Beware Hot***e hotel reservation system

[estark]

I just got off phone with the customer support supervisor for this large "hidden" name booking site. I ended up with a refund, but many people don't.

What happened was I looked on their site and by the options they have a line that says, "What hotel? Here's a hint..." When you hover over this link, it lists three hotels. One link had Disney Key West Resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Disney Coronado Resort. I contacted Hotwire via a online chat link. I was assured that the hotel I would get would be one of those three listed. After I booked it was some offsite hotel that wasn't near the cost of either of those three. I immediately took screenshots of the conversation and contacted customer service. It took over half an hour to get through and then I was told that they tell you it might be one of those three, but they know it won't be one of those three.

This is pretty underhanded and seems pretty much just plain wrong. I am lucky I got a refund -- I asked to be placed in one of the three listed, but they refused.

 

[3boymthr]

DH had a similar "bait and switch" circumstance with the hidden name booking thing. He was guaranteed a three or four star hotel at a two star price. What he got was a 1 star at a 2 star price. Turns out the star system they used to qualify their hidden price is customer reviews - not actual quality of the hotel. Not sure if they still do this but he was not happy and let them know but because he didn't read the small print he was stuck.

Please note he was NOT booking a hotel in Orlando when this happened rather a trip to visit MIL and since the hotel he ended up with was closest to his family it worked out okay in the end - it just didn't have the some amenities he wanted/expected (pool, complimentary breakfast, etc.) and was no where near as nice inside as he would have wanted.

 

[DawnM]

BetterBidding.com has a list of their hotels and the star ratings.

 

[tinatark]

When you hover over the link for the "hint" it says you will get a hotel "like" one of the hotels listed. No guarantee of which hotel until you book.

You are lucky you got the wrong information (likely from a non-English speaking rep who didn't understand your question) in your chat session.

I agree with the person who directed you to betterbidding.com - there is a wealth of information there about the blind booking sites.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I use betterbidding.com and have been happy many times using either Price***e and Hot***e. Always blind bidding for me.

NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago(2X), Wash DC, Baltimore (3X), Raleigh NC, Charlotte NC, among others. So I recommend those sites to others all the time.

I bid on 4*-5*, I always figure they will be acceptable and often they are amazing! (Renaissance seem to come up often for me).

Sorry you had a bad experience though.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I use betterbidding.com and have been happy many times using either Price***e and Hot***e. Always blind bidding for me.

NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago(2X), Wash DC, Baltimore (3X), Raleigh NC, Charlotte NC, among others. So I recommend those sites to others all the time.

I bid on 4*-5*, I always figure they will be acceptable and often they are amazing! (Renaissance seem to come up often for me).

Sorry you had a bad experience though.

I agree. We love betterbidding.com. They have helped us know what hotel we'd get so many times including getting my parents a reasonably-priced room in Ft. Lauderdale for a precruise stay. FLL makes Orlando look cheap!

I'd just like to mention that HW allows shoppers to search for up to 4 guests whereas PL only guarantees bedding for 2.

 

[bumbershoot]

When you hover over the link for the "hint" it says you will get a hotel "like" one of the hotels listed. No guarantee of which hotel until you book.

Yep, I saw that "like" immediately. And the way it's worded doesn't even mean the hotel is actually LIKE the hotels listed, but just a turn of a phrase.

Gotta use something like betterbidding (and there's another one too but I can't recall its name).

 

[DOOM1001]

This thread had me curious as I've used this website hundreds of times without a problem ever and I had never seen the "here's a hint" you saw.I checked the website and it appears that they have changed the website adding the "here's a hint" and a map right on the results page.Honestly I think they're going to have to change that "here's a hint" as it's going to confuse a lot of users.That didn't use to exist and I always knew I was taking somewhat of a risk,I use betterbidding when I use this site and sometimes the hotel you think you're going to get is what you get,sometimes there's no option on betterbidding and you have no idea what you're going to get,in the years of using this and a couple other similar sites I've been happy probably 80% of the time getting what I expected or a better hotel than I expected,15% of the time I've been satisfied,maybe getting a hotel that was good but not great but is in a good location making it have more stars than it deserves only because of it's location and the other 5% of the time I just wasn't happy with the hotel.I see them having to remove that here's a hint option soon or they're going to have to give away more refunds,my only problem with this site is that lately the prices have gone up and sometimes it's better to pay $75 for a hotel knowing what you're going to get versus paying $60 for a hotel not knowing what you're getting.I've gotten amazing deals on this site throughout the years $240 rooms for $60,$120 rooms for $30 and so on,lately I've been using another similar site that also doesn't give you the name until you book that I feel has lower prices as well as taxes and fees.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yep, I saw that "like" immediately. And the way it's worded doesn't even mean the hotel is actually LIKE the hotels listed, but just a turn of a phrase.

