Hotwire
reviews and complaints

If you're considering booking with Hotwire, it's essential to proceed with caution based on the mixed experiences shared by customers. While some users have reported positive interactions with customer service, others have faced significant challenges. Issues such as incorrect bookings, lack of refunds, and misleading hotel descriptions have left customers frustrated. It's crucial to carefully review all details before making a reservation with Hotwire to avoid potential disappointments. While some customers have had satisfactory experiences, the overall feedback suggests a need for improved transparency and consistency in service delivery.

Hotwire is my go to whenever I want to take my family away. Their secret deals have been out of this world. I have never been 1 to travel. Since discovering Hotwire during summer, that is all my family and I do. I just booked for weekend of New Year's and was amazed at how cheap the rates were. I love Hotwire. I 've saved so much money thanks to them. I just recently came back from trip I booked through them. Their choices in hotels have been perfect. I have no complaints.

Every time I book with Hotwire, my expectations are exceeded. Usually I get WAY more than I pay for. I just had another fantastic experience where I payed about a third of the price of the actual cost of my room and I was blown away. I got a huge suite with its own entryway, an amazing king sized bed and huge windows covering two walls at an amazing hotel and I paid the price for a motel 6! This is the third time that I have gotten a great room at a great hotel for a fraction of the price. Hotwire is my go-to booking website.

I have always used Priceline but I could not get the fight I wanted I needed to used two airplanes going out on Untied and return on Delta when check in Untied said how would you like a direct flight on Delta sure who want to send 4 hours in O'hare before I even got to Delta ticket counter hotwire email me about the change in plans and I like that they knew before Delta knew and Delta knew nothing about it Thank United for messing up and check me in on my return flight when I am not at that airport yet I will used Hotwire again but may stay away from United flights

We had booked a hotel through HotWire, but the hotel was not clean; therefore, we decided not to stay there. We called HotWire to complain about the cleanliness of the room and requested a refund as we refused to stay there. The customer service representative was so kind, helpful, and understanding. They understood our concern, empathized with us, gave us a refund, and filed a complaint about the hotel, Red Roof Inn in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition, we have been booking hotels through Hotwire for several years now, and we have always been satisfied with the hotels and the prices. Thank you HotWire support team.

Owned by expedia and have cheaper prices - If you are looking on expedia and find a hotel, but you want it cheaper, then just check out this site. You can pretty much figure out what "random" hotel you will be assigned by looking to see what is available on expedia. It is usually about 10% less than what you see on expedia. The star rankings are not the same, so that is not the best way to figure it out. By looking at what amenities are offered, that is the best way to figure out what hotel you are getting from hotwire. The worst part about hotwire is that you are given no choice on if you get 2 double beds or one king bed. But you can always ask nicely when you get to the hotel.

My fianc? and I have annual passes to Universal Studios, Florida. We live decently close, about a five hour drive on a straight stretch with stops, so we go pretty often. For a while we would drive out every weekend.
We have no difficulty budgeting food and gas money and even spending money, but it seems that just about every time we planned short for the hotel. Paying 150 dollars a night really adds up and dipped into our funds.
I downloaded the hot wire app while stranded at an IHOP at 3 am, and within five minutes we had a booked hotel 3 miles from our current location: only 100 dollars for the next three nights. The deals are amazing and the website and app are both fast and ridulously easy to use. I recommend using your location as soon as you log on, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can book a hotel just about anywhere based on the amount you can afford.

I have booked a hotel in Niagara fall with Hotwire. Here are some positive points I found:
1. It was a real deal (not a scam).
2. The website and the phone App are easy to use, fast. They also sent me notifications and reminders which are nice.
3. Accept many different types of payments including PayPal.
4. They often have promotions code on the App, so you can absolutely make the booking even cheaper.
5. Customer service is great. You can just chat with them through the App.
6. Although it does not reveal the hotel name, it does give a hint by saying " Last guest get hotel XXX" and I noticed that it was always correct.
- Negative points:
1. The currency was not based on the hotel's location. We have to set the currency, otherwise, it will be in USD.
2. I had problems using code for the App sometimes.
3. The price is not much cheaper and not always cheaper. So use it as an alternative source to compare with other sites.

