Hotwire

I would like to start by saying that I'm usually not a person who writes reviews, even if the service is mediocre or bad, I just move on and find another business that I like more, however this story MUST be shared.
My husband and I had booked a small getaway with our 6 month old baby back in July on 2022, however while we were on the road, both my husband and baby started feeling unwell and test positive for COVID, therefore for we needed to cancel our trip. We had spend over $2000 for our hotels that we has reserved via Hotwire. Since the hotels were none refundable, they proceeded to give us a credit on our account WITHOUT informing us that they expire within a year.
Fast forward to last week when after a really really long year and a half, we were finally in a position to travel once again. We had $938.45 remaining (we had used some of the credit in August of 2022 once my husband and son were better) and were hoping to use it for a little family getaway. When I logged into my account to book our trip (important to note that we always used hotwire), the money was completely gone. I proceeded to call customer service who told me that they credit expired and there was nothing they could do for me, as it's their policy. I explained to the customer service rep and her manager that I was diagnosed with cancer and my family and had been battling this over the last 7 or 8 months, and that my hotwire credit was the last thing on my mind. I have just received news that I'm in remission and that my family and I just needed a small getaway to celebrate and for me to spend some quality time with my son, who unfortunately hasn't seen his mom as much due to all the treatments and isolation periods I needed to respect. Also, due to this our income has been significantly reduce and this credit was our only chance to getaway.
NO ONE CARED! I spoke to a customer service rep, her manager and I even email their support team. The response to me email was " We will not respond to this message. Regards Hotwire Customer Service".
I have been using hotwire for YEARS and I only booked through them. Thousands of dollars in travel, and they will not give me back my money. This is absolutely unacceptable and most important, they way in which they have handled this situation has been terrible.
So save yourself the trouble and do not book with them.

We saw several available cars for rent and tried to book them but unable to book them every time. Spoke to someone and she saw the same vehicles I saw but then just suggested a bigger more expensive option. When I said that didn't work for me. She did not offered to honor price or suggest a similar option. She just said thanks for reporting this issue and check back later or tomorrow. Terrible service! Stay away

Never use this company
They take your money
They don't give you the itinerary but charge you for reservation. The customer service reps are helpful but the supervisor are there to not help.
Stay away from this company
I'm a person who constantly fly and book hotels. So I understand how things work. What I don't understand is when is it ok to not give people there itinerary and charge them for the booking.
Be careful with this company. You might get screwed

I just lost my job. Its stressful enough, but now I can't afford to go on vacation that I booked. Every hotel and car agency took compassion over my situation and issued a refund, except Hotwire. I used five different booking vendors (hotel, air, car) and each one gave me a refund; even those with non refund policies had understanding. Not Hotwire. Oh well I won't be using them ever again.

Please do not use Hotwire. The company will not advocate for their customer, will take your money and will not attempt to resolve issues that are not your fault. I was refused a car rental because I did not have my auto insurance card on me and my auto insurance company was closed. The company was ACE car rental and my rental was paid in advance. Hotwire refused to contact ACE, refused to assist me with another rental and since the rental was paid in advance, refused to refund me my money. Lastly, I took the insurance out with Hotwire during my initial car rental because it was cheaper than my deductible. It makes no sense!
I am out of almost $300.
Please book directly through a rental car company that will not leave you with these concerns.

I booked a rental in July with Sixt on the Hotwire site and when i got the bill i was charged for the rental by Sixt and also the charge from Hotwire also went through so i ended up being double charged.
I reported that case to my credit card company and Hotwire never refunded the money.
I only saw all the so many other similar negative experiences after it happened to me. I wish i knew before my booking.

You would think that Hotwire would have somebody checking out the hotels that they have on their site. The room I got was FULL of cockroaches, bedbugs, shared bathroom, holes and mold in the ceiling, no A/C unit, no TV in the room, no elevator. I have no idea how this hotel even passes inspection. There has to be kickbacks being given to the health department. ALWAYS book directly with the hotel. Leave the middle man behind. Oh yeah, NO REFUND, that is until I showed them the pictures and told them it would be reported to the county health department.

