Synndy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2009
- Messages
- 184
I'm fairly excited right now because I just booked my rental for our September trip & got a GREAT deal.
A little back story about my irritation with Hotwire and booking with Priceline. Scroll right to the bottom if you dont want to bother with the back story.
Ive been researching for months now, trying different coupon combos & haven't been able to find much for under $200. Since we're getting down to the wire on our trip, I made promised myself I would book tonight. I attempts to book Hotwire since I heard they have great deals.
I look and since we are in need of an "8 day" rental (really 7 plus a few hours since we have an early flight day of arrival & late flight going home) I found a car for 181.02
I think, thats pretty good and proceed to book. I fill out all the info, including credit card stuff & all that jazz. I get to the "Book now" part and I hit the button. It's "processing" for about 10 seconds and then tells me it can not book. It brings me back to the list of prices and now my total is 215.95
WHAT!?
So I call Hotwire to see what happened. The rude guy on the phone proceeds to tell me that their prices change from time to time. I tell him I understand that but I was booking it. He tells me the cheapest he offer he can get me is 194.95. I explain to him that even though its only like 15 dollars more, its still more than I was going to pay. He tells me (again) that the prices change and that they tell customers to book a good rate when they see one! I start getting irritated and explain to him that I WAS TRYING TO BOOK THE GOOD RATE THAT I SAW! I had everything complete and I wasnt just sitting on the reservation page, I hit book this rental and it took me about 2 minutes to get through the booking process. He says he can book me the 194.95 rate and that its a good rate. I tell him I'm irritated by this whole situation. He (AGAIN) tells me that the rates change and (AGAIN) tells me to book things when I see them....
I asked if he was even listening to what I was saying & if he was then to stop telling me stupid things like that. He tells me (again) he can give me the 195 rate. I tell him I'm going to shop around & Ill call back if I change my mind. He tells me that the 195 rate is limited & I better book now before it changes. I tell him I dont want to because midway through booking it might change... he tells me he can "lock in" the 195 during the booking process. I literally laughed out loud and asked him why the hell isnt that the case on the website?! He said he didnt know and AGAINNNNN tells me that the rates arent guaranteed. I told him this was absolutely ridiculous and after this shadiness, I have no desire to book on Hotwire. He says they offer great rates and I probably wont find a better deal elsewhere and "strongly recommends" the 195 deal. I tell him no. He asks if there was anything else I needed. I said NO. he asked if I wanted to take a brief customer service survey... I said yes to that
So I head on over to Priceline, refusing to give Hotwire my business. I figured I'd give the "name your own price" thing a shot. I figured it couldnt hurt & decided to start low then change my trip details if needed (drop off time) to try other prices.
I put in my bid and it was accepted on the first try!!!!
My bid way for.... *insert drum roll*
$11 DOLLARS
Bringing my grand total with taxes & fees to... $159 TOTAL! YAY!
Details: Sept 12 pick up @ 10am
Sept 19 drop off @ 4pm
A little back story about my irritation with Hotwire and booking with Priceline. Scroll right to the bottom if you dont want to bother with the back story.
Ive been researching for months now, trying different coupon combos & haven't been able to find much for under $200. Since we're getting down to the wire on our trip, I made promised myself I would book tonight. I attempts to book Hotwire since I heard they have great deals.
I look and since we are in need of an "8 day" rental (really 7 plus a few hours since we have an early flight day of arrival & late flight going home) I found a car for 181.02
I think, thats pretty good and proceed to book. I fill out all the info, including credit card stuff & all that jazz. I get to the "Book now" part and I hit the button. It's "processing" for about 10 seconds and then tells me it can not book. It brings me back to the list of prices and now my total is 215.95
WHAT!?
So I call Hotwire to see what happened. The rude guy on the phone proceeds to tell me that their prices change from time to time. I tell him I understand that but I was booking it. He tells me the cheapest he offer he can get me is 194.95. I explain to him that even though its only like 15 dollars more, its still more than I was going to pay. He tells me (again) that the prices change and that they tell customers to book a good rate when they see one! I start getting irritated and explain to him that I WAS TRYING TO BOOK THE GOOD RATE THAT I SAW! I had everything complete and I wasnt just sitting on the reservation page, I hit book this rental and it took me about 2 minutes to get through the booking process. He says he can book me the 194.95 rate and that its a good rate. I tell him I'm irritated by this whole situation. He (AGAIN) tells me that the rates change and (AGAIN) tells me to book things when I see them....
I asked if he was even listening to what I was saying & if he was then to stop telling me stupid things like that. He tells me (again) he can give me the 195 rate. I tell him I'm going to shop around & Ill call back if I change my mind. He tells me that the 195 rate is limited & I better book now before it changes. I tell him I dont want to because midway through booking it might change... he tells me he can "lock in" the 195 during the booking process. I literally laughed out loud and asked him why the hell isnt that the case on the website?! He said he didnt know and AGAINNNNN tells me that the rates arent guaranteed. I told him this was absolutely ridiculous and after this shadiness, I have no desire to book on Hotwire. He says they offer great rates and I probably wont find a better deal elsewhere and "strongly recommends" the 195 deal. I tell him no. He asks if there was anything else I needed. I said NO. he asked if I wanted to take a brief customer service survey... I said yes to that
So I head on over to Priceline, refusing to give Hotwire my business. I figured I'd give the "name your own price" thing a shot. I figured it couldnt hurt & decided to start low then change my trip details if needed (drop off time) to try other prices.
I put in my bid and it was accepted on the first try!!!!
My bid way for.... *insert drum roll*
$11 DOLLARS
Bringing my grand total with taxes & fees to... $159 TOTAL! YAY!
Details: Sept 12 pick up @ 10am
Sept 19 drop off @ 4pm