I have used Hotwire 7 or 8 times for hotel rooms in 5 different states. I planned many of the stops for our honeymoon through Hotwire. I have never experienced any sort of problem with lower quality rooms than I expected or prices higher than what I could have got elsewhere. I was honestly surprised how many people on SiteJabber have had a negative experience. In fact, a few times after booking through Hotwire.com and finding out where I was now staying, I looked for a better price for that same room. I haven't found one yet.

On time my wife was stranded with some friends in Chicago after a plane was delayed. She called me up and had me look up a place to stay close to the airport (before we had smartphones). With just a confirmation code they were able to check in a few minutes later.

I haven't used them for flights, car rentals, or cruises. Given my past experience using Hotwire I wouldn't hesitate at all. My only complaint would be they didn't accept me into their affiliate program so I could get a kickback when I tell my friends about my experience. I guess my blog won't cut it for them. :) Oh well, I still let friends and family know I've had nothing but good experiences after using Hotwire multiple times. As with anything, do your research beforehand; I'm just one opinion.

I would give 0 STARS if that was an option.

I am an extremely unhappy and dissatisfied customer. This was the first time that I have ever used Hotwire, and it most certainly will be the last time that I ever will use this company again. I will be warning every single family member, friend, coworker and any traveling acquaintance that I ever encounter about my experience with Hotwire and how I was treated by their support/customer service department.

I booked my hotel stay using hotwire.com. I picked the area I wanted to stay and selected the dates of my trip. I was presented with a list of "hot rate specials" and at the top of the list was a big marketing sign which read, "Winter Special" for a hotel room regularly priced at $110.00 advertised 50% off which made the room only $55.00. I thought that was a wonderful special. I will try this hotwire.com special and see how well it works. Much to my surprise after putting in all my credit card information and booking my time frame I was sent an e-mail for my hotel and I did not get a hotel with a room regularly priced at $110/night. I was selected the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Stapleton, CO. According to my time frame on the Rodeway Inn and Suites website if I had booked my reservation directly through them my hotel room would have only cost $60/night. I immediately felt scammed and felt like I fell to a gimmick of false advertising and a bait and switch operation. I sent an e-mail to voice my complaint about how this Winter Special was false information. I did not get a $110/night room for 50% off instead I got a $60 room for $5.00off not nearly as amazing as the advertised winter special. The response to my e-mail complaint was we are sorry you are not satisfied but we cannot help you through our e-mail please give us a call at this number.

So I called the customer service number and now starts the major second hotwire.com fail! The customer service dept gave me inaccurate information and told me they had an easy way to resolve this matter which was a lie. I spoke to a young man named Jeryn who gave me a case number to reference #***659. He listened to my experience and informed me that what had happened was all a mistake. He informed me that I should have been given the winter special of 50%off the room as advertised and that it was a system error when I made the purchase that the 50%off did not come off my hotel room price like it was suppose too. He apologized for the mistake and said that he would get it taken care of right a way. He informed me that I should be compensated back 50% of my hotel cost or given a credit to my account of 50% of my hotel cost to use on a future purchase. He also informed me that his system did not allow him to do this immediately. He would need to send all of this information on to the research team explaining hotwires mistake and that the research team would have me a credit or refund within 7 to 10 business days.

