotwire for booking anything. The company has unreasonable policies and they absolutely do not get you the best deals. I am out 421.00. I don't know about you but I don't like just giving away my hard earned money. Thanks again Hotwire for your unreasonable policies and for making me feel as if I was robbed. Never again.

I rented a car through Hotwire for a trip to Costa Rica. I rented a 7 passenger SUV which was confirmed on the receipt from Hotwire. I called Dollar Car Rental directly in Costa Rica to verify that they received the proper reservation from Hotwire because I've had issues such as this before. They explained that the reservation they received was for a 5 passenger SUV. I contacted Hotwire prior to the trip and was told by an agent that if Dollar charges me more for the 7 passenger vehicle once I arrive, to fax in the difference in price and Hotwire would refund me the difference. They provided me with the fax number and I asked them to please put the notes of our conversation on my reservation so that I wouldn't have a problem getting reimbursed later.

I booked a car through Hotwire and took the insurance coverage. They charged me for two days even though I picked the car up at 7:00 pm and dropped it off at 6:00 pm the following night. They claim that the insurer has a "transition" time of midnight so it counts as two days, not one. Hotwire refused to remove the 2nd day so I have removed them from my list of trusted suppliers.

I booked a hotel in Lake Tahoe several months in advance. It was one of their hot deals. After I booked, I went on the hotel's website to check their price, and the hotel was almost $200 cheaper! Hotwire even added in extra fees that were not part of the tax. I called the hotel and they confirmed the price. I called Hotwire and said I wanted an adjustment. They refused.

I booked a trip with Hotwire to Rwanda this March and unfortunately, the Brussels Airport bombing happened while we were there. Our flight to and from had us connecting at the Brussels Airport, thankfully we were not there when it happened. While in Rwanda we found out about the attack and immediately started contacting Hotwire to see what our options were since the airport was closed. They provided very little help and the customer service is extremely hard to understand. Every time we were able to get a hold of someone they also had no idea what we were talking about when referring to the attack in Brussels.

I booked a room for $70.00 through Hotwire. Hotwire said it was 35% off. When the hotel revealed the name of Value Place, I found I could get the room for $53.43 through the hotel. I contacted Hotwire and was informed that the 35% was off an average of 2 1/2 stars in the same area. The hotel was awful. Charged for everything including internet and extra towels. The towels were worn out and they only provided us 2 for 4 people. Maybe worth the $53.43 but not $70 plus Hotwire fee. Do not book through unless you like paying more. Hotwire charges a premium, not a discounted rate.

Went through Hotwire as a friend told me of the deals you can get and took the chance on booking a hotel in Universal City Los Angeles, California. You book the room then find out where it is and once I did book it and looked up the Yelp reviews the last three complained about BED BUGS!!! And to top it off it would have been cheaper to book straight through El Patio Inn. Through El Patio Inn it would cost $119 with taxes and fees and through Hotwire it cost $134.22 and you don't know where you'll be staying till you book it. Now that my girlfriend is trying to cancel the reservation and letting them know they charge more than the actual Motel does they said they can give us a refund if we book a different hotel through them and all the choices they've been giving us are more expensive and have bad reviews too. "DON'T USE HOTWIRE.COM."

Booked online 2 rooms in Richmond, Georgia with my family. Found a rate on Hotwire that described it as a hotel and 3 stars. Arrived to a motel, rooms were extremely dirty, with mold and wet carpets, peeling walls and bathtub enamel. Hotwire contacted and they basically said "Sorry about your luck, should have complained to hotel" (was motel and was booked so what would they be able to do), will not give money nor credit or anything. They didn't even acknowledge that they advertised a 1 star motel as a 3 star hotel. Never book with Hotwire!

I booked a hotel using their daily save her a question and it was a two star hotel. I called ahead and confirmed my reservation. I had to get two rooms because we had extra people. I requested non-smoking and adjoining rooms. Great question I checked in, receive my keys, went to our hotel room. There were bugs in the sink. There were also missing fixtures in the same, there were broken wall protectors, the room had been smoked in and you could tell it had recently been smoked in, there was mold around the walls. I was told there were no other rooms available so I checked out immediately.

Used Hotwire.com "hot rate hotels" to find a 2.5 star hotel comparable to LaQuinta, Best Western, Holiday Inn, Comfort Suites, etc. WHAT I GOT was Shasta Lodge in Redding CA WHICH Google Lists as a 2 star hotel and doesn't have great reviews. On Priceline, it is a 1 star hotel. Hotwire also charged MORE than what the Shasta Lodge charges themselves! When I called Hotwire, they said they go by the customer review rating for the Hotel. No refunds. Then they changed the hotel status, online, to "booked" so no one could see the price. WHATEVER!!! DO NOT use them ever!

If you purchase tickets for Delta flights via Hotwire.com you will not be allowed to choose your seats. Upon arrival at gate, you will be assigned the last seats in the plane, row 35 or 36. Doesn't matter when you check in or if you are there in time. Consumers need to know.

Horrendous organization. I will never book through Hotwire again. I paid an extra fee to be able to cancel a hotel reservation. I have been given three different individuals to speak with and I have been on hold now for over an hour and have now been transferred to two more people. STAY AWAY FROM ANY RESERVATION WITH HOTWIRE. They make any refund aggravatingly difficult. I have just been told that I now have to fill out paperwork with Allianz, the insurance company that covers for Hotwire. STAY AWAY. Not worth the difficulty of doing business with Hotwire.

I booked a room late in the day on a busy weekend in Las Vegas. I hadn't expected to be staying in the city that night. I booked through Hotwire, and received a confirmation within moments. I proceeded immediately to the hotel. I was informed at the counter that the hotel was overbooked, and that Hotwire had listed the room in error. I immediately called Hotwire. I was on hold for over 25 minutes. After finally getting through to customer service, I was put on hold again as they called the hotel to confirm my situation. After over forty minutes waiting for an answer, I was informed that the hotel was in fact overbooked, and because it was now after midnight, I was essentially out of luck.

I have booked hotels several times through Hotwire. Every time they show you a list of good branded hotels of which one will be selected after making the payment but unfortunately once payment is being made you end up getting a 2 star hotel. And it didn't happen once or twice rather every single time. Very recently I booked a hotel in NY JFK area, and the list had all three star hotels such as Best Western, Extended Stay America, Clarion Inn, but after making the payment I was again provided with a 2 star hotel (JFK INN). Therefore, it's better to use other websites than using Hotwire.com. DO NOT FALL FOR THE HOAX.

When selecting to purchase Allianz Global Assistance insurance while booking a hotel or car rental, do not make the mistake of choosing to use PayPal as a payment method. Allianz Global Insurance does not accept PayPal as a payment method. Hotwire will provide a policy number but Allianz Global Assistance insurance will not process and issue a policy number, even after receiving an email confirmation of purchase from Hotwire.

