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Hotel Booked and Paid, But Full - Horrible Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Never use them! Obscenely long wait times! Don't value customers or their time in any way! Worst customer service I've ever experienced! Just pay the extra $25 or so and go with a different company! Or book directly with the hotel - they usually match the rate anyway! I promise it'll be better than this!! Expedia is their parent company fyi!!

I booked a hotel with Hotwire online and when we arrived the hotel was fully booked. (It was 10 pm at this time. My husband and I were driving/moving cross country. Tired.) The hotel was helpful and tried to find us accommodations. We drove to a few of these options, but the hotels they offered were far below the caliber of their hotel - what we already booked and paid for. We just booked a new reservation through a different hotel altogether.

We were never contacted by Hotwire at the time of the error or the next day, although the hotel told us Hotwire would contact us to refund us (the hotel did notify Hotwire of the problem). In my opinion, it's Hotwire's mistake, so they should be making up for their error by offering us a better hotel, at the very least. Anyway, we had to call them the next day for a refund and spoke to about 4 people and finally they gave a refund 2 hours later.

The bigger issue was this: I asked how they could compensate us for this, maybe a voucher? It took a lot of discussion, and then they offered a voucher, but they said I had to book on the phone to redeem it. Ok, that's fine. How do I do that? Well they said the representative would just know when I called. Um, right. I don't think so. I finally got a reference number for the voucher and hung up with them.

Then, comes time to book another hotel on our driving move. That reference number doesn't exist!!! It took literally 3 hours of phone calls, transfers (they never explain what happened to the person they transfer you to, so you waste your time, and it seems no one can even help with the problem because "it's not their department" and they transfer you again and again, and it's an infuriating cycle that goes nowhere!). I asked for a supervisor several times, after it became clear no one could help me and I kept being transferred ugh!

Oh, I should mention they were extremely reluctant to transfer me to a supervisor, and once transferred me and then turns out that person wasn't even a supervisor, another useless transfer. So now, I'm cursing and screaming (This is so not my personality btw, but they were infuriating and refused to let me talk to a supervisor!) I got a supervisor after being on hold for 40 minutes. So talked to the supervisor, and yeah, she said they "don't do vouchers". Are you kidding me? This supervisor I actually was patient with, giving the company one last chance to redeem themselves.

So, yup, they "don't do vouchers" and could offer nothing for the hours of waits, disgraceful service, the error on the first booking, and the person who basically lied by saying we could get a voucher. So, no resolution. Yep. Don't waste your time or get yourself angry/ruin your day/hour/vacation for them!!

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Horrible Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, FLORIDA -- WORSE SERVICE EVER!!! When we arrived at the hotel I was informed that the hotel called Hotwire at 10:20 am to inform that they were sold out and had to cancel the reservation. The hotel was told by Hotwire they would contact me about the cancellation. I didn't receive any phone call and drove over 250 miles to find out we didn't have a room to stay in. The hotel representative called Hotwire and waited 35 minutes for someone to answer.

The representative who answered told her he couldn't do the rebook and I needed to call directly 866-hot-wire. It took 45 minutes for me to get a representative on the line while my whole family, including my 2 year old son and veteran father in law, slept uncomfortably in the car due to the incompetence of your company. I spoke to a representative who gave me NO solution and therefore asked to speak to a supervisor. I waited another 15 to 20 minutes for a supervisor to come on the line to finally tell me that since it was after midnight he couldn't book the reservation for me, I had to walk in and request the rooms.

I ended up at a very run down hotel not a 3 star like the one I booked. Due to no real solution I was forced to drive there and pay for it out my own pocket to find that the conditions of the hotel less than desirable. I was told by the supervisor that I needed to fax the receipt in and the research department would determine how much to credit me. Your company ruined my Memorial Day weekend vacation with my family. The gift of relaxation and visiting another city was ruined by your company.

