Used Hotwire for Trip and got a hell hole!

[JennHales]

Oh man I am so disappointed I am a frugal traveler it's the only way we can afford to travel. Usually hotwire works great for us. I like how you can see the amenities the hotel offers plus how many starts the hotel has.

WELL......

I just received a nasty hotel 2* "Little Boy Blue" I never thought in a million years that you could get a non chain hotel. Hotwire says "Our 2-star hotel suppliers include: Comfort Inn, La Quinta, Days Inn, plus other top brands and quality hotels."

No where does it say that you will receive a dirty, mold infested, hell hole.

The worst part is that the price I paid is the price that the hotel charges so I actually paid more money for this dump after I paid hotwire charges.

Dang it.
Thanks for letting me vent. And before you say that's a chance you take in the past I have gotten, The Hyatt, and Fairfield inn.

Jen

 

[Lilypaige]

OMG!!! Can you call and complain!! And will they do anything for you?? I would be so irrate!

 

[PrincessSitka]

I am not sure how that works do you have to take what they give you?

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Yikes, that does stink! You would think there has to be something you can do?

As good of deals as that and other sites like it offer, I never do it. I just don't like the idea of being forced in to paying for a place and having to stay there, without the exact choice of the hotel!

 

[JennHales]

I don't think there is anything I can do about it. I have heard that the customer service at Hotwire is horrible. And I will not be using them again.

We are driving so I plan on bringing my own sheets and pillows. And the reviews say that I need to bring my own air freshener.

I may just book another hotel and count this as a loss.
Jen

 

[momshadow]

Wow sorry to hear about this. I had a similar experience w/ Price line. I requested three star and up and got what was to be four star. I went on there web sight Hyatt Orange county. There seemed to be a split on the reviews even on there sight. But they where suppose to have a full multi million dollar ren. so I thought that it would be better. NO NO NO. Dirty and stained everything and holes in the sheets housekeeping that never cleaned and things just went from bad to worse. Anyway my suggestion would be to take the loss and try for your health to get another hotel.

 

[Mililani Mouser]

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. i have used priceline before for rental cars, but not hotels. my co-worker used priceline and got the hyatt in garden grove cheap. i was about to use hotwire to book 2 nights in hollywood this morning, but i couldn't do it. hotwire said it was a 3 star hotel , but the trip advisor score on it was 2.5 (out of 5) . now that's a pretty low score (usually the 2.5's have comments like RATS!!, WARNING!!, RUDE!!).

i found out late last night that magic mountain is closed mon-thurs in october, so i've been scrambling around, changing hotel reservations, now my schedule is screwed up as we were planning on MM on a tuesday.

i think i would use priceline/hotwire for car rentals again. maybe. i don't like the fact that you can't get a refund or change your ressies, it's like giving money away.

 

[JennHales]

I just called hotwire and voiced my concern. How this was not a quality brand hotel such as days inn, quality inn, la quinta and how trip advisors reviews of this motel are horrid and I was told that they would send this to the people in charge of quality control and they would get back to me. But since Orbitz, Expedia etc.. list this as 2** also there was probably nothing I could do.

I told them that I did not want to not do business with Hotwire I just wanted to pay more and switch to one of the other hotels offered at their website. She told me we have to go through the ropes. So we will see.

This will be my last hotwire/priceline attempt. It just seems to risky now that I am a grown woman and like a comfy bed and can afford a decent place.

Maybe they would be fine for a rental car. Since most big rental agencies update cars every year or two.

Jen

 

[JennHales]

I just called hotwire and voiced my concern. How this was not a quality brand hotel such as days inn, quality inn, la quinta and how trip advisors reviews of this motel are horrid and I was told that they would send this to the people in charge of quality control and they would get back to me. But since Orbitz, Expedia etc.. list this as 2** also there was probably nothing I could do.

I told them that I did not want to not do business with Hotwire I just wanted to pay more and switch to one of the other hotels offered at their website. She told me we have to go through the ropes. So we will see.

This will be my last hotwire/priceline attempt. It just seems to risky now that I am a grown woman and like a comfy bed and can afford a decent place.

Maybe they would be fine for a rental car. Since most big rental agencies update cars every year or two.

Jen

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I agree, a car rental would be okay. But what they did to you with the hotel was awful. I sure hope they can fix it for you, but I honestly would take it as a loss myself if they don't, and go else where.

Keep us posted on what happens okay?

 

[IluvDISNEYLAND!]

I don't think there is anything I can do about it. I have heard that the customer service at Hotwire is horrible. And I will not be using them again.

We are driving so I plan on bringing my own sheets and pillows. And the reviews say that I need to bring my own air freshener.

I may just book another hotel and count this as a loss.
Jen

I would suggest you count it as a loss. I know that sucks but you will be more comfortable/relaxed and have more energy to enjoy your vacation

 

[pseudotheo]

JennHales:

first off don't fret...i have gotten out of MANY a priceline AND hotwire deal...id love to help you do it too!

First: What hotel did you recieve?
Second: When did you recieve it?
Third: Price paid (if you are ok woth telling me).
Fourth: What location did you request?
Fifth: What did priceline tell you when you called?

Let me know and ill see what i can suggest as a good argument.

-pseudotheo

 

[Leofoenget]

Oh man I am so disappointed I am a frugal traveler it's the only way we can afford to travel. Usually hotwire works great for us. I like how you can see the amenities the hotel offers plus how many starts the hotel has.

WELL......

I just received a nasty hotel 2* "Little Boy Blue" I never thought in a million years that you could get a non chain hotel. Hotwire says "Our 2-star hotel suppliers include: Comfort Inn, La Quinta, Days Inn, plus other top brands and quality hotels."

No where does it say that you will receive a dirty, mold infested, hell hole.

The worst part is that the price I paid is the price that the hotel charges so I actually paid more money for this dump after I paid hotwire charges.

Dang it.
Thanks for letting me vent. And before you say that's a chance you take in the past I have gotten, The Hyatt, and Fairfield inn.

Jen

Trip Advisor reviews are pretty funny. All but one are HORRIBLE. Hope you didn't pay too much

 

[JennHales]

First: What hotel did you recieve?
Second: When did you recieve it?
Third: Price paid (if you are ok woth telling me).
Fourth: What location did you request?
Fifth: What did priceline tell you when you called?

What hotel did you recieve? Little boy blue motel
* no where does hotwire say that I can receive a motel not a hotel.

When did you recieve it? Yesterday about noon