Hotwire booked us at a hotel that was closed for business. We only found out after calling the hotel to ask a few questions about our arrival. We booked 2 months in advance and found out about the hotel 4 days before our trip. No notice from Hotwire whatsoever. Hotwire is dishonest and a ripoff.

My recent experience at Wyndham Hotels in Orlando, FL -- I realized when I pulled in, the car attendant asked a question/statement about the $8 a car parking fee that this might be a surprise to me... "Do you understand/accept?" I had no idea of what he was referencing as I have used Hotwire for many trips and have been pleased as to the details of what you are about to purchase, but not in this case. I felt I was taken advantage of by this Hotel. The resort fee was clearly disclosed, $20.50 in addition to the nightly fee and taxes to the penny, but somewhere hidden was the fact that one had to pay $8 to park on their (Wyndham) property. I actually printed the document that was sent to me from Hotwire and nowhere was this mentioned about the charge for parking. Had I known this, I might have picked a different hotel... Knowing this now, the way everything was presented, I would have chosen another place.

I booked reservation for last Sunday, but modified the reservation date to following Sunday through their automated answering machine. But, my first reservation did not get cancelled. And Hotwire charged me entire money for the trip. I do not want to even give them one star.

I am a Platinum member of Hotwire and literally book hotels through them once a week. One of the hotels I booked for a trip to AZ had bed bugs. When I called Hotwire and asked them about it, they said their policy was to do nothing about it. They have lost me as a customer. Any business that would ask their clients to risk bed bugs should not be in business. PERIOD.

I have been on and off the phone with at least 3 customer service agents, one of them being a supervisor, asking them to please provide a confirmation of cancellation on the trip that I booked. I cancelled within the 24 hour period and was told I am getting a full refund. The confirmation was never sent to me and when I call back and ask - they act like they have no idea what is going on. I am still currently on hold waiting for someone to help me... How difficult can it be to email me a confirmation? My total wait time for the calls was over an hour. I have had two terrible experiences with Hotwire and I will never use them again.

I reserved a car at the Atlanta airport thru Hotwire and fulfilled by Thrifty. Hotwire promised me a Kia Rio or similar. The Rio is a 4 door, 4 seat car. When I got there all of the economy cars were Smart Cars, a 2 door, 2 seat death trap. I paid Thrift another $92 to upgrade to a car like I was promised. After I returned I called Hotwire and complained. They said to email a copy of my receipt to customer service and I would get a refund in 10-14 days.

I booked a hotel reservation for the Best Western in Mulberry, FL. Hotwire called me the night before I was supposed to leave to inform me that the Best Western did not have rooms available. They were willing to move me to another hotel, but told me that since I paid my initial reservation by debit card, I would have to give them a major credit card (not debit card) to make the new reservation and they would refund my debit card in 1-3 business days. I said "no, transfer my payment that has already been deducted from my account to the new reservation." They refused to do so. I asked for a supervisor. They told me there was no supervisor available, but they would request that someone call me back in 24-48 hours. So at this point, they have my money and I do not have a hotel reservation hours before I am due to arrive.

When I arrived to my destination in Costa Rica, at the Alamo desk, I showed them my Hotwire reservation and they pretty much laughed at me. I paid Hotwire $239 which was supposedly including insurance required in Costa Rica for the car. When I arrived there, I was told that they do not accept this third-party insurance and that my total for the car would be $554, AND they needed $2000 to hold on my credit card for additional insurance. There were other rental car desks around, and I asked them all and it was the same thing. So Hotwire had absolutely no clue what was needed exactly for renting a car in this country!! I will never use Hotwire again for international travel.

I just booked a 3-night stay on Hotwire in Honolulu - website stating the room was comparable to Microtel, Candlewood Inn Suites, Econo Lodge or Quality Inn. What we got was an old hotel, "Kuhio Banyan" with terrible reviews and NO PARKING. These other hotels always have parking available, now where do we put the car? Extremely deceitful practices to fill hotels no one in their right mind would book. WE WILL NEVER USE HOTWIRE AGAIN!

I was attempting to make a reservation and the system said the reservation did not complete. I looked at my card statement and discovered that they had charged me, tying up the funds on my card. When I attempted to speak with Hotwire they told me it was my bank holding the funds. After speaking with my bank and Hotwire they attempted to do an auth code but my bank said it was not a hold but a legitimate charge made by Hotwire. Hotwire refused to help me, I was on the phone 3 hours, hung up on by Jeung the supervisor twice. She also refused to give me her supervisor's name and came up with nothing. I had been in a car accident and needed to get a rental. Because of them holding my money on my card I was unable to do so. This is the WORST company I have every dealt with.

I booked a car rental w/ Hotwire.com that they collected the full car rental and taxes/fees but didn't pay them to the car rental company. I had to pay taxes/fees again at the car rental facility and Hotwire never refunded me the taxes/fee paid to them and never paid the rental car company the taxes/fee.

On January 22, 2016 I was booked into the Best Western Hotel in Tamarindo Costa Rica. Hotwire sent me a confirmation # ** and the hotel did not honor it. When I tried to call 1-888-HOTWIRE and 1-866-HOTWIRE, the number isn't assessable outside the USA and Canada. When I tried to call the number for international calls that was not toll-free, all it gives is an automated answer service with no option to talk with customer service.

I booked a car two days ago thru Hotwire.com with the understanding of no cancellation. Today when I looked up rates I noted the cost of the car was $50 cheaper. I called Hotwire and asked if they could adjust cost and was told there was nothing they could. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was asked why. They did not allow me to speak with a supervisor but the representative checked her "sources" and told me "Be glad you got the price you did." Representative was difficult to understand. Customer service is non-existing. BEWARE!

The first thing to remember when booking through a third party online is that there is ALWAYS something in it for them. Although Hotwire offers hotels are discounted rates, what I have found with my experience is that often these hotels are lower in quality. If the hotel is a 5-star outstanding resort, don't you think that those rooms book up without the help of third-party companies???

I could not be more frustrated with Hotwire and I will never use them for any reservations! I was attempting to book a car rental reservation on Hotwire and after I entered my payment information an error message on website came up saying my reservation did not go through and I should start my reservation over again. I attempted to redo my reservation and received a message saying there were no cars available at the location on the requested dates. I went to carrentals.com and booked a slightly higher rate than what I had originally been trying to get on Hotwire. A few days later I see on my bank statement that Hotwire charged me for the reservation. When I called explain the confusion, Hotwire claimed that they would not refund the money unless I had a screenshot of the error message! I won't even get into the rudeness of nearly every representative with whom I spoke. I fail to see how this practice isn't simply illegal.

