Beware Hot***e hotel reservation system

[NemoMOm]

We had this happen with hotels.com. Never again will we use them, we did not get a refund and were informed there was nothing they could do. The hotel they booked us was actually 10 miles away from the hotel that that we were booking online.

 

[DOOM1001]

We had this happen with hotels.com. Never again will we use them, we did not get a refund and were informed there was nothing they could do. The hotel they booked us was actually 10 miles away from the hotel that that we were booking online.

Isn't Hotels.com a normal booking site where the hotel that you see is the hotel that you get,unlike these other sites that don't show the hotel until you book.How did you end up with another hotel?

 

[bumbershoot]

Isn't Hotels.com a normal booking site where the hotel that you see is the hotel that you get,unlike these other sites that don't show the hotel until you book.How did you end up with another hotel?

Yep. There's no blind booking at hotels.com.

 

[Lewisc]

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.

PL--You also could have "won" a different 2.5* hotel, one without a free breakfast and with a resort and or parking fee. You also could have won a 2* hotel, misratted as a 2.5* hotel. Just my observation, the best hotel in a given * rating probably could be rated 1/2 or 1* higher and the worst hotel in the zone at a given * level could (should) be rated lower.

Isn't Hotels.com a normal booking site where the hotel that you see is the hotel that you get,unlike these other sites that don't show the hotel until you book.How did you end up with another hotel?

The poster booked a prepaid, non-refundable rate at the Doubletree hotel near Universal but though he was making a reservation at the Doubletree near DTD. I have no idea if the poster made an error, if hotels.com made an error or if hotels.com was a little "shady" and changed the request to a Doubletree with discounted inventory available to hotels.com and assumed the customer would verify the location was acceptable.

 

[NotUrsula]

FWIW, Hotwire *does* allow you to specify the number of people who need to sleep in the room. If you MUST have at least two beds, then specify 4 people so as to be sure to get two separate beds.

if you are traveling with a friend and are unwilling to share a bed, Priceline isn't a good option, especially not in older central cities, where a room for 2 OFTEN will have only one double bed. (However, in suburban locations that are NOT boutique hotels, calling the hotel after you win your bid and asking that they note that you need two beds almost always will get you what you need.)

As to the OP's being told over IM that she WOULD get an on-property hotel, that was a lucky break, because she got an incompetent employee, which made it the company's responsibility. The verbiage on the site makes no such promises, and had she solely relied on that, she would have been out of luck.

I use these services all the time, and have done for over a decade now. They are great at what they do, but never expect to plead that you didn't understand, because that will get you absolutely nowhere. The guiding principle behind blind bidding sites is essentially caveat emptor. That being so, once you bid, then you get what you get and you don't throw a fit; research and due diligence are the price that you have to pay for the deal.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

So lucky you had a good resolution.


I have been a H****** user for years and have had great luck (and much help from better bidding and tripadvisor). It takes a lot of legwork, but the information they give can usually guide you two one or two likely candidates. It's like a logic puzzle, though, to try and figure out what's what. For me it's become a game, but if I really want to be super sure, I use Kayak to help me find the best price on a particular property.

 

[bumbershoot]

The poster booked a prepaid, non-refundable rate at the Doubletree hotel near Universal but though he was making a reservation at the Doubletree near DTD. I have no idea if the poster made an error, if hotels.com made an error or if hotels.com was a little "shady" and changed the request to a Doubletree with discounted inventory available to hotels.com and assumed the customer would verify the location was acceptable.

That's just odd. I've been using hotels.com for years now, and if there was anything weird about their listing they have always taken care of it for us. If it was anything like the company's error (in description, address, etc), I wish the poster would have taken it further, really explaining the problem to the reps they spoke to.

But if it was the user's error, I can see why hotels.com wouldn't take care of it. We've almost done silly things when we weren't paying attention, but managed to catch it in time. My obsessive routine of saying, out loud, even when alone, every little bit of a booking (including address with city name and state (so important when booking hubby's hotels in Kansas City!)), has saved me more than once!

 

[Granny square]

We have been using Hotwire and Priceline forever. I always make an educated guess using betterbidding.com and am seldom disappointed.

Why the heck are words starred out all over the place?

 

[HayGan]

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

That list is not complete. I recently booked on Priceline a resort that wasn't listed on that site or any of the others that I know of.

 

[Poodlebud]

I have used Priceline many times and got great rates, but the hotels ALWAYS put us in undesirable locations. It's either next to the elevator, vending machines, ice machines and one time next to an indoor swimming pool. But, if you use earplugs, those locations aren't too bad.

 

[Granny square]

That list is not complete. I recently booked on Priceline a resort that wasn't listed on that site or any of the others that I know of.

They count on people contributing to the list. Hope you shared your win.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

I just booked with Hotwire for a trip to Orlando last weekend. I understood that it would be a hotel LIKE one of those, not necessarily those hotels.

 

[HayGan]

They count on people contributing to the list. Hope you shared your win.

I did send it in. I just don't want anyone thinking that they would definitely get something on that list. I was really disappointed when my bid was accepted and the name of the resort was revealed. We won't check in to the resort until June 14th so I won't know if it was worth it or not until then.

 

[Granny square]

Yay! It took me forever to make it habit!

 

[leebee]

FWIW, Hotwire *does* allow you to specify the number of people who need to sleep in the room. If you MUST have at least two beds, then specify 4 people so as to be sure to get two separate beds.

if you are traveling with a friend and are unwilling to share a bed, Priceline isn't a good option, especially not in older central cities, where a room for 2 OFTEN will have only one double bed. (However, in suburban locations that are NOT boutique hotels, calling the hotel after you win your bid and asking that they note that you need two beds almost always will get you what you need.)

I use these services all the time, and have done for over a decade now. They are great at what they do, but never expect to plead that you didn't understand, because that will get you absolutely nowhere. The guiding principle behind blind bidding sites is essentially caveat emptor. That being so, once you bid, then you get what you get and you don't throw a fit; research and due diligence are the price that you have to pay for the deal.

Me, too. It takes some detective work, but between tripadvisor and betterbidding, I have never made a Hotwire purchase that has disappointed! We've always been satisfied with our Priceline bids, too, but I think you have to be more cautious using PL in the older major cities (Boston, NY) because you CAN end up with just a double bed!

That list is not complete. I recently booked on Priceline a resort that wasn't listed on that site or any of the others that I know of.

The site clearly states that the lists are NOT complete, they are only a compilation of what's been reported by winners.

 

[mello]

Completely OT, but PatMcDuck, love your avatar - we have a Shiba Inu too... best dogs ever !

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.

 

[JanaDee]

I prefer to know exactly where I'm staying and what I'm getting, which is why I've never used Priceline or Hotwire.

 

[plummer925]

I'm just really curious why many of you are putting stars in the names of some of the websites instead of just listing the sites?

 

[vicki_c]

I'm just really curious why many of you are putting stars in the names of some of the websites instead of just listing the sites?

They are not, it is the DIS filtering software, I believe.

 

[JanaDee]

They are not, it is the DIS filtering software, I believe.

No, it isn't. Priceline and Hotwire are not filtered.