Gotta use something like betterbidding (and there's another one too but I can't recall its name).

Biddingfortravel dot com - but I think this is the site where the owner is adamant about users following her instructions for use, and (at least originally) rude to the point of refusing to help those who didn't.

 

[holden]

I made a mistake using the Price**** site. I named my price and they chose the hotel for us in NYC. The location was fine, but the room wasn't! It was a nice hotel, but I put in that we had 4 people sharing the room. The hotel ONLY accomodates 2 ppl. per room. Where were our kids supposed to sleep?

We couldn't get a refund, so we brought a blow up mattress with us. THe room was so small that once the twin size mattress was down there was no room to walk. Our younger DD was in bed with us. What an experience!

Lesson learned - just bite the bullet and book the room we want instead of trying to save a few bucks.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I made a mistake using the Price**** site. I named my price and they chose the hotel for us in NYC. The location was fine, but the room wasn't! It was a nice hotel, but I put in that we had 4 people sharing the room. The hotel ONLY accomodates 2 ppl. per room. Where were our kids supposed to sleep?

We couldn't get a refund, so we brought a blow up mattress with us. THe room was so small that once the twin size mattress was down there was no room to walk. Our younger DD was in bed with us. What an experience!

Lesson learned - just bite the bullet and book the room we want instead of trying to save a few bucks.

See my pp. Hotwire allows you to search for bedding for 4. It's only Priceline that will only guarantee bedding for 2.
We are a family of 4 so I never use PL.

This thread had me curious as I've used this website hundreds of times without a problem ever and I had never seen the "here's a hint" you saw.I checked the website and it appears that they have changed the website adding the "here's a hint" and a map right on the results page.Honestly I think they're going to have to change that "here's a hint" as it's going to confuse a lot of users.That didn't use to exist and I always knew I was taking somewhat of a risk,I use betterbidding when I use this site and sometimes the hotel you think you're going to get is what you get,sometimes there's no option on betterbidding and you have no idea what you're going to get,in the years of using this and a couple other similar sites I've been happy probably 80% of the time getting what I expected or a better hotel than I expected,15% of the time I've been satisfied,maybe getting a hotel that was good but not great but is in a good location making it have more stars than it deserves only because of it's location and the other 5% of the time I just wasn't happy with the hotel.I see them having to remove that here's a hint option soon or they're going to have to give away more refunds,my only problem with this site is that lately the prices have gone up and sometimes it's better to pay $75 for a hotel knowing what you're going to get versus paying $60 for a hotel not knowing what you're getting.I've gotten amazing deals on this site throughout the years $240 rooms for $60,$120 rooms for $30 and so on,lately I've been using another similar site that also doesn't give you the name until you book that I feel has lower prices as well as taxes and fees.

What is this other site?

 

[tuckerkeys]

I have used quik book ( all 1 word tho ) when booking hotels for great prices - no disney on site hotels , but, they do have swan & Dolphin & for food & wine this fall, I found the best price using them ( 139 per night Where the s&d site, as well as spg was close to almost 200 )

 

[pigletto]

I agree the new "Here's a Hint" thing is a little misleading. I am familiar with the site and how it works though so I clearly saw the word "like" and knew that did not mean what you hoped it meant.

However, I do like Priceline and Hotwire for certain hotels. I book an airport area hotel through Priceline often for our Orlando trips. Usually get the Marriott for around $60. I know to call and make a request for 2 beds. It's a large hotel and mostly double rooms, and I travel at off peak times so we've never had a problem. We almost always have an air mattress with us so it's no problem to put dd on that and ds is small and could share a King with us if we ever couldn't get a double room. It's worth it to me for a decent hotel within spitting distance of the airport with a free shuttle to take us there for our 6 or 7 am flights.