I booked a long needed vacation for my husband and myself on Jan 7th online. I ended booking a package with the flight, hotel and car. To make a long story short, I ended up calling to extend my trip 1 day and needed to change my flight. I purchased the insurance which shouldn't have been a problem to change. Little did I know even if you get the insurance, you still have to pay $135 pp for any changes that is to be reimbursed back to you within a few days. This made no sense to me. So the representative (mind you this phone call took 3 hrs. No exaggeration!!! About 2 hrs was me being on hold and them not willing to call me back), guess what? They charged me for the WHOLE TRIP + $270!!! I was beyond infuriated that they would take that much money from me without my consent and be very cavalier about it.

I just booked a Hot Deal on Hotwire. It was represented as a 2.5 stars with a 100% LOVE IT rating. Additionally, when I went to book it they specifically listed it as having a 4.5/5 customer rating. However, the hotel I got has a 3.5/5 customer rating and while they rate it as a 2.5 star everyone else that I've now looked at rate it a 2 star. Not so concerned with the 2.5 stars but very concerned about the customer ratings. When I called to speak with them they said the customer ratings had nothing to do with a hotel and only the overall area (which no other hotels have a 4.5 /5 in that area). They provided no customer service and refused to do anything about the fact that they misrepresented their information. Will NEVER EVER use this service again. Very deceitful and obviously don't want any return business or happy customer.

I am usually not that person who will take the time to complain however this whole situation with Hotwire is completely ridiculous. Against my better judgement, I made a reservation for a hotel in Vegas with Hotwire. I used their "mystery" hotel deal and the caption read "Center Strip Area Hotel" and the highlighted area was completely over the centre of the strip. A logical person would think it's a hotel on the strip.

I rented a car through Hotwire.com for a Hertz rental car to use upon arrival where my daughter would begin college. 2 weeks before we were set to leave for her college experience, she required a surgical procedure which led to complications resulting in her untimely passing. Hotwire.com was extremely helpful, but since the reservation was made through Hotwire.com, I needed to go through them directly to get a refund. I called to cancel the reservation 3 days after. I followed up by sending the death certificate for my daughter as requested. I continued to follow up with everything Hertz asked for a total of 9 phone calls.

We book our vacation a week before Christmas, which included a weekly car rental through Hotwire. My wife required emergency abdominal surgery and hospitalization, from Dec 31 through Jan 8. Even I required a couple of weeks to get back to normal, but my wife needed additional tests and follow ups, as her blood chemistry was also abnormal in addition to her intestinal resectioning recovery.

I will not go into the annoying, exasperating details that occurred while trying to make a 3 day reservation for a hotel in NYC. It took 3 hours+ speaking with 4 service representatives. My blood pressure has risen dramatically because of this experience - and I am a calm individual! This morning, we received an email indicating that if we booked before 12M today a $15 credit would be applied to our reservation. The bottom line is that we DID NOT get the $15 credit off of the reservation.

In January I booked two nights on Hotwire.com hotel bidding site for two nights in April 2016 - location Maui. After pushing the button agreeing to pay 176.00/night, plus 83.00 hotel tax for two nights given the area, star rating, etc. you must agree to their terms to move forward. You have no idea what hotel but for a competitive rate gave it a shot. Having done this for years on many websites, familiar with resort fees, parking fees that I am aware of I moved forward with and pushed the button.

Eventually, the entire trip was cancelled. Hotwire booked a room at the Aloha Hotel in Arroyo Grande, CA. A confirmation email was sent. I personally called Hotwire to double confirm the reservation. When I arrived the hotel owner said that Hotwire overbooked me and there was no room available. I called customer service several times. I was placed on hold 6 times for over an hour each time until the phone just disconnected. Each time I talked to a representative the answer was the same. "We can offer you a refund that will take 1 to 2 business days to reflect." We were 5 hours from home and had been sitting in a car now for 11 hours.

We had booked a secret location hotel. All was good with the booking until I saw O had paid the identical price the hotel offered. Meaning I had no discount or low rate as advertised. I contacted Hotwire the next morning to state I wasn't happy with this as I was on the understanding we had received a good deal. I have on endless occasions called US to sort this out, as they go round in circles on emails. But what a surprise, their call handlers are exactly the same. Never have I received such bad customer service to the point where I don't think they even know what they going on about. We just went round in circles for a 45 min call, to the point where you're going crazy. Keep back tracking etc. They have now taken my phone number (which I asked the girl to recite and she couldn't as she didn't write my number down). So now they lie as well. What horrendous going ons for a travel company. One that I would never recommend to anyone.

I booked a hotel that was supposed to be 2 1/2 stars. The possibilities included Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn and Best Western. As these were all over $100 I thought the $44 would be a pretty good deal. Instead of what I expected, I got an extended stay, which would have cost me less if I would have booked directly with them. By nobody's standard is this a 2 1/2 star hotel. They do not even do housekeeping during your stay. It like you buy a new car and you get delivery of something used and bashed up. I don't know if this is illegal, but it should be.

I am not one to email complaints but due to such a disrespectful upsetting experience that I received from Hotwire I will make sure to voice my issue. About a year ago, my husband and I went to Spain and booked through hotwire. We were expecting to have a great experience due to reviews that were said about the company. Unfortunately we have had absolutely nothing but problems since the day we decided to go through your company. We booked our hotel and after almost a day of flying and being exhausted we finally reached our hotel only to find out that hotwire had booked us a hotel that was already overbooked and had no room for us. Not only is this absolutely ridiculous but it made no sense to me. My husband and I were standing in the middle of the street on the phone with hotwire for over two hours.

I reserved a car using Hotwire with Hertz. My plans changed and I called to modify my reservation. I was told by Hotwire that cancellations or modifications were not allowed. I was shocked because at the time I made my reservation this was not made clear, it must have been posted in very small print somewhere on the webpage, but I didn't notice it. What kind of business are they running where you can't make a change or cancel a reservation and if you are unable to use the service they charge you anyway.

I booked a hotel through Hotwire.com for one night in Bozeman. I chose the hotel based on their airport shuttle service because our flight arrived at midnight and the rental car office closes at midnight and we didn't want to risk not being able to get a rental car. On the day of our flight, I called the hotel to confirm that they will provide shuttle service. They said they don't have airport shuttle service and that they never did. They said they have asked Hotwire.com to remove that service from their website but they continue to ignore it. I called Hotwire and, first of all, they do not have a customer service number. Well, they do but it's only for new reservations or to confirm reservations. Because none of those options were for speaking to a live agent, they hang up on you.

I was last minute booking a hotel and was looking for the cheapest price and had seen Hotwire commercials before. I decided to try and book a hotel through there. It does not tell you what hotel it is, it says it will tell you after you make the reservation. I called to try and understand why they couldn't tell me what hotel I would be getting prior to reserving it. I told the man on the phone there was specific hotel I DID NOT want due to the fact there was 3 murders there. He said if I book it and I get that specific hotel to call back and they would change it for me.