Now comes the 3rd giant flop of a failure from hotwire in my experience. Much to my surprise two days later I get an e-mail from the research team bluntly stating they have no idea what I am talking about and that I will receive no compensation for this giant mix-up and again to call back into the customer service number to discuss it. I did call back and spoke with a supervisor named Lea who was far from helpful. She explained that no matter what her own hotwire employee had said to me on the phone earlier that it was incorrect and would not be honored. She explained that even though the hotwire employee had said not to worry hotwire would make their wrong a right and correct this problem that there was nothing that she could do about it. She explained that the hotwire Winter Special marketing was just a mere suggestion of the cost of a room in the area and not the actual cost of a particular room. She explained that she would not be taking any steps at all to help the situation and attempt to make a customer happy or satisfied. What kind of company are you! This is the biggest load of crap and the worst treatment that I have ever received from any company EVER! That is false advertising showing a sale of $110room at 50%off for only $55.00 when in fact you are actually purchasing a $60 room for $5.00 off. Then having your customer service employee tell you over and over that it was actually a hotwire mistake that would be fixed immediately and sorry for the inconvenience followed by a complete 180 with an uninformed research team and a supervisor that lacks any skills in customer service. I honestly have never received such poor customer service from any company before. This has been my first and last time that I will ever use your website or company and I will share my horrible experience with anyone that will listen. Thank you for false advertising and no customer service!

How #hotwire Hotwire messed up my reservation.
Krishna Reddy Gade
07/22/2017

I am a frequent traveler and I would categorize most of my travel as work related. I want to share my recent experience with a hotwire booking that went horribly wrong. I hope this would act as a word of CAUTION to my fellow travelers while making a booking using hotwire.
I used hotwire to make a reservation for a single night (07/20), and received a reservation confirmation at Coast Gateway Hotel at SeaTac, WA. I usually book direct on Hilton or Marriott but for some reason the rates for that week (7/17 7/21) in and around Seattle Tacoma International Airport were so high that I had to find something which fits right to the travel related budget. (A huge MISTAKE which I later realized).
Anyways diving into details, here is my reservation confirmation
Screenshot 1

Another screenshot of Print of the itinerary

So, on 7/20 after watching the Mariners Yankees game at Safeco and a quick bite after the game, I along with a colleague from work arrived at Coast Gateway Hotel at around 1 AM. I showed my reservation confirmation to the lady at the front desk; she enters information into her computer and says that she did not find the reservation. That was a SHOCK!
I call hotwire on the number ***026 with loudspeaker ON so that the lady at the reception can also hear, and provided my reservation details to an automated computer system which verified the information and confirmed that it is valid.
Here is screenshot of the call log for 2 min at 1:22 AM.
Screenshot -2

I turn to the lady and see her checking on her computer again and a few minutes later she tells me that she still did not find the reservation. I get a little ANXIOUS now.
She gave me a hotwire phone number ***981 which I think was a direct number to a customer service representative. I dial the number and this time of course a hotwire customer service representative lady answers the call. I provide my reservation details and she double confirms that the reservation is valid. I tell her that I was at the hotel and that they were unable to find my reservation. She said that she is going to put me on hold and that she is going to call Coast Gateway Hotel to know what the problem was. More WAITING.
The two ladies talk on phone and since I am standing at the reception desk I can hear the lady at the reception tell the hotwire lady on the phone that she could not find the reservation and hangs up. The hotwire lady comes back on my phone and says that the reservation is valid but Coast Gateway Hotel was not able to find the reservation. Well that is what I called you for, remember?
It seemed to me that the hotwire lady on the phone was equally shocked and did not know how to handle the situation. It looks like she discovered herself that there was a problem which she could not address so she hung up on me abruptly. This is not just POOR customer service but also MISTREATING your customer!
Not knowing how I got into this situation I now try find a sofa to sit in the lobby of Coast Gateway Hotel with my two bags and my colleague struggling not to sleep and sleep at the same time.
My attempt to get a customer service representative second time failed and I got stuck with the automated computer voice service for 2 more minutes. I cut the call and dialed again hoping to get some representative on phone and I was able to get one this time a gentleman answered the phone.
Here is a screenshot of my call logs to the phone number ***981 three calls from 1:26 AM to 1:40 AM.
Screenshot 4