I booked a Hot Rate hotel through the website. I understand you take your chances when booking these rates. But the site said "You're guaranteed to stay at one of these regional or national chains:" and showed Sheraton, Radisson, Holiday Inn, and Wingate. It further offered a photo from the hotel I was booking. I was booked into the Sonesta Select.
I have talked to multiple people, all of whom continued the lie. How can they legally use the term "guarantee" and then not follow through?

Booked a hot rate hotel & paid for it. Got there, hotel was locked with no vacancy sign in window. No staff there, no one answered phone. Called Hotwire, was told too bad, you booked a hot rate & no hot rates left in state. Refused to put us up a a different hotel. Will give you a refund. Ended up having to sleep in car in parking lot. No compensation for their screw up. DO NOT USE HOTWIRE! They refuse to correct any of their mistakes and care nothing about their customers. Had a similar issue with Vrbo & they were great! Accommodated me & even gave me a credit. Like, seriously, who leaves a customer homeless when they're traveling in another state. Shame on them!

Be Aware of the following fraud perpetrated by Hotwire:
I purchased a hotel stay with hotwire based upon the hotel's location as promised by Hotwire's map. After I committed to their promise, they sold me a hotel outside of their mapped region.
Then, I was told absolutely no refunds.

After 4 hours chatting, because no one would answer the phone, I finally was promised a refund. I was passed from representative to representative, having to re-explain my situation each time. Even after speaking Tina manager, I still could not get resolution. Hotwire is worse than a medical insurance company. They say they will work with flight cancellations, but do not trust them. I will never use them again. Not worth the discount.

I used to book with hotwire all the time, this is the second time I've been burned. They gave me a listings of what my hotel might be, Omni, InterContinental, etc... I got a Double Tree. For 132.00. Looking on their website, I could have gotten it for 116.00. Where's the deal, Hotwire? I'm done w/ your service, you've burned me for the last time. Jerks.

I could not add a booster seat to my car rental reservation through Hotwire for December 23,2023. The following directions to add amenities on their website are inaccurate; "please call the car rental agency at the number shown on your confirmation before the scheduled pick-up date to check availability." When I phoned Alamo Car Rental, the agent told me to call Hotwire. When I phoned Hotwire, the agent told me to call Alamo. Finally, after being transferred to three different Hotwire customer service representatives, the agent told me to request a booster seat at car pick-up and that there may be fees associated with the item. There will be fees, but my concern is that a booster seat may not be available to rent on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, whereas reserving a booster in advance would have given me cause to expect to have one waiting as part of my reservation. Hotwire should have an online method to book or request amenities during the car rental. This option would give the customer peace of mind during a stressful time. If I can pick up a booster seat at the Alamo desk on December 23, my 2-star rating stands. If not, I'll be back on sitejabber after Christmas with a 1-star rating only because 0 stars isn't an option. Hotwire Itinerary #*******449

Book directly with the hotel it's LOTS cheaper. I paid 227 dollors canadian. The hotel was charging 130.Canadian. They don't care. If you'd like to pay more book through them. I'm upset with myself don't you be too. Stay.far far away. There is no customer service.

I had a problem with my reservation because the terms and conditions of hotwire were different than those of the hotel i reserved. Luckily, i found out before our arrival and contacted hotwire costumer service via chat. Gabriela was amazing and super helpful and got us a complete refund. Although I would never use the website again, I can assure the costumer service was amazing.

Booked with hotwire, econolodge harleeville, SC. The room was a disaster, cannabis stench in room curtains falling down, damp coming thru ceiling, toilet seat broken arrived approx 5pm left at 5.15pm and can only get a 1 night refund not the 2 which was originally booked, told because we stayed for 1 hour, I wouldn't spend more than 1 minute in that $#*! hole! No more hotwire or Expedia for me

Hotwire stole money from me by overcharging on a hotel booking, then would only offer a Hotwire credit instead of returning my funds. They also add taxes and fees to the charges, but after booking they state that there are further taxes to be paid at hotel!
Dishonest, unscrupulous, placing the customer as a sucker. AVOID Hotwire!

