Booked a hotel through Hotwire, so they and the hotel got my money already, right? So, I get to the hotel Sunbrite Apartments where I was greeted by the manager who says there's a "problem" with some of their rooms. So she sends me to another hotel The Shelley that belongs to a group including the original hotel that I wanted which has lovely condo-style rooms with a kitchen and Wi-Fi. Instead, I was sent to the Shelley hotel in the group that had tiny rooms with no Wi-Fi, no kitchen which I really needed to save money. It ruined my vacation plans in this respect and eating in restaurants was very expensive. Curiously, the room became available on my fourth night in Miami. I was already bitterly disappointed by this hotel, but wanted to get out of the Shelley. I think Hotwire doesn't care what happens to the customer after booking and taking your money. I think the scam is to allow hotels to bait customers and get paid for the service. Prepaid reservation, never again! I decide what happens to my money before I spend it and no one hijacks it!

Do not complete a hotwire.com transaction. Hotwire claims that you will get the best price for services that are categorized but not disclosed. Under the false pretense that you will get the best possible price from the best possible provider you may be willing to commit to a non-refundable, non-alterable transaction. Hotwire does not tell you who you are buying services from and any specifics until you commit. In my case the when I was told what I purchased the I realized the services were misrepresented and I had no way of canceling or altering the transaction or getting human interaction from hotwire. Most important, when I got the specifics, wothin minutes I found I was paying a higher price than what the hotel or other sites like Expedia, Travelocity & Orbitz were quoting for the exact same product for the exact same dates. I also realized I could have booked a much better hotel in the same vicinity for less but now committed to the highest price and lower quality product with absolutely no chance of canceling or altering the purchase. Most important, they market their 'double-difference' price guarantee which is non-existent. Within minutes I sent claims through their web system with proof that I paid a significantly higher price. There was no response and when filing a Better Bureau claim they responded that they never got them - although I had the e-mail transactions to prove they did. In summary, you will be paying a higher price for a service provider you do not know and cannot cancel or alter the purchase. The whole thing is a scam. You will do much better booking through a reputable site (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelcity) where you know exactly what you are paying for, you will get an actual price guarantee, and get human interaction and service. This was a $1, 233.00 mistake on my part. Do not let this happen to you.

BOOKED A RENTAL A MONTH AGO, 6-2-2011, AND GOT A EMAIL ALERT ABOUT CAR RENTALS SO I FIGURED I'D CHECK TO SEE WHAT THE RATES WERE. THE RATE FOR THE SAME DATES AND TIMES WERE 25 DOLLARS CHEAPER. I'VE CANCELLED AND CHANGED MY RESERVATIONS BEFORE AND I WAS TOLD BECAUSE I'M A "PREFERRED CUSTOMER" THAT THEY WOULD CANCEL MY BOOKING WITH NO PENALY AND ALLOW ME TO BOOK A NEW RESERVATION. WHEN I CALLED TODAY AND SPOKE WITH DANI, A HOTWIRE RESERVATIONIST, SHE TOLD ME "JUST BECAUSE HOTWIRE DID THIS IN THE PAST IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'LL DO IT AGAIN". SHE SPOKE OVER ME AND WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO TALK. I TOLD HER SHE WAS BEING RUDE. HOTWIRE SURE ISN'T GOING TO GET MY BUSINESS ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THIS! IT APPEARS THAT THEY DO SOMETHING ONE WAY ON ONE DAY AND THINGS DIFFERENTLY ON ANOTHER DAY. THEY SURE DID RUIN THEIR CREDIBILITY WITH ME TODAY! I WON'T BE USING HOTWIRE ANY TIME SOON. I KNOW ORBITZ AUTOMATICALLY SENDS A REFUND CHECK TO YOU IF A RATE GOES LOWER AFTER A BOOKING.

I booked with Hotwire many times. They lead you to believe through their icons on their star description that you will be getting one of the brands listed. However, in the fine print, it states that they can substitute independent brands of "similar quality". That is exactly what they did, except similar quality is in the eye of the beholder. My wife and mother in law were put in a crack motel called "Tower Motel" in the heart of the ghetto of Long Beach. The motel was so unsafe they had to leave immediately. Hotwire refused to do anything about it even after arguing with their service reps for over an hour. Little do most know that EXPEDIA, Hotels.com and tripadvisor.com are owned by the same company. Don't do business with any of these fraud artists.

After 45 min of waiting for somebody from Customer Reps I finally gave up (that's probably their intention). 3 times so far. Bought airline ticket $$$ to Europe 2 months in advance and cannot book a seat. Friend of mine bought the same but via Orbitz and no problem booking/selecting a seat of course. Finally got email saying that they cannot help. There is no refund option with Hotwire. Basically take money and run from customer. NEVER again Hotwire.
For potential customers : After you buy a ticket you are on your own! No refund, nothing .

Hotwire terrible experience