The gentleman goes through the details, calls up Coast Gateway and finds out that they messed up my reservation and offers me a wonderful option a refund! He also gave me a suggestion that I go and find some room at a nearby hotel, wow great Idea! I thanked him for his suggestion and did not agree to his offer of a refund. I felt HOPELESS and HELPLESS at this point; I wanted to give a last shot and explained my situation to him in simple terms.
I had made a reservation and received a confirmation. I arrive at the hotel and I am told that the reservation is not found. What should I do now?
He repeated that he cannot help me and that the offer of refund still is available for me. I humbly rejected the offer and thanked him for assisting me and also thanked the lady at the reception, woke up my colleague and told him we better head to the airport.
Time to check for hotwire policies; I checked the policies on hotwire website but did not find one that suits my case viz., What to do when you get kicked out from a hotel lobby denying you a room with a valid reservation policy?
Now, is ***@coasthotels Coast Gateway Hotels mistake? I dont know. Clearly they did not have my reservation. Did they purge my reservation because I arrived late and then sold it for a premium to some other person? Well, I dont know how would I? In that case the lady at the reception should tell me that they had an over booking that night and that they could not accommodate me and then help with alternate accommodation. Shouldnt she? I dont know and that is clearly not what happened to me.
Finally, my two cents - if you want your hotel experience to be not something that is in CAPs BOLD of my experience detailed above please think twice/thrice before you book with hotwire and dont book with them.

Got on the app, used a coupon within its eligibility and validity. Coupon got applied to my total and the final price showed for me to pay. Provided my credit card. Got a confirmation, showing a higher price - the price without a coupon. Opened a chat with customer service IMMEDIATELY (within 2 minutes) and was offered "hot dollars added to my account" which is something bogus that not only expires but cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon. My other "option" was for them to call the hotel and ask that my reservation is cancelled ("but it's up to the hotel if they will honor that" I was told) as Hotwire CANNOT ADJUST THE PRICE once the hotel is booked and confirmed, which had already happened. In 2 minutes? I have NEVER EVER had this happen to me. You see a price, you provide payment, and end up paying a higher price. I will avoid using them in the future and warn others. This is ***.

I was not allowed to check-in to my return flight at 10:30 flight leaving 11;40AM. Instead they in advance for international flight.It is suggested you arrive 90 minutes ahead at British Airways and TSA.I had no other option but to pay for a new return flight but through another travel agency of course because I did not have 1500$ in my pocket!I asked HOTWIRE to give me an explanation of why I could not board the flight home I had already purchased.They would not do this,but why? I got compensation for 89$ out of the $900 I paid for a return home flight. The simply made up the rule three hours ahead of time and enforced it!Just like me you will have no other option. These British people are nothing more than white collared criminals and are good at what they do? I would not recommend HOTWIRE for flight at all and don't mind their advertised low price. I was lucky that I even made it back to my home alive!

I reserved a hot rate care on the website. I had a credit from a previous reservation that I could use for the hot rate car. When I booked the car I was not charged for the car so I called customer service and told them that I reserved a hot rate car and that It would not let me use my credit. The agent said that they can not see that i had a hot rate car and that it was showing up as a standard rate car on their end. I then asked if I could send them and email showing them that my itinerary showed that I reserved a hot rate car and the agent then started getting rude so I asked for a supervisor. When the supervisor got on the phone she literally repeated the same thing that the agent was said, like it was scripted. I politely said that I can send whatever they need so that they can see what is on my end of my itinerary and that they have to honor it because it was booked as a hot rate car and it was not my fault that their system is messed up. Then the only response from the supervisor was I can not help you and we should end this call. I have rented plenty of cars from the and this is the first time that customer service was so rude that I do not ever want to rent a car from them again.

DO NOT USE HOTWIRE AND PURCHASE THEIR FAKE TRAVEL INSURANCE WHICH YOU'LL HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH RINGS OF FIRE TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK! Even then you won't get [censored].. I regret not reading the BBB COMMENTS PRIOR TO BUYING MY TICKETS.

Used Hotwire for the first and last time. Rented a car in Portland Maine and when we got there to pick it up they said I rented it in Portland Oregon. The car rental company spoke to Hotwire at that time stating they'd be willing to fix the issue.Hotwire wanted none of that, their representative asked me why I don't just go pick the car up. Told her that is hard since I'm 2500 miles away. The short of the story is I had two 750 dollar car rentals and on top of that they rented the car that I was forced to keep rented and rented the damn thing out since I wasn't there to pick it up. Will never use them again.