So in cases like that when you've done your research on better bidding, and are relatively assured of what you'll get I think it's great. I wouldn't book it for a whole trip though.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I agree the new "Here's a Hint" thing is a little misleading. I am familiar with the site and how it works though so I clearly saw the word "like" and knew that did not mean what you hoped it meant.

However, I do like Priceline and Hotwire for certain hotels. I book an airport area hotel through Priceline often for our Orlando trips. Usually get the Marriott for around $60. I know to call and make a request for 2 beds. It's a large hotel and mostly double rooms, and I travel at off peak times so we've never had a problem. We almost always have an air mattress with us so it's no problem to put dd on that and ds is small and could share a King with us if we ever couldn't get a double room. It's worth it to me for a decent hotel within spitting distance of the airport with a free shuttle to take us there for our 6 or 7 am flights.

So in cases like that when you've done your research on better bidding, and are relatively assured of what you'll get I think it's great. I wouldn't book it for a whole trip though.

I agree this this. For 1 night, it's great. Also if there's ever a time when I must have a certain something (location, amenties, etc.), it's best to book direct & not take a chance. These opaque sites are good for when you can be somewhat flexible. I wouldn't count on getting an onsite Disney hotel (or Universal) for my vacation this way.

 

[bumbershoot]

Biddingfortravel dot com - but I think this is the site where the owner is adamant about users following her instructions for use, and (at least originally) rude to the point of refusing to help those who didn't.

Thanks! I have only ever lurked on those sites, and the admonishments I've seen there really bug me.

 

[tchrchgo]

Biddingfortravel dot com - but I think this is the site where the owner is adamant about users following her instructions for use, and (at least originally) rude to the point of refusing to help those who didn't.

Yes, she is awful. Many of us have been banned from the site for not following her "rules"

 

[Jenn310]

I have used quik book ( all 1 word tho ) when booking hotels for great prices - no disney on site hotels , but, they do have swan & Dolphin & for food & wine this fall, I found the best price using them ( 139 per night Where the s&d site, as well as spg was close to almost 200 )

Thank you so much for this site! Booked for Wine and Dine half for 126 plus taxes and fees!

 

[tinatark]

Yes, she is awful. Many of us have been banned from the site for not following her "rules"

Her biggest "rule" is to use her link to book - $$ for her!

 

[Lewisc]

The hints must be something reasonably new. Hotwire is showing Disney hotels, which AFAIK, never participated with Hotwire. They are showing regular hotels for hotels classified as condo. I'm not 100% sure but I think a few of the hotels aren't even in the same zone.

Priceline name your own price has always been exclusively for double occupancy. Some hotels, particularly in places like Orlando, will accommodate families of 4 but that was never guaranteed. I think PL's retail and express booking allows you to specify up to 4 guests but the NYOP screen only lets you specify the number of rooms. holden the only way you could have requested accommodations for a family of 4 would have been to bid on 2 rooms.

Neither Priceline nor Hotwire are on the word filter. I'm not sure why posters are using ***. So as not to encourage less saavy readers into using them?

Hotwire uses industry ratings then makes adjustments up (or down) based on customer input.

I'm not sure it makes much sense using PL for a 2.5* property in Orlando. Book conventionally and you can avoid a parking fee, resort fee, get some kind of free breakfast and maybe park shuttles. Use PL and your savings may not be enough to compensate for those charges and PLs fee.

 

[DOOM1001]

I don't like the Priceline name your own price system,you can book a 2.5 star room and check it on betterbidding and think
your getting a nice Hampton Inn with free breakfast which is what I got the first time and was very happy with it,I tried getting that same room using the same stars and location and instead they "upgrade" you to a 3 star Radisson that was not a bad hotel,but nothing special and no breakfast,this happened again as it appears they use this hotel to make people feel like their getting an upgrade with a higher star hotel where in reality the 2.5 star Hampton Inn was a better hotel.At least with Hotwire and Travelocity secret hotels,which is the other site I use I know for sure if the hotel will have a free breakfast.