I booked a "3 star hotel" through hotwire.com for 3 nights at $105 per night in Knoxville, TN. It ended up being an ok Holiday Inn Express. My total bill from Hotwire was $359.32 including taxes. When I checked out from the hotel, I was given a copy of the invoice. The amount charged by the hotel was $266.08!
I was overcharged by hotwire.com, the site that claims to be a "discount" travel site, by nearly $100, not a deal at all in anyone's definitons. So I called Hotwire.com when we returned home and asked what the policy was when the hotel price was different from the booked "deal". The worker on the phone, (sounded like a young kid) said that the hotel was not supposed to give me the bill. That I was to never have seen the bill!
Of course, they didn't want me to see the bill - I learned I was ripped off by nearly $100! I told him it didn't matter, I was given the bill and I was under the impression that hotwire.com was a site that was supposed to find the best deals and where I would pay the least money for my room. I booked it in faith that they had found the best price for me. I asked what the price difference was and he couldn't explain why there was a difference and he did confirm that they are indeed a discount site to save travelers money. He had to put me on hold for several minutes, and finally came back to say that the price booked included fees and taxes.
I said I understand taxes are included, they were included that $266 total from the hotel too. I then asked him what he meant by fees. After not giving me a straight answer several times and again telling me that I was not supposed to have the hotel bill, he finally admitted that it was the fees for hotwire.com.By the way, I have both bills to prove what they are doing to their customers.
So basically it cost me $100 to use this "discount" travel website. Please do not book anything through them if you value your money.
0 comments