Hotwire.com has been in business since 1999 as a portal for travelers to find the best deals on airfare, hotel accommodations and car rentals. Offerings by Hotwire.com are vast and easily customizable, making it easy to purchase exactly what one wants and needs for an upcoming trip. The convenience of having a one-stop shopping experience for a vacation is appealing to many customers and Hotwire.com delivers above and beyond the competition.
Hotwire.com states in their mission statement that their continued goal is to obtain "ridiculously low prices" for their customers. By comparison shopping with competition, we have found this to be the case in nearly every instance.
There is much good to mention about Hotwire.com's services. These offerings include the following features designed to make booking travel easier. (After all, who wants to spend as much time or more planning their vacation than actually enjoying it?)
Easier (than most of the competition) to find policies on changes and cancellations
Simply because a traveler does not know the accommodation specifics until after they book their itinerary, it doesn't mean that the traveler cannot set some specifics. For example, a traveler can mark in their search that they only want hotel rooms with a three star rating or above. This keeps travelers from booking hotels that are not up to their expectation. There is also the option to search by brand if a traveler is not comfortable with the "Hot Rates," but the discounts may not apply.
While Hotwire does operate "globally," their network of over 173,000 hotels does have some limitations to it. Hotwire exists on a number of continents, but the number of hotels and operating cities is relatively average compared to other travel agencies. Hotwire can book hotels in the following areas, but they are not guaranteed to have accommodations available in the city of the traveler's choice:
Hot Rate reservations are somewhat limiting due to:
Typical Third Party Travel site woes include:
Hotwire not only does not offer a rewards program to their travelers, but they are also not compatible with other rewards programs. For instance, other travel agencies will allow travelers to book their accommodations using their travel credit card or redeem their miles using the platform, but Hotwire does not. Since travelers are already getting discounted rates on hotel rooms and other accommodations, travel rewards do not apply. The following "rewards" are not available for travelers to use when booking with Hotwire:
There may be an exception or two for those booking a rental car. Some rental agencies will allow the traveler to book a retail rate rental with points or earn miles. Other than that, the rewards system is not compatible.
We can recommend using Hotwire.com for booking your travel packages, but acknowledge there are better options. Their customer service is above par, the website is easy to navigate and the discounts offered can be significant. It is important to note though the nature of the Hot Rate reservations are that they are non-refundable and non-transferable (as is the case with many of the low-priced options available from other third-party sites, the airlines and hotel properties themselves). Those who use Hotwire for their booking needs can expect the following from this agency:
Star Rating
2 Reviews
Review Breakdown
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i booked with hotwire and when i got to car rental place advantage they did not have my suv or any other car available and i called hotwire back they only booked for me another small car bec they didnt want to credit me the difference and they said hertz dont have any cars available. they also only want to credit me with hotwire cash, which im not planning to book with them anything in the future. i had my wife and few kids waiting for a suv and all i get is a small sentra . they do not back there rentals at all.
In my opinion, Hotwire is by far the best hotel-booking website. They have always delivered on the best prices for better quality hotels. I have top tier status with two major hotel chains, but I still get a better deal with Hotwire. In four years, I've only had one issue, and they were quick and courteous to resolve it. That's much more than I can say for a certain competitor of theirs, who I believe has one of my favorite starship captains in their ads.