Warning - Here is what happened when I used Hotwire.com to make a hotel reservation in June.
When you use Hotwire.com they give you choices of what area you are trying to make a hotel reservation. I wanted a hotel located in the Torrey Pines area of La Jolla. Once I checked that area on their website I was presented with three different rates for hotels in that area. Please note that you are not allowed to see the names, or addresses, of the hotels, only their amenities and their rates (this is why they claim they can offer such GREAT DISCOUNTS).
Only after you make your selection are you provided with the name of the hotel you will be staying in. So... Because their website indicated I was looking at hotels in La Jolla - Torrey Pines, I went ahead and selected one of the hotels and waited to find out where I would be staying. I was in for a RUDE SURPRISE when the information came back. My hotel was located in San Diego. The hotel was no where near La Jolla - Torrey Pines like Hotwire.com's website had promised.
I immediately contacted Hotwire.com to find out why they made a reservation for me in San Diego and not the area I requested. Hotwire.com has a TOTAL non-refundable policy. This is where I think the RIP OFF area comes to play. Once you make your selection, whether for hotel reservations, airfare, etc. You are unable to have any refund. They can put you in a different city, disregard your request, and you are simply out of luck (that is their policy!!!).
Funny enough, the first person I spoke to at Hotwire.com used to be in the service and was stationed in San Diego. He confirmed that the hotel Hotwire.com had booked us in was nowhere near La Jolla - Torrey Pines, but unfortunately he was too low on the totem poll and there was nothing he could do to refund my money.
Because I had no intention in staying at the hotel that Hotwire.com booked me in, I called their Reservation Manager and explained what had happened. I told her that I wanted to cancel the reservation so they could book the room to someone else (common courtesy). After all, it was not their fault that Hotwire.com put me there.
The manager at the hotel also confirmed that they were located nowhere near the destination I had requested. She went ahead and cancelled the room on their end and provided me with a cancellation number. She also told me she was going to call Hotwire.com and tell them their hotel was not in La Jolla -Torrey Pines. She also apologized. Unfortunately she too had no control over Hotwire.com providing me a refund.
Alas, I received the final ruling from Hotwire.com, just recently, they informed me they were correcting their website for the future. They told me I could have $25.00 Hotwire.com dollars for future use (LIKE I WOULD EVER USE THEM AGAIN).
The morale of this story is BUYER BEWARE, I guess when something seems to good to be true (extremely low travel rates) that it probably is.
Annita
Rossmoor, Colorado
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