Am completely disgusted by the way you handled my situation. You booked me at a crackhead hotel, where my taxi cab driver would not even drop me off at. His words..."From my heart, I can't let you go here. You will not be here tomorrow." After he kindly took me into downtown by the beach 35 mins away (where in my request for my vacation I had put, must be by beach in the first place), he took me to a hotel that did not have prostitutes outside and a man smoking crack in a crystal pipe. Being that it's Valentines Day weekend, they had no rooms available. They did direct me to another hotel a few blocks away. So I packed up my luggage and walked there. Well...they were booked also. This happened 4 different times!! I walked around with my luggage downtown California, by myself for HOURS trying to find a room. All the while waiting on hold in your customer service dept.

Hotwire has wasted so much money just on Vology alone. Vology makes more from Hotwire than any other client. They mark up the products more for Hotwire than any company in their history - more than 60% than any client. Rick would buy a Cisco switch or router for less than $2k and sell it to them for $24k. Another rep would of charged Hotwire maybe $4k or $5k. Hotwire is getting screwed by Vology and they waste so much.

I was looking for a car to rent in Texas. I'm from Utah. I saw those reviews and I got scared. But I decided to call Hotwire and see if they were legit and everything. Their price was ridiculously low compared to other companies. $6,99/day instead of $69,99. Well, I won't lie, I was afraid but I decided to give a shot. The saving were way too much. And seriously, amazing experience!! A week after I returned my car I made my mother in law rent a car with them too. I'm sure a lot of people had problems with them, but honestly I didn't, nor did my mom. They were amazing. The company they picked was great, amazing price. I'll definitely keep using them before I use anyone else. I've downloaded their app and everything. I'm not the kind of person who leaves reviews, but because of so many bad one I thought I should. It's always the unhappy people who leaves reviews, so here's a happy customer.

I booked a car through Hotwire and printed the checkout paper with a quoted fee that stated no taxes and fees. But when I picked up the car, 25% extra was added in fees and taxes. Nowhere on my checkout receipt was there any indication that the total cost was only an estimate. In all fairness, later when I checked the email receipt I did notice it stated "total estimated cost," but the word "estimated" was not on the checkout receipt and even still, 25% more? That's too substantial not to give some warning. After an hour on hold, I was given $25 in credit for $55 in added taxes and fees. So, when you go to Hotwire, check your email receipt, not your checkout receipt. Or better yet, forget Hotwire. If you can't trust the price they give you, why buy their products?

I cancelled my reservations within 5 minutes of making them. I realized I had let the wrong dates be entered for my reservation. It immediately let me know that I had been charged $103.00 for cancelling. I called the Hotwire number and the representative said he tried to get it resolved, but that it was not their policy to let cancellations be done without penalties. This is my first time using (Hotwire) and this will be my last time. This is very unprofessional and as far as I'm concerned this Hotwire people are thieves and falsely let me believe that all I had to do was cancel my reservations. Didn't tell me that I would be penalized for it. This is a criminal group of people that is preying on the public. I want my money back...

There should be a class action suit against Hotwire's car rental process. I had a rate for a car rental in Florida that was already booked for six weeks in the future. This rate was locked in without giving a credit card and was a pay when you show up to pick up the car. An unsolicited advertisement for a possible much lower rate from Hotwire was advertised for the same Florida location as a pop up on my computer. I clicked on it and began to fill out the requested information, including my credit card information. If I accidentally left a required information blank I was redirected to the site to complete it. If I got a number accidentally wrong on my credit card, I was redirected to the form to correct this. Having accidentally forgotten to put in the right date for my future trip, I clicked on the final button to reserve the car at a much lower rate.

I booked a hotel through Hotwire!! I get to the hotel to check it out and before I could get out the car the guest checking in before me I could smell the marijuana coming through my vents. The lady in front of me stated that a guy had knocked on her door all night begging for cigarettes!! The clerk told me to come back at 3 pm to look at the room and see if I want it however after driving through the parking lot and seeing people hanging out I immediately cancelled my room and went elsewhere!! So Hotwire is refusing to reimburse me for a room that I never stayed in!! Hotwire should check these places out before they represent them online!! THAT IS PUTTING MY LIFE IN DANGER!! Hotwire should want to protect their buyers.

Hotwire.com - I booked a hotel on Hotwire. Despite reviewing the hotels in CAD (I reside in Toronto), when I booked the hotel I was charged in USD (about 50% more expensive). I realized it in the same day and called using my itinerary number to cancel the reservation in the same day, as per the policy of the website that said I could cancel 48 hours in advance of the check in date. This date was at least a full week so I was well within policy.

I booked a trip only to have them spell my husband's name wrong. It took 4 hours to figure out they couldn't correct it and finally I was able to get it reimbursed to my credit card. There is a catch. I found they used my card to charge another flight for someone to Chicago. Now I have to fight a $2,684.80 charge I didn't authorize. Unbelievable.

I have used Hotwire for my first and last time on a recent FL vacation. I booked what I thought was a 1 bedroom condo with laundry facilities. On the website that's what was described. When I arrived to the location I was told I had a hotel room not a condo! I called Hotwire and after being put on hold for 45 mins they returned to tell me I would have to pay an extra $75 for a condo, that I had booked a hotel room, even though the paper receipt I printed clearly stated a 1 bedroom condo with laundry. I in the end paid the extra to the resort. While at the from desk I asked how much a condo would be if I had just walked in off the street. It would have been $20 CHEAPER!! Be aware when you book through Hotwire that you may NEVER get w$at they promise!! I will NEVER use them again!

Since the hotel is "anonymous" until after you have paid for it, I trusted that they used reputable and safe hotels. When I arrived, I was ok with it, but it was not in an area where I would be outdoors after dark. I was on the 3rd floor, interior hallways. 2 am in the morning I heard screaming in the room next to me and loud talking, hallway doors slamming. Yelling, running, and profanities in the hallway. After 45 minutes, I called the front desk and they said police had been called. Police came, another hour had gone by and finally arrested the woman. Quiet for a few minutes, then more noise, not as loud.

I encourage everyone not to rent from Hotwire. It's not worth. I rented a minivan for 1/23-1/24 but because of the blizzard, I was unable to get the van and they refused to work with me to change the date. I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN.

I ordered a "hot rate" 5 star hotel in Barcelona. Coming to the hotel I found it is clearly not close to a 5-star. More like a 3/4 star. I wondered if perhaps this is just me, so I checked with Expedia, Travelocity, hotels.com and other - ALL OF THEM list this hotel as a "4 star". Only Hotwire have it as a 5 star, to trick you into bidding for something you would not otherwise go for. Wrote them and attached screenshots of a bunch of other sites showing it as a 4-star, but they don't care. They say they "are confident" their rating is right, and are "unable" to refund me.

I prepaid SIX months in advance for a 6-night stay at Hilton's Embassy Suites, South San Francisco on Hotwire. The charge of $781 showed up on my debit card and was paid in July 2015. In December, when I arrived at the hotel, check-in was easy and they had the reservation. They asked for a credit card for incidental charges, and I complied. When I checked out, I paid for the $122 incidental charges of parking and telephone and received a receipt.