Dear Travel Enthusiasts, as you embark on your journey to find the best deals for your next adventure, let me share a mix of experiences that travelers have had with Hotwire. Some have praised the platform for providing great deals and swift issue resolution, while others have faced challenges such as double bookings, unexpected fees, and difficulties in obtaining refunds. It's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. So, if you're willing to take a chance for a bargain, Hotwire might just surprise you with a hidden gem. Remember, every journey is an adventure in itself. Happy travels!

I tried to cancel my trip and my experience by far has been the WORST. I booked the hotel in 2/29 for my trip to California from 7/3 to 7/8 the hotel rate deals advertised as 3.5-star hotels guaranteed hotels, but after it was booked it showed a 2.5 star hotels instead. When the COVID-19 hit, I called Hotwire.*** on May 27th to cancelled my trip since CA is in lockdowns. I was told to request online to cancelled my reservation. About a week later I got an email stating my request is was not approved by the hotel. On 6/9 I called the hotel directly and spoke to *** to ask why my reservation was denied. He informed me that they would do a FULL REFUND due to COVID-19, but they NEVER RECEIVED the request from Hotwire.***. I told *** that I have requested this from Hotwire.*** on 5/27. On June 15, I called Hotwire again for my refund and was told they are NOT ALLOWED to refund, but only issue a credit minus a fee $60. I said let me think about it. Once I called back to get the credit I was told that it's too late for me to get the credit refund and they cannot do anything else to help. The customer service NEVER once mention there's a deadline to call if I wanted the credit refund. I just found out today when speaking w/*** ID#*** that they were NOT to tell the customers when the deadline would be. My trip was for $521. If I can give zero stars I would. I WILL NEVER USE HOTWIRE.*** AGAIN!

I booked hotel stays for the end of July before the pandemic In February to Vancouver, LA, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. The Hotwire stay totaled almost $1300. Hotwire refuse to give me my money back or even a credit. My Vancouver stay which I didn’t book with Hotwire was also non refundable but because of COVID I received a full refund. In California establishments are closed and even if I was crazy enough to vacation with my family now in California restaurants, bars, the zoo, theme parks everything is closed. A lot of places are lock down but there’s no stay at home order. So hotels are open and I was told that technically they are still available for my stays. I don’t want to come to California to stay in a hotel room and do takeout. I can do that at home for free. As a matter of fact, I can do more in Florida where I live than in California because unfortunately almost everything here in Florida is still open. I guess this is how Hotwire and these hotels want to do business. Keep people’s money in these hard times for service that was not provided. This pandemic is an unprecedented situation that Hotwire could’ve handled better. I’ve used Hotwire for many years but I will never again give any of my money to Hotwire or the hotels that kept my money. In the past I’ve probably spent more than ten times the $1300 they’re stealing from me but I guess they need it more than I do. So I hope it was worth it.

I simply can NOT get anyone from Hotwire to help me. I have talked to customer service multiple times who actually are the nicest of people but they say they can not help me. They told me I had to go to my bank. I went to my bank - and they said that Hotwire needs to help me for the double charged. I was charged 2 times for the SAME rental car - $1082.22. Two times we were charged. And I can get NO one actually help me. The people you talk to are NOT people that can help you. I am honestly wondering if I have to take them to Small Claims court as I can not get anyone to help me and I have all the paper work to prove I was charged double. See below! I have tried for months to do it the way hotwire has ask me to do. I honestly have never had a problem with them before and used it for years and years. But they WILL not help me on this. I have emailed and called and tried and get a one sentence below after emailing multiple times as you are not allowed to talk to the processing department personally. Dear ***,Thank you for contacting us. We are unable to process a refund for your booking.Please contact your financial institution to assist you with initiating a dispute.We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.Sincerely,*** Hotwire Transaction Processing Codes Hotwire I have the code but won't let me put in. And can Show WHERE they charged me double! But again NO ONE will help me.