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Incredibly Disappointed With Hotwire
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, WASHINGTON -- I used to be a diehard Hotwire fan, booking every business trip through their service. Today changed everything, when they not only wouldn't honor my hotel booking, but made me endure an atrocious customer service experience. Did you know that Hotwire can call you at 1:49 PM on the day of your reservation and say the hotel you booked and PRE-PAID for is full and you're out of luck?

Earlier this week I booked two rooms in Vancouver BC at a 4-star hotel. The hotel I selected was in the Burnaby area, close to where I had a customer meeting the following day. At 1:49 PM, shortly before I was due to check into the hotel, I received a voicemail from Hotwire Customer Service, informing me that the hotel I had reserved and paid for in advance no longer had a room. He said that I needed to contact Hotwire if I wanted to book an alternate hotel or get a refund.

Did you know that Hotwire's Customer Service processes are cumbersome, time consuming and ineffective? When I reached an agent, she said that they could see if another hotel might be available. The first alternate hotel she found cost more money, and she said Hotwire would cover the cost difference. However, she said that she had to do something with Hotwire HotDollars, and could I please be put on hold.

Ten minutes later (I kid you not, because my cell phone indicates the duration of the call) she finally came back and asked for my credit card information. I asked her why she needed it, since I had already paid for two rooms. She insisted that she needed to charge my card again, so I gave her the information. Then, when she went to book the rooms, they weren't available.

So we started again, and she found two rooms at the Westin Bayshore at standard pricing, and again said that Hotwire would cover the difference. She said that she would have to put me on hold again to take care of the HotDollars needed. Five minutes later she came back, got my credit card information again, and GUESS WHAT? The rooms at the Westin were no longer available.

She then said that nothing else was available. I insisted that there must be something available further out, so she eventually found a 3.5 star hotel in Surrey. By now, I had been on the call 35 minutes, and I desperately needed to call my colleague so that he didn't show up at the original hotel looking for a room that didn't exist. I asked the agent to quickly conclude the call, and I told her that I was very upset about the customer service exhibited by Hotwire. She offered to deposit 50 HotDollars in my account, and I told her that I didn't even care about the HotDollars, as I needed to get off the phone and call my colleague.

Sadly, the Customer Service Supervisor wasn't much better. Later, I called Hotwire Customer Service back. I requested a Supervisor and explained my experience. I posed questions such as: Why was a booked reservation paid for in advance not valid only hours before check-in? Why didn't Hotwire secure other rooms in Vancouver before calling me, instead of putting me through 35 minutes of torture and 2 thwarted attempts to book another hotel. Maybe a process that requires 10 minutes to get HotDollars approved isn't good when hotel rooms are scarce and rooms disappear in that time frame.

Why did I need to keep giving the agent my credit card number? Why was I paying the same for a 3.5 star hotel as I originally paid for a 4-star hotel….that was 3 times farther away from my business meeting location? The net result was that the Supervisor offered me a whopping 25 HotDollars for my trouble. What an insult! That's less than a dollar a minute for the first call to Hotwire, much less the time and trouble I took to bring this to his attention.

My lasting impression is that Hotwire doesn't want to examine customer service issues, or improve processes. All they want to do is try to buy off dissatisfied customers with a dollar amount that is insulting. It's especially interesting in comparison to the 818.90 in HotDollars they would have spent when the agent thought when comparable hotels were available for booking.

I also tried emailing with Hotwire Customer Service, and the responses I got were boilerplate and impersonal. Each email said “over-bookings do occur in the hotel industry and are not unique to Hotwire customers.” They also said they looked forward to serving me in the future, which clearly shows that they don't think their service was that bad. I'm still shaking my head. All of this is especially crushing when I have been a loyal customer and vocal advocate of Hotwire with friends and on social media. I don't ever plan to use Hotwire again.

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Not as Advertised
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- I've been a Hotwire client for many years now. I've reserved hotel rooms, flights and rental cars over those years and was always satisfied with the deals and service I received. That's why I referred many friends, family and colleagues to Hotwire. But now I'm in the middle of my latest trip I booked on Hotwire May 27th 2018 and must say I'm very disappointed on the outcome.