The Hotwire charged me much more than the price the hotel charged on the day I checked in. I asked for the refund of the overcharge but get no penny back. I called several times to ask them to let me talk to their supervisor, however, they kept me on the line to wait for half an hour and then they hung up. This happened every time if I got through to talk to some representatives.

On January 16 I booked a reservation for a hotel room in California - the website listed the hotel reservation. I have called them six times, they have put me on hold and/or hung up when I asked for a supervisor. I have filed a complaint with the BBB but consumers, beware! This company is fraudulent.

I asked for details of my package before I left for my trip; they did not send it to me. I tried to access my itinerary online with my itinerary number, I was unsuccessful. They had my account but the trip was not linked to my account. Three times I requested itemized charges on my itinerary; I tried to contact them at least five times. I was promised to receive requested information; I did not receive as of today. They are very quick to book your trip; however, do not expected them to provide to you any additional information after you paid for your trip. I will NEVER use this company again.

Made a booking, had Hotwire paperwork saying it was confirmed but the hotel had no knowledge of this booking. Many other people were trying to check in and also had no booking registered at the hotel. I do not appreciate reserving a hotel room and paying for it when no room was available. This was a huge inconvenience. Refunding the cost of the hotel was not enough! Being on the phone for over an hour was unacceptable! Having to drive over 2 hours home to have to drive back tomorrow again is unacceptable! A confirmation should be a confirmation. How can I trust booking again with Hotwire? I can't! This whole situation was totally messed up. Hotwire should not make reservations at hotels that are full. I will definitely think twice about using Hotwire again in the future.

I booked a hot rate hotel with Hotwire tonight. I specifically chose the hotel because it did not list parking or resort fees (ALL other hotels listed the fees). After I booked and found out what hotel I would have, I visited the website. There, I found that there will be almost 40$ in fees per day. This makes the hotel just as expensive as other better hotels and had they been honest, I would not have even chosen it. Their representative told me that he would do a one-time courtesy cancellation and then sent me to the hotel. This was awkward as I did not know why I had been sent to the hotel. I called back and was treated very rudely by a supervisor (JC) who accused me of never having made the first call. I will NEVER use Hotwire again. I will make sure to let others know about the dishonesty of Hotwire.

We have reached an agreement to full refund. But Hotwire avoid their responsibility. Even there was no answer. No explanation was offered, still less an apology. Demand an apology and full refund.

I made a reservation back in December for my work trip to a Conference. My mom has cancer and her battle is nearing the end. I am setting up hospice care today so she can be comfortable at home. Because her time frame conflicts with my work trip my trip has been cancelled. If it were cancelled under any other circumstances I would have no problem with respecting the no refund policy. However, as I am sure you understand, this is NOT a normal or foreseeable circumstance. I need to be here with my family. I have called multiple times, the first time I was told a onetime courtesy exception could be made but the hoops I have to jump through during this difficult time is ridiculous. I am dealing with enough right now. This is a car reservation and that car can be re-rented on your site.

We booked and picked up a Hertz Rental Car through Hotwire. A life-threatening medical emergency occurred and we needed to change the "contract". Both HERTZ THE HEARTLESS and HOTWIRE THE HEARTLESS said, "Oh so sorry to hear about your husband's sudden cardiac arrest but there's nothing we can do. You have to pay $2000 to change the contract." Of course, we had to prioritize my husband's life over the money. So at a time when we needed the money most, we had to spend an additional $2000 to return the car to a different location. Priceline was a bit better. They gave a partial refund after verifying the medical condition with the hospital for a hotel we had prepaid for and couldn't use. How do these people live with themselves?

We booked a hotel in the north Fort Lauderdale area with Hotwire. Looking at their extremely poor reviews and ratings, (after booking) we were shocked and disappointed. Why was this place listed? Arriving at the hotel, it was a hell hole. The lobby sofas were ripped, and it wasn't the most welcoming. We asked to look at a room. The washroom tub was BLACK, tiles were missing from the floor and there was a musty smell. We told the management we were misled and left. We instantly called Hotwire who wanted to find us another location paying twice the amount. Again, this was not in the plan. We were told a manager was to call within 24 hrs. Two weeks later, and NO phone call. DON'T BOOK WITH HOTWIRE!

After 1 hour on the phone with reps and a supervisor that clearly don't care about their customers... I'll state that we will not EVER use or recommend Hotwire again. On my confirmation screen I was told what hotel I got at the rate of $87 per night. Moments later I get an email confirmation saying I'm paying $117 per night. I AUTHORIZED a certain amount and was charged more. That is no different than someone copying down my credit card number and fraudulently making a $30 purchase without my consent. This is INSANE. They refuse to credit me my $30.

I reserved the 3 stars hotel for $44 per night. Name wasn't disclosed before making the reservation and none of the additional charges. I got the booking for 12/16-12/18 for The Queen Mary on 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA 90802. Found out after the reservation that there is $20 charge per day for Parking and $14.95 for Addition fee for internet/WiFi and other things.

I booked a hotel with 2.5 star in Hotwire, but turns out the hotel I got is just 2 star. Disappointed with the money I paid. Thumb down.

I booked a flight back in May and purchased insurance because I thought we may have to change the date we were flying - which we did. Turns out Hotwire did not allow me to do this as the ad for insurance had claimed. After hours on the phone with Hotwire, I accepted a voucher that I had to use within the next year. That brings us to date - I have a chance now to use the voucher BUT I have to call Hotwire to do this. I have been on the phone each night for the past week trying to use the voucher for a new flight - all within guidelines. Once I get someone to help me and we iron out all the details, I get put on hold for a manager's approval... Needless to say each time I get sent out to hold each time for over an hour. I will never use HOTWIRE - this is a scam to keep over $300.

I could not obtain access to the itinerary because, after waiting on hold for a half hour, I learned that they have me listed as a guest account when I have, on my end, a regular account, password, etc. Do I have to call every time?

On 12-27-2015, I booked for a 3.5 rating using Hotwire and instead it was a 1.0 rating. I received hotel or motel confirmation number to my email. When I got to the Hotel or Motel to check in, the clerk said they don't have any reservations under my name from Hotwire. It was 9pm by the time I was trying to check in, and me and my family were very tired just to find out there was no reservation. I've try multiple time to call Hotwire with no success to resolve issue, was put on hold long period of holds to about 2 hours, with no customer's resolution. It seems to be a bad practice from Hotwire and they don't even care once they charge your credit card. I advise you to stay away from Hotwire. Me and my family ended up finding another hotel around 1:00am without Hotwire.

