People love to complain about Hotwire. You might be thinking that a site like HotelDealsRevealed.com was in support of Hotwire — we are, but we always advocate educating yourself about how it works because purchases are non-refundable. We also want to help travellers save money on travel, and that doesn’t always mean Hotwire. Here are some trips to help you avoid pitfalls and complaints against Hotwire.
How do I cancel a reservation on Hotwire? You can’t. When you book a hotel or other products using Hotwire Hot Rates, you can’t cancel your reservation. When you book, your credit card is charged and there is no cancelation clause. I have a bit of an inside scoop and I’m lead to believe that this will be changing soon. Hotwire will soon open up a very short cancelation window. Nothing confirmed quite yet.
Using Priceline for Hotel Reservations in Lake Tahoe
I had the opportunity to check out Lake Tahoe Recently. I had been there about 15 years ago, but I was always confused about the various bidding regions on Priceline. This is due to the fact that theLake Tahoe Region on Priceline cuts through two states, Nevada and California. During my time in the area, I made a point of checking out a few of the main tourist areas and purposely visiting some of the better hotels that are frequently found to be on Priceline.
North and South Lake Tahoe – The Popular Priceline Bidding Zones
Lake Tahoe Bidding Zones – Overview: There are 7 bidding zones in the Lake Tahoe on Priceline, covering the main tourist areas in both North and South Lake, as well as some outer lying areas that do not get many hotel bookings (and which I didn’t visit). For casino fans, you’ll want to stay on the Nevada side as there are no casinos on the California side of Lake Tahoe.
One of the questions often asked in the Hotwire & Priceline Forum is, “Does Hotwire artificially inflate their hotel ratings?” In other words, is Hotwire maybe a little too generous with the hotel ratings you see on their site. For those who are unaware, hotels you purchase on Hotwire are non-refundable. Therefore it’s imperative to know if the rating is reliable or not. Unlike other sites, you cannot check out hotel ratings and reviews on TripAdvisor before you buy on Hotwire because you don’t know what hotel you’re getting. This makes it all the more important to have confidence in the hotel rating that you see before you buy.
Every so often, a website needs a homepage make-over. HotelDealsRevealed is working on a new design. Currently, we are trying out a new look on the homepage. Have a look at the screenshot below. Homepage Features & Layout The new home page is divided into 4 main sections. The main body of the home page […]
One of the lesser known rules about Priceline, when using its Name Your Own Price to bid on a hotel room, is that the room you book is only guaranteed to accommodate a maximum of 2 people. Despite Priceline pointing this out during the bidding process, it is sometimes ignored by travellers who are upset when they arrive at their hotel and the hotel cannot provide a room with enough beds for more than 2 people. Here is Priceline’s official policy:
Revealing Your Hotwire Hotel – As you probably know, when you book a hotel room on Hotwire, you don’t find out the name of your hotel until after you have booked. Fortunately for travellers using this site, there is a way to have your Hotwire hotel revealed. Hotwire has been around for well over a decade, and by now most people are familiar with the concept. You pay first (non-refundable) and then you find out what hotel you booked. Hotwire tells you certain information about a hotel such as the general vicinity, hotel rating, and the hotel amenities, but the actual name of the hotel is not revealed until after you pay.
Why does Hotwire not reveal the hotel name before you bid? Essentially, Hotwire sells off rooms for hotels that the hotel themselves cannot sell through direct bookings or other channels. Problem is that hotels want to sell off excess capacity, but they don’t want to frustrate existing customers who reserved at higher rates. Instead, hotels use services like HW where the name is not revealed until after you buy. This is usually a win-win for everybody involved.