When I went on the website to book a hotel room I selected a "Hotrate" deal that guaranteed me a room between 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ hotels that rents normally over $500/night ( Cad $ ) for the price of $174.37 Cad. Once I reserved I received my confirmation # and saw I was booked at the Hilton in Bonnet Creek Florida which suited me fine.

I immediately imagined I would be assigned a large room or suite with possibly a kitchenette and a great view since it was supposed to be a $500/night room. So I was really looking forward to this trip. However, When I arrived this past Sunday July 1st and checked-in to the Hilton I went up to the room and once I opened the door I was sure the front desk made a mistake. The room was a standard 1 King bed room that after investigating on the Hilton's website, rents for $196.00 Cad had I rented it myself via the Hilton's website.

I went back down to the front desk clerk and asked if they could double check my reservation and explained the situation. They said I was given a room that was in accordance to the information that was sent from Hotwire and that there was nothing they could do because I booked through a third -party ( Hotwire ) and that I needed to turn to Hotwire for any compensation and/or changes.

The room I was assigned is worth probably between $175-$200 / night but no more, not close to the $500.00 that was advertised as a "Hot rate" deal. Had I known before hand this was the type of room I was going to get, I would not have reserved it. I could have gotten something equivalent at another hotel chain for under $150.00/night. I sent an email to Hotwire.com 5 days ago asking for an explanation but have yet heard back from them.

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Deplorable Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CALIFORNIA -- Let me first tell you that this is my first review about a hotel and about Hotwire. I booked a hot rate for a hotel in Berkeley California called Rodeway. As for hot rate deals, it is firmly stated when you call customer service or when you go online to their website that there is no exchanges or refunds. Unfortunately, I was not told that the property was under extreme renovation. It was bad enough to discover once I checked in after 8 p.m. that the room smelled horrible. It smelled like a mix of cigarettes and other unrecognizable smells; you can also smell sewage in the room strongly. The smell of sewage happened the last time I flush the toilet on my check out date. With Hotwire hot rate, it states that you cannot make any cancellations or refunds... and I'm tired from driving a long distance, I tried to manage.

Unfortunately, I woke up to extreme renovations/construction with consistent banging and knocking on the walls and grounds 8 in the morning. I also smelled cigarettes coming from the outside because there's no insulation. I called the front office twice to ask them if they could make the workers stop working and still the workers did not stop renovating. I still heard the banging. I even recorded the banging.

I called Hotwire, and I'm not sure if I was calling within the United States because one thing I have noticed is that those that have the same type of accents (of the person that I was talking to) does not respect customers; they have a PROBLEM with interrupting/talking over the customer. But one thing I've noticed with this particular customer service agent is he not only talked over me but he also retaliated against me when I corrected him of his poor customer service. He also tried to blame me for not calling ahead of time about my complaints. I had to explain to him that I did not know about these renovations; I was not told ahead of time of these renovations and I heard the construction this morning. I was so frustrated that I asked to speak to the supervisor.

Unfortunately I did not speak to a person in this country again so they have the same type of poor attitude and poor customer service. The customer service agent did not tell the supervisor all of my complaints and basically lied to the supervisor about my complaints. All they offered me is $25 credit when I paid over $100. And the $25 credit is only valid for one year. The supervisor had the audacity to tell me that this is just a credit to basically silence me and not to accommodate what terrible experience I had. I am blown away by how badly I was treated by Hotwire. This is beyond poor customer service. I recorded these phone conversations so I can let others hear how poor of a company Hotwire is.