I booked a hotel and paid Hotwire and the hotel charged me a service fee per night. I called Hotwire and they wiped their hands clean of it and told me it's part of the fine print when you agree to Hotwire's terms and conditions. Not only does Hotwire charge a large service fee to the end user, they don't disclose upfront additional charged. Customer service didn't care about my concern at all. Never using Hotwire again.

Just booked two rooms for the weekend for my family on the Hotwire internet site/phone. Hotwire representative took our credit card number and sent us an email to confirm. (We did receive the confirmation email.) I wanted to make sure that the kid's room would be adjacent to ours. Hotwire representative told us that we would have to call the hotel directly for that info, but could only give us the hotel name/number after booking was completed. After booking the rooms, the Hotwire representative gave us a hotel name (America's Best Value Inn and Suites in St. Cloud, MN) and phone number which I immediately called. (9:30pm) It rang once, then just a series of clicks.

I rented a car from Hotwire. I was done with it 4 days earlier, and when I called them to ask for a refund they refused!! Can you believe it? That's not what other professional, respectable agencies do!! Really this is the first time I hear about something like this!! I will never use Hotwire again....

They booked my room in a hotel that was overbooked AND the office was already closed. Then waited hours on hold just for them to tell us they couldn't give us a room at a different hotel because they couldn't verify the hotel they first put us in was overbooked, because the office was closed... No one is there! It was hard to understand some of what they said and spent at least the first hour on hold while they tried to contact the hotel after I had already informed them that the office was closed. My info to book a room after 7. The office closed at 7. Wasted three hours on new year's eve because of their screw up. DON'T USE THIS SITE!

12.28.15 we were in Orlando visiting Sea World and because of the holiday season, the park were packed and we had visited two days but we're not able to get through the park easily so we decided to stay one more day to fit the stuff we missed in. We had to find a hotel in order to do so so we Google and compare hotel packages. We were lured by a promising deal from Hotwire that was supposed to be a nice well known named four star hotel just 5 mins from Seaworld. It showcase a very nice accommodation for just $99 a night and free breakfast, parking, Internet and onsite laundry. So we start to fill the online form out and pay. After we pressed submit, the page reloaded and stated that there was an error and our session had expired which is ridiculous because it had only been ten mins of answering questions.

I will not be getting the use of a car rented to me by Hotwire but they will be getting my money. I cancelled an hour after I booked it. This is a dishonest business practice. It is unethical and it is theft. Its simple: they got my money and I did not get their service. The scheduled service was a month in advance and it is my responsibility to warn anyone thinking of doing business with them. These types of practices are increasing and if we all resist, they will change their practices to comply with simple golden rule principles.

On Dec. 19, 2015 I made a booking through Hotwire and got a confirmation number # on the screen after I made the reservation. Then, like a normal customer will do, I checked my email that I used to make the reservation to see my reservation. Nothing showed up. Even my online account right now shows no activity. They still managed to charge my card without sending me any confirmation number. I called the Customer Service immediately but all they said was, "Due to the high volume we cannot find your reservation. Please call again." I got that message every time I called them.

I have had amazing success on Hotwire, and was surprised to see all of the negative complaints on here, so I decided to write a review of my own. Most of the complaints that I read are the fault of the consumer, not Hotwire. When you book using their opaque option, you will get an incredible price discount, but you will not know which hotel you are staying at. They DO NOT offer refunds for these purchases once the booking is complete because people would book and then cancel if it was not the place they were hoping for. That defeats the entire concept of what opaque bookings are all about.

Every time I contacted customer service after my nightmare of a stay, that cost me so much money after missing a crucial meeting, I was met with not only indifference but only what I can describe as mentally disabled customer service workers. I sent 9 emails and made 2 phone calls. At no point could anyone even understand what the problem was nor were they willing to do a thing about it. The hotel rooms were disgusting. I wanted 2.5 stars rooms and they were less than 1 star if that. I've stayed in shady prostitute ridden motels that were cleaner.

I booked a trip through Hotwire and then found a much better deal from other agency. Hotwire offers Low price Guarantee (LPG). I called Hotwire Customer Service yesterday to request LPG or, if LPG is not available – to cancel. I was informed that LPG was not available (which is not true). It took me about 40 min to complete the cancellation because representative was continuously putting me on hold. Then instead of cancellation email I received flight confirmation email. I called again. It took additional 30 min to finally cancel. Therefore, instead of getting refund based on Hotwire LPG policy I had to cancel and rebook through other agency plus I lost 1.5 hr of my time. Additionally, it was difficult to understand all customer service representatives due to heavy accent. I would not book my future trips through Hotwire, and will advise my friends against using your agency.

I made a reservation for Orlando Hotel in LA. Of course it was blind reservation. I couldn't see address, photos, other customer reviews, etc. I was okay because I was getting a great deal. I finished and got the actual hotel information. Right away I made a search with another online reservation website. I found same hotel 40 dollars less. I sent email to Hotwire. They sent me form to fill and attach lots of things. I will not spend my time to do those things. I feel I am cheated and I don't think I will use them again.

Made online reservation for car in Madison (MSN). It came upon finalizing reservation as Minneapolis (MSP) - one letter different. I got on chat link, and they said "no" and got a lecture about policy. I've never seen or heard of a company who would not change an error on a reservation. Called the company twice and later e-mailed them twice - last e-mail was a cancellation notice, which they refuse to acknowledge. Had called Hertz in Minneapolis, but they could (or would) do nothing. Made two formal requests via credit card (AX) company - no one can do anything to help change this. A 250 mile error and I'm to walk there to take advantage of this reservation.

They REFUSE to give a refund even though the catchment area is nowhere near my daughter's school!!! I booked a location for my daughter to go to school and it was OUT of the way. They did NOT reimburse my money but offered an alternative at $600.00 more for 3 weeks. They were not helpful at all. In addition, their "policy" was at the bottom of the page, below the page fold and the BUY NOW button. Do not get scammed. Do not buy from here. Buyer beware!!!

I made a reservation for a hotel in Pittsburgh and I accidentally made the check-in date one day before I am going to arrive in the city. I noticed my error when I received the confirmation e-mail 2 minutes after booking. I immediately called customer service to ask to change the date. In those two minutes, I was told the rate for the hotel went up by $40/night. I was told they'd make a one-time exception for me to change the date, and I was welcome to call back the next day to see if the rate was lower again. I called back the next day, was put on hold several times for 10-15 minutes each time. Finally, I was told their system was down and to call back in an hour. I called back 3 hours later and was told the system was down, call back in an hour. I called back again and was told to call back in 5 hours! Worst, worst, worst customer service ever!!!

On Aug 17th, 2015, I made a reservation for a full size car rental using Hotwire. The reservation number was ** and it was for a rental from Payless in Toronto, Canada. The car rental was quoted at US$220.41 with a condition that the rental agency would impose their own taxes and surcharges. However, (documentation available upon request) the quote was very clearly marked as UNLIMITED MILEAGE with no asterisks, footnotes, or conditions attached to the claim. This was critical for me since I needed to do a lot of driving in Canada. The other issues associated with a rental such as taxes, gas, fees were not important to me.