I am writing to express my utmost disappointment and disgust with my recent stay at Suburban Extended Stay in Kennesaw, Georgia on 7/5/2023 through Hotwire. I booked a room at your establishment with the expectation of a clean and comfortable environment, but unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory. Upon entering the room assigned to me, it became immediately evident that the cleanliness standards at your hotel were severely lacking. The room was in a deplorable condition, with visible dirt, grime, and stains on the furniture, carpet, and walls. I was appalled to discover multiple roaches scurrying across the floor and walls, indicating a severe infestation issue. As a paying customer, I find it completely unacceptable to be subjected to such unsanitary and repulsive conditions during my stay. The presence of roaches not only poses a serious health hazard but also creates an extremely uncomfortable and distressing atmosphere. It is evident that proper pest control measures have been neglected, putting the well-being of guests at risk. Furthermore, I must address the issue of false advertising with Hotwire. Hotwire hotel's online reviews and promotional materials depicted a clean and well-maintained establishment. However, my experience contradicts these claims entirely. It is evident that Hotwire hotels has misled potential guests by misrepresenting the state of its facilities. This breach of trust is deeply disappointing and raises concerns about the integrity of your business. I immediately approached the front desk to voice my concerns and requested to be moved to a different room. However, I was informed that there were no other available rooms. This response is wholly unacceptable, as it suggests a lack of consideration for the well-being and satisfaction of your guests. I expect a higher level of customer service and prompt resolution when faced with such grave issues. Given the unhygienic and uncomfortable conditions I endured during my stay, I kindly request a full refund for the cost of my reservation at Suburban Extended Stay through Hotwire. I believe it is only fair and reasonable considering the significant inconvenience and distress caused by the state of the room and the subsequent inability to provide an alternative. I trust that you will address my concerns promptly and take appropriate action to rectify these issues. I sincerely hope that Suburban Extended Stay and Hotwire will demonstrate a commitment to ensuring the cleanliness and quality of your facilities for the benefit of future guests. Failure to do so will leave me with no choice but to escalate this matter further and explore other avenues to obtain the compensation I deserve. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Terrible service! As a third-party provider, you should have some control or how many customers you sent to a particular car rental agency I've been standing in line I wanna say for now about 20 minutes I talk to the person at the front of the line they said they've been waiting an hour and instead of hot wire, you're trying to take a deeper dive and find out from the writer how long this was going to be they wanted me to do their work for them I am pissed off because I have very little time and I don't have time to stand in line for hour hour and a half when I have other things to do. I asked them to switch me to a separate provider. I didn't even want to refund but choose another provider that you're working with to accommodate me as a customer so I don't stand in this line. I've been a hotwire customer for I don't know almost 20 years and I don't appreciate being treated this way and so as of today this would be my last and final booking with them ever.

Huge discounts on hotel bookings, ticket bookings and car rentals makes hotwire my favorite travel site. I highly recommend it.

Worst experience with this company. They have the worst customer service. I booked a hotel months ago out of town and when I went to the hotel I received a room for 2 people when the reservation said 4. Hotwire said they would call me back with a supervisor to solve the issue. No called and I was left to figure out sleeping arrangements. Terrible experience.

Date of experience: July 07,2023

Rented a car for 4 days in Portland Oregon. When I initially wrote myself in as the primary driver, I then added my wife as secondary driver. The reservation somehow only went to my wife's email ONLY and when I got to Portland I had to add myself and pay additional $100. I could've just kept my wife as only authorize driver but I didn't want risk it since I would be doing most of the driving.
Overall I paid $335 for 4 days which I considered ok for a 2016 Toyota corrola.

This is a very shady company. They will put extra fees onto the hotel after you booked. Save yourself some time and money by AVOIDING THIS AT ALL COST!