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Took over 1000 dollars from me and will not give it back
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

NEW YORK -- I attempted to book a weekend away using Hotwire. When I went to "click" which hotel I wanted my computer screen jumped and I hit the wrong property. I immediately called Hotwire to correct the property. I was informed that they would have to refund me and I would have to pay for the new reservation. I agreed and specifically told the Representative that I wanted to stay in the in Plainview/ Melville property, I described the property, price, area exactly how it appeared on Hotwire's website. When I received my confirmation, I was booked in a COMPLETELY different hotel, which is now a motel, in a completely different unsafe area. I called Hotwire to have this issue corrected but I was informed that I would have to pay AGAIN (3rd time) in order to have a refund. I do not have any more money. I also do not have the reservation that I requested or, a safe place to stay. I just want a refund OR the correct accommodations without having to pay more money which I do not have. I called every telephone number I could obtain for Hotwire but nobody would give me the corporate office or even the number to customer service to obtain a refund. All I wanted was to switch the motel to the hotel in my desired area without being charged for the 3rd time. I finally, after calling 6 times, spoke with a supervisor, Eric. He told me that the town I wanted (Melville) did not exist and could not do nothing for me. I cannot cancel nor will they let me get the hotel I wanted. Eric was very unprofessional and hung up the phone on me. I called again and asked for the the Corporate office spoke with another supervisor, Amanda, and again, was given the run around. I tried to explain what was going on and she said she could not do anything for me. I am not getting a refund, and I do not feel safe with the motel that was booked without my consent. I need my money back. I believe I am a victim of bait and switch and Hotwire is stealing my money by forcing me to stay somewhere I do not want to stay.

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Very Misleading Website!!! Horrible Customer Service!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Via the website, I selected to view options in the SEA TAC airport area. I selected and paid for a hotel that said it was Sea Tac and after charging my card the website told me I got a room in a different town. I called the hotel and asked if they had a shuttle - they said no and that they were 25min from the airport. I spent an hour on the phone after hearing the same policy lines over and over and getting transferred to a different supervisor I finally got a hotel in the Sea Tac area. That hotel was more $ but by now I didn't care. Arrived at hotel and was give a queen bed for 2 adults and 2 kids. Pushed 2 chairs together for one kid and husband slept on the dirty floor.

Using a tip from the "Supervisor" I had spoken with, the next time I filtered for a hotel with shuttle service to/from the airport. Flew in at 11pm and called the hotel who tells me shuttle service ends at 10pm. And they are 30 min from airport. The am departures are different so we are looking at $90 in taxi fees to get there. Called a hotel down the road from airport and paid $80 for a night there.

Hotwire gets to keep the $175 I paid for a 3.5 star hotel in the SEA TAC requested area that didn't end up being In the area OR have a shuttle past 10pm. Fine print is that you have to click on the map and view the shaded area that they consider "within" your requested area and no guarantee on 24 hour shuttle service. You have to call the hotel and ask if they are 24 hour shuttle and if not, spent hours on phone with Hotwire begging for them to rectify the situation - which they will not do. NEVER AGAIN!

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Hotwire ripp off
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- I booked my hotel and had a conformation for a hotel near the phoenix airport with an airport shuttle, with the airport shuttle being the most important feature of the hotel to me, because my car rental did not start till the following morning. I later received a call from Hotwire stating that my hotel was overbooked and that my reservation was cancelled. I was then presented with two options. The first was that I could get a refund, or my second option was that I could have Hotwire book a new hotel for me. I chose to have Hotwire book a new hotel for me because I was driving to the airport, so I couldn't do it myself,and still needed a hotel when I got to Phoenix. I explained to the Hotwire customer service agent that I needed a hotel with an airport shuttle because my car rental was not scheduled till the next morning. She then asked me if the Four Points Sheraton at 6850 E. Williams Rd. in Mesa would be ok, to which I responded, "As long as they have an Airport shuttle, and can pick me up." She then indicated that they did, and proceeded to book my room. I am not familiar at allwith Phoenix, and I didn't have any access to the internet while driving, so telling me the address of a hotel has no meaning to me. My only concern was that the hotel could pick me up at the airport. Much to my surprise, after picking up my luggage and calling the hotel, they informed me that they were located in an entirely different area, and serviced an entirely different airport. I then called Hotwire to have this situation resolved. After waiting on the phone for 30-40 minutes while the Hotwire representative pleaded unsuccessfully with the hotel to pick me up, I was told that I needed to catch a taxi to the hotel and back the next morning(a 30 minute drive each way), and that it would be refunded by Hotwire. I asked why I could not simply be changed to a new hotel, and was given the excuse that it was already the next day, and if my hotel was changed, I would not be able to check in till 3 p.m. the next day. This however did not really make sense, because it was still before midnight in phoenix at the time. I was instructed by Hotwire to submit my taxi receipt by email, and I would be refunded in 7-10 days. Instead of being refunded however, Hotwire changed their tune and emailed me back saying they would not be able to provide any compensation.

