Hotwire Issues: Final Verdict

In the wake of my first article on Hotwire , I began to suspect there may be a bigger issue beneath the surface. Sometimes complaining is just that complaining. Sometimes people put unfair expectations on companies. When the company does not live up to those expectations, then the customer is angry. Does that mean the company is doing something wrong? Maybe not. After having my own issues with Hotwire, I began to hear about other people's complaints. They weren't as rampant or close to home as Expedia's blunders, but it still caught my attention.

Like I said, Hotwire had been a great resource for me over the years. I did find great deals on flights and hotels, and I encouraged others to do so as well. I did begin to see a decline in deals on the site. However, I contributed that to the hotels getting more competitive on their own sites. I had not found the best deal on Hotwire in a while, but I was still using it as a travel tool. I guess it is another one of those things where as long as it all goes to plan, you are fine. If an issue arises, then there are problems. If there is an issue, well good luck to you.

In my first article I referenced the experience I had with a hotel reservation. I booked the reservation. I was charged for the reservation, but when I called the hotel weeks later, my reservation was nowhere to be found. I called Hotwire, and a quite rude rep played the blame game, but he did fix my problem. When I sent an e-mail asking what would have happened I was impressed with the speedy response of the customer service team in regards to e-mail. However, the e-mail I received never really answered my question on what would happen if I had never called. What would have happened if we arrived at a booked hotel and my reservation was never on file? Another e-mail was sent, no response ever came and over time I all but forgot about it. If figured I had a run in with the bad luck fairy, and left it at that. Then I started reading other complaints.

It made me wonder if maybe Hotwire was starting to downward spiral. With that in mind, I started taking a serious look at complaints made by Hotwire customers.

I read through pages and pages of complaints and rave reviews on sites like Epinions. I began to notice a trend. The reviews from 2004/2005 and earlier tended to be more positive. From that point to the present, things are not as nice. People have become unhappy with the way things are going with Hotwire. I was actually surprised to find that most of the claims seemed to be valid and consistent. The more serious complaints all seemed to center around three areas: Misleading Listings, Hotwire Policies, Customer Service.

Of course, there are the whiners. Yes, the people who say they were wronged, but have yet to do anything about it. Okay, I am all for what is the best interest of the traveler. I will be first to speak up on an injustice. However, if you feel slighted by a company, at least give said company the chance to make it right. Please do not just whine about it. People are human, mistakes are made, and let them try to make amends. If they fail to do so, then complain away.

The first major complaint was that the hotel descriptions given did not meet the quality if the actual hotel. The way Hotwire works is that you do not see the hotel name when you do a search. You see a price, a location and a start rating. When you click on the star rating, a basic overview of the hotel level is listed. The complaint is hotels listed as three star hotels are really more like a two star quality. I have never had this issue myself, but it seems to be a growing problem in the Hotwire world. The complaints usually go on to state that they called Hotwire to complain, but that the company stood by their ratings. A suggestion I read from another traveler urged customers to take pictures of the substandard amenities. Submit them to Hotwire as proof of the discrepancy. He claims that Hotwire will do right by you every time.

The next targets are Hotwire's policies. I did see a lot of customers who were scorned by the non transferable or refundable small print. Yes, this is a stated policy in the terms of agreement you should read at the time of purchase. Yes it is awful that you had to buy a new ticket because your plans changed, but based on the conditions you bought the ticket under, they are well with in their right to do so. The other issue (especially with flights) is to make sure that you realize that Hotwire actually states that there is a window of possible times for flights. If you ask for a flight on 9/12 with a return of 9/14 they can fly you out at 11:00 at night and you return flight could be at 6:00 am. If your flight is cancelled, Hotwire is under no obligation to help you find a new one. That is all in the hands of the airline. Yes, it isn't fair that the airline might treat you like a second class passenger since you did book through Hotwire. Yes I have been there. I have listened to the counter person be totally accommodating to everyone before me. Then I get to the counter and I'm told I will need to transfer three times and spend the night in the Detroit Airport. It happens, and it isn't Hotwire's problem. Are all of these fair? No, but unless legal action is taken, you have little recourse.

The Terms of Use are rather extensive. The list is accessible by a link on the Hotwire homepage. As extensive as it is, there are a few things that are not listed. I scoured the Hotwire site looking for a listing of their policies (outside of the Terms link) , but I found nothing. I was looking for their guarantee to the customer if Hotwire or the provider screwed up. Since I narrowly escaped that issue myself, I wanted to know what would have happened if I had not call to confirm my reservation. The policies were no where to be found. You would think a simple e-mail to Customer Service would be enough, but again I was wrong.

That leads me to the final portion: Customer Service. On the phone guess it is hit and miss. I have personally had run ins with rude reps. Others have had the same issue, and the overall opinion is that even if they are nice, the reps are rarely helpful. They do not know the answers, and it is probably safe to say they use scripts. E-mail wise, Hotwire is great about getting back to you well within the two hour window they promise. The e-mails are nice and polite, but they are often canned and rarely answer your question. It is the same issue the phone people have, but at least now you have a paper trail.

I contacted Customer Service to inquire about my issue with the hotel reservation. The rep sent me canned message, but did not answer my question. I replied again, this time I told I needed to look at the said policy. She replied again and referred me to the press page. This is a little confusing since I have not told her I am writing an article. I go to the press page nothing is there, but there is an e-mail address for additional questions. I send of another e-mail the new address. This time I told them I was writing an article. By the end of the day, Channing Barringer, Vice President, Fleishman-Hillard International Communications (the company that does PR for Hotwire), had contacted me. He asked me for more information of the incident I was referring to, and by the end of the week I had this statement:

"Under circumstances similar to what you describe below, we advise customers to contact Hotwire customer service at 1-866-HOTWIRE (468-9473). Hotwire will review each matter on a case-by-case and try to help resolve the problem as expeditiously as possible so that our customer can get back to enjoying his or her trip. "

Great answer. My question is why did it take four days and multiple departments to get me this answer? You would think Customer Service could have just told me this from the beginning.

What is my final Verdict? I think that Hotwire has obviously lost some of the luster it once had. When you can find lower prices by going through the hotel, AND the reservation is refundable, why would you choose Hotwire? It is becoming harder and harder to find a deal using the site. That being said, I do not think it has deteriorated like it's sister company Expedia. Yes, both companies need an extensive overhaul of Customer Service reps. Reps need to be able to answer basic questions in a nice and courteous matter. Their policies need to be readily available to the potential customer. Unlike Expedia, I was able to get in touch with some one higher up via their page. Expedia doesn't allow that, so that is another plus. Maybe they need to read their reviews on their sister sites (Expedia and Trip Advisor) to get a more accurate view of the hotels they are booking. Trip Advisor would actually be great for that. Those reviews are not paid for. They are by people just like you and me. Hotwire isn't a lost cause, it just needs some work.