Made a reservation for a hotel for my family and I, ended up changing my check in time for that day and 3 mins later I walk into hotel only to find out my reservation at the price mentioned was not for another 2 weeks. I explained to the staff at hotel and Hotwire that I only have enough for that night because of my budget and I have my 3 month old boy and it's 40 degrees out, so the staff at hotel got on the phone with hotwire to have them release the funds from the reservation to use for that night. They would not release it to the hotel, instead they refunded it back which the money would not go back on my card until 5 business days. How can hotwire do such a thing for my 3 month olds sake!!! They could of easily released it since I already paid for a night, shouldn't matter which.

I booked a hotel in Niagara Falls from Hotwire and going through all the hotels in the area I wanted I decided to go with a 3 star hotel, I believe the discount was something like $150 room on sale for $75. Thinking I got a good deal I booked the hotel and ended up in a putrid hotel that I would rate a 1 star. The hotel had recently been purchased by a big chain and was at the beginning of a renovation apparently, at least the lobby had been renovated. Because the room was considered a sale Hotwire will not let you cancel or refund your money.

If I could give 0 stars I would. I tried making a reservation for a car rental through Hotwire. When I tried to finalize my reservation, the website glitched and my reservation was lost. I lost the lower rate and had to book at a higher rate. Customer Service would not match the lower rate when I called to complain. Very bad customer service. Hotwire should go out of business.

I loved Hotwire and all they had to offer, but I must tell you about my last car rental. I thought I had a great deal on a mini van. The car that I rented from Sixt was the worst car I have ever rented in 30 years! It had over 70,000 miles and was a safety hazard. After inspected it when I arrived I had to add several damages to their pre-inspection. Then as I was driving I discovered it needed an alignment and pulled to the right. The engine light came on as I neared Charleston (already 1 hour away) and came on and off as the trip progressed. Several times when I pulled out into traffic the transmission slipped, making me fear someone would hit me. On the last day, it drizzled and the wipers made a smear of a mess as I drove back to Myrtle Beach. To add insult to injury, when I returned the car the guy said to my various comments, "oh we are pulling 5,000 older cars from the rental line."

I just had the WORST travel experience EVER with HOTWIRE. I had a car reservation that I needed to change the times of arrival/departure and was told by the first representative that this would not be a problem. Before she changed my reservation she said that my car choice and car rental company would not be the same. I said "that is not what you originally said to me - you said nothing would change except the time." Then she changed her story and said that's my reservation and said it could not be changed.

Dealing with Hotwire was difficult, but what happened next was horrendous. Even a dog is treated better than this and it was during the Thanksgiving holiday. My son and I have no family so we vacation during holidays. I was thrown out eight days early and a couple of days before Thanksgiving from my Hotwire hotel pick on the coldest day in Denver. I am 72 years old was very sick with chronic bronchitis at the time, heavily coughing. The manager showed me a picture of a cigarette butt in the toilet. I cannot be around smoke and asked my son if he had smoked in the bathroom. He denied it, but he may have done it, as the picture did show a butt in a toilet.

LIARS!!! I've booked with Hotwire countless times before. This time the offering was a "3" star hotel discounted at 71% off which was a lie. It also said it was like the Holiday Inn, Ramada, Clarion & Comfort Inn which were all in the Altamonte Springs area but when I purchased the "deal" I was given the America's Best Inn which is not in the same price range as the other ones and when I did the math there was no way this hotel could be discounted 71%, that would have made it 13.63 (before tax) and I was charged 35.65. Not to mention, the rating was 1.7 stars on google but 2.5 on their site. Such LIARS. When I called to complain they told me "all sale are final", my problem is that this was a bait-and-switch and therefore illegal and unacceptable.

So frustrated!!! Just spent over 2 hours on hold with Hotwire waiting to get a refund on a room that was booked through Expedia.ca. I made the reservation after setting the filters to find hotels in Lethbridge that are pet friendly and got a hotel that isn't, the employee at the Ramada was very helpful and gave us the # to get a refund and said he'd confirm that we weren't staying there. I phoned and waited on hold for 1 hr 35 min when I decided to hang up, call back and leave my # for them to call me back. They phoned back 27 min later and kept me on hold, waiting for a "specialist" for 16 min.

False advertisings plus misleading info that they lure you into believing that you will be getting good or decent hotels but after you booked with their special rate, you will be getting a worst one that nobody really want to stay in the hotel. I called to see if they can exchange for another one before travel - none. Once you paid them, you're out of luck if you try to work things out with them period. I will never or suggest anybody to use their site and please don't fall into this scam!

I rented an intermediate car for 6 days (Sept. 21-26, 2015) from Thrifty car rental through Hotwire. The rental was at Atlanta, Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson airport. When I approached the Thrifty rental desk, I was informed that they had no reservation in my name. They asked if I had a confirmation number. I did have a number from Hotwire but was unable to find the number on my person. The Thrifty representative was very helpful and diligently searched through a number of other groups that I might have rented from (Travelocity, Expedia). I knew it was Hotwire but began questioning myself about which rental company I had used. Unfortunately, no confirmation number could be located by Thrifty for any other company. I had taken the Hotwire offer of $189.63 for the six days but was now faced with a six day offer of over $300.00 (by Thrifty) for an intermediate car.

I'm extremely disappointed with my experience booking a hotel through Hotwire. I arrived at the holiday inn express lake buena vista in Orlando, FL at 10:20pm on 11/14/2015. They did not have my reservation in their system. I called Hotwire to find out more about my reservation and an automated machine said it was confirmed at the same hotel and hung up. I called again and waited to speak with someone who transferred me to a different department, when I chose option 2 it said the department was closed and I had to call back, so I called back the regular customer service number waited again to speak to a representative, when someone answered they transferred me again and my phone died with no battery.

Been booking with Hotwire over 7 years. But never again. First, they did bait/switch on # of beds/adult. Bed bugs in this room. Called Hotwire for help. Talked with representative and Philippine reading a script, mechanical & no assistance with cancellation/finding another hotel. Do your homework & look for a company with Customer Service in the U.S. & good Customer Care rating (The Hotwire of today doesn't meet either of these criterias).

The Hotwire company is a sneaky corporate. They know basically nothing about their partners i.e. hotels they deal with. They state in their Terms & Conditions that they are not liable e.g. room services after the reservation is done. Okay, I can totally understand that. What I do not, however, understand is that the company policy enables Hotwire to advertise a nameless hotel with a certain price, but only after the unrefundable purchase turns out the hotel has an unavoidable resort fee which adds to the cost by +20%! I don't understand what is the service of the company when the only thing you are supposed to rely on is the price of the hotel while gambling with the location and name of the hotel, and then you can't even rely on the price! I can't see how that is even legal and I hope that people sue them in a group eventually.