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It's a SCAM Site - DO NOT Use for Your Own Good.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA -- Rented 2 cars on 2 separate reservations, got a reservations confirmed under CAD currency as Hotwire offered quotes in different currency that you are living. I'm from Canada, and I booked 2 cars for my family so I used the site to get a quote under Canadian $ at the time I booked. I got the price quote and reservation confirmation under CAD $.

When I returned the cars back to the rental, they said, price are in USD. So from $85.75 CAD, I had to pay $85.75 USD and the conversion is $116.81 at the time. So I called Hotwire and agent looked into my complaint stating that Hotwire is misleading customers at the time we went on to shop on their site. The site offers you to get price quote in whichever currency you like and that you like to pay for when you get there.

But she told me that her manager said, that even though the site offer currency, all have to pay in USD even if you book your car in Europe/Jap/Australia. The sneaky part of the site is that I got a confirmation of my reservation under CAD dollar quote and stating that I will pay $85.75 CAD when I pick up the car at the dealer.

I returned the cars and went back on to my reservations on their site. The amount is still the same, BUT they took out the CAD beside the amount. I booked these cars 2 mos advance, so I checked the site and my reservations to see if any changes on my invoice. Nothing. Until I got my car and return the cars and my reservation for the 2 cars CHANGED as well.

I will NEVER use this site for any booking. It's sneaky and scamming and misleading to customers. You get promised for one price and you end up paying another price when you get to the dealer and they will dodge their mistake stating "computer technology" not advance so the currency changes themselves.

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Totally Rude
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

ON LINE -- I called and placed reservations for my nephew to visit for Christmas. A week before he became sick and I called Hotwire to find out what would happen if he ended up not being able to travel. The lady did not speak English too well and we had a terrible conversation. After about an hour of back and forth I thought that she had gotten the message of what I wanted and was going to send me the information to my email.

4 days later I look into my email and see a cancellation notice from Hotwire. I talked with a guy named Luis on Saturday, 12 December at 7 p.m. and got the rudest customer service I have ever received in my life. After him basically calling me a liar he told me that he was the supervisor and I could not talk to someone over his head. I told him that everyone has a boss and I want to speak to his. He told me it would be about a 45-minute wait and I said that I would wait. Boy did I not now know that I was getting the next level of rude named Victor.

OMG. He was short and told me to basically take it up with the airlines. I asked for his boss and he told me that there is not higher level than him. He cut me off and said he would refund my money but he was not going to do anything else because he did not believe my story. I asked "Don't you guys record all calls?" And he said "Yes." I told him to listen to the call and he basically said "No."

He again cut the conversation and told me to hold and the hold music started. I was blown away. He came back and said "Refund is done" and "Goodbye." I will share this story on every blog I can until I get a call from Hotwire. I also have a recording of the call and will go public with it as much as possible. This is crazy!

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Hotwire Rating:
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1.2 out of 5, based on 119 ratings and
189 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Hotwire
333 Market St., Ste. 100
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-343-8400 (ph)
415-343-8401 (fax)
www.hotwire.com
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