How To Identify A Hotwire Hotel Before Reserving
It is possible to reveal your Hotwire hotel before purchasing. If you are wondering, "How does Hotwire work?" this page is full of tips to help answer some of your questions about reserving your hotel on Hotwire, including how to reveal your hotel. If you're new to Hotwire, here is a primer. First, it is important to understand the concept: you do no find out what hotel you are reserving until after you already paid for it. In other words, you pay first then find out the hotel. Most purchases are non-refundable. This is somewhat unique and admittedly, not for everyone because of the risks involved in getting a non- refundable mystery hotel. But if you are a bit flexible on your hotel brand and location, Hotwire can save you a lot of money.
When booking a hotel on Hotwire, you start off like you do on most other online hotel booking sites. First, you enter certain parameters such as your destination and travel dates. You are presented with the results - a list of hotels and prices. You can narrow your search by specifying a particular hotel star rating (e.g., 3 stars and above) and other criteria. Hotwire also breaks large cities into smaller areas or 'zones'. For instance, Las Vegas is broken into more than 13 different areas. This allows travelers to reserve a hotel in a more precise neighbourhood within the city.
Although customers do not know the name of the hotel or exact location, Hotwire lists hotel amenities before you purchase. As mentioned above, if you are flexible on location, this can save you a lot of money while ensuring you get a hotel with the amenities you desire. If you're looking for a hotel with a pool, for example, you know this information before you purchase. This is part of what makes Hotwire great.
It Pays To Compare: Hotwire Is Not Always The Cheapest
Before jumping onto Hotwire, you should figure out the going rate for a similar hotel using Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz. Use this information to determine whether or not you are getting a good deal on Hotwire since Hotwire does not always have the lowest prices.
At this point, you are ready to start using Hotwire. Take the price that you've found at the retail site and head over to Hotwire. Plug in your cities and your dates of travel. Compare the fare you found at the retail site to the Hotwire. With the money you are saving, is it worth it to book a hotel not knowing the exact brand or location? If so, complete your purchase.
I generally recommend that travelers do not use Hotwire unless the savings are at least 10% compared to similar hotels on other websites. Many times you will find even greater savings. However, if the savings are not significant, do not bother with Hotwire. Afterall, there is considerable risk in the fact that you cannot change or cancel your reservation. Plus you do not even know the name of the hotel.
Revealing Your Hotwire Hotel
This website is a place where travellers share their actual winning bids. This information is then collated and put into Hotwire hotel lists for virtually every city in the United States, Canada, and now some select cities in Europe and Mexico. Using the hotel lists, it is possible to compare the information provided by Hotwire and match this up to the informaiton on the Hotel Lists. If you find a match, there is a good chance this is the hotel you will get.
A word of caution. There is no guarantee that the hotel you see on the Hotwire hotel lists will be the hotel you get on Hotwire. Afterall, the lists are generated by fellow travellers posting their Hotwire wins. While we try to keep the lists up to date, the may not be 100% accurate. If you're trying to reveal your Hotwire hotel, just use the lists as a guide for the type of hotel you might get, and do not be too disappointed if you get something else
Additional Hotwire Hotel Tips
Hotwire Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): This is a great resource for new Hotwire customers by answering some common questions by Hotwire customers.
How To Identify A Hotwire Hotel: This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions how to reveal the name of your Hotwire hotel before you purchase in 4 easy steps.
Hotwire Blog: Blog posts about Hotwire hotel bidding.