I'm very unhappy with Hotwire.com business practices. I booked a reservation via customer service representative. At that time, I requested a certain location, beachfront w/ certain amenities like a balcony. The bottom line is that I had been lied to. The reservation had been booked & neither of my request had been honored. I called to confirm my reservation at the actual hotel site at which point had been informed that none of my requests could be honored & the property wasn't even a beachfront hotel... I had been charged for services I never received... Never got a refund... Will never do business w/ Hotwire.com again.

So I booked hotel for 1 night for 2 queen beds. When I called hotel to confirm they said need to charge me an additional 10.00 because only booked for 1 king bed. Hotwire.com stating no way to specify bed and take what I get at that rate.

I booked a hotel two star in Anaheim - Disney South for night on the Hotwire site about 30 mins ago. The Hotwire site shows that hotel is two star but it's not a two star hotel it's just a motel. I called them and asked them why does the Hotwire site show that hotel two star but it is not two star? I talked to the supervisor he said Hotwire site shows that hotel is two star cause the guests stayed there and rated it's two star. I said the guests were not stupid to rate for the motel to be a two star hotel. Please be careful when you use Hotwire if you wanna book a hotel with Hotwire you have to know that their two star hotels are just motels not even one star.

Was in contact with Hotwire before the trip and found out that the hotel was double booked for October 26, 2015. Also found out that American Airline also was almost doubled book. It was explained to me that because the return flight was a hour early, that it wasn't double booked. I had two flights to Miami and only me and my wife, were on one flight. American Airline asked me to get issue straight with Hotwire, and that's where the problem started. So I out of Fare for two to Miami and two back to Washington DC. Also paid extra for seating. Prefer the window seat. On boarding no such animal - instead of 7A and 7B I was seated in 7E and 7D. This will all leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth. This whole Birthday surprise was just that. If you travel on Hotwire beware.

I booked a hotel through Hotwire this past week. After everything was said and done I realized it was the wrong booking. I called to cancel. The cancelling part was easy. Now it's trying to find out where my refund is. I have been on the phone with Hotwire and Expedia for the last three days and I very unhappy with the lack thereof of customer service! I have been transferred so many times and hung up on. I will never book through Hotwire again!

I booked my flight through Hotwire with no problems at all. Once I was at my destination USA, I had to leave the country for work purposes. Since I left from there my company agreed to send me back there, so I successfully called Hotwire and changed the return flight to a later date, with no problems. Once I came back to the States I realized the airlines had changed a one-stop flight to a 3-stop flight. Ridiculous! So I decided to extend for another week and change it to a simpler flight. I was on the phone to the agent for an hour who agreed that was strange and would place me on a call with a supervisor to help figure the situation out. Once I was placed on hold for another 45 mins, the supervisor picked the phone up, and to put the phone down on me. At this point I still had the crap flight. So I called back.

System glitch but they will still not refund your money. This all happened within 1 hour. Booked once - "no availability", booked the second time, no availability BUT was charged for both bookings. Booked elsewhere. Checked my account, 2 charges of $250+. Called to dispute charges. First call, agent said he will look into it. After a few minutes of being on hold, he hung up on me. I called the second time, spoke with an agent who said they can only refund one booking.

I booked a blind reservation through Hotwire to give it a chance, NEVER AGAIN! I was booked at a locally owned hotel and was charged twice! In addition, the owner of hotel was so rude!!! DAYS have passed and I have yet to receive a refund! I called Hotwire because I booked through them after all and I can get is a sorry! A sorry is not my refund!! Do not book through Hotwire!!

I rented a car thru "Hotwire" with "Dollar" for 500 usd. To be taken at JFK airport. As I get to the counter to pick up the car I was told by the woman at the reception that the insurance I got from Hotwire will make me severe problems in case of accident because I'll be running after Hotwire and the third company. When, if the insurance is taken from Dollar, Dollar will take care of everything. Otherwise will run between the companies by myself. In resume. I was hardly recommended to make the wide cover insurance from Dollar and they charge my 700 usd. They took advantage of my innocence and ignorance and pushed me to spend a double insurance.

All I can say is be very careful with this company. When you are searching, make sure you know the area and search it by name then current location. I was looking for a place in California and it located me in Germany. The area was new to me and without any knowledge of the area, I ended up booking it. Talked to the manager and no empathy at all. No help. They just act like they want to help you but of course they don't. The tone of managers voices always overpowering and they don't even want to listen to what you have to say and just say no to everything without even listening to the whole story.

DO NOT BOOK THROUGH HOTWIRE. Hotwire app rips people off. Never gave a confirmation for our reservation yet still booked the hotel. Reservation was not refunded and the hotel was never used. Customer service was a joke. I was placed on hold for 45 mins to speak with a supervisor who eventually hung up on me. Worse customer service ever. I have always recommended Hotwire to friends and family, but I will not longer do so. Definitely booking through a different company from here on out.

I made a reservation and hotwire never told me another 200 dollars we had to pay at the hotel. Hotwire blames the hotel. We can't get our money back. Also they are charging us for a extra night because we want to cancel. Stay away from Hotwire.com.

The wrong hotel was booked after the payment part was completed. Since they are so tricky there was no refund. Therefore I was forced to change to the hotel that I wanted. After few conversations with different people I was assured that only one charge will be on my credit card. After I returned from my trip two charges were on my statement. So I called and he confirmed that I will be not charged twice. See the way they do business that once you click the mouse you have no way out. Please stay away from them for everything.

Since I passed on the first time...no more. To readers... not a good way to treat anyone, let alone someone with heart surgery again in front of them. Shame on you.

Today, bought a hotel room for tomorrow Biloxi MS and just found out that for tomorrow there is coastal flood warning, tornado watch, flash flood warning. So I decided not to go and change it for day after tomorrow. I am in a middle of a trip where I have bought from them maybe 15 hotel nights in the last month. So I called these people to a call center I don't know where, with people that talk with a heavy accent, very difficult to understand to tell them to change my date for day after tomorrow and expand my actual hotel, one day more.

I was trying to modified my last name and after two days of trying and waiting 3 hours on the phone, it was not done. The supervisor Nik ** told me he has 10-20% ability to to do so, which is totally ridiculous nonsense! THE WORST COMPANY!!!

I tried to book a hotel using the app. After entering all my information including my payment information, the app displayed a message saying the booking didn't go through due to changed availability and that my card won't be charged. So I tried again with the same result and decided to go with another booking site. I sure got a bad surprise when I checked my account... Hotwire charged me twice. I immediately called their customer service hotline. After being on the phone for a while and getting increasingly upset, I was informed that as a one-time courtesy they would refund my money. The representative then went ahead and told me again that Hotwire wasn't at fault. So their bad customer service made my already bad experience even more horrible... It should be notwire instead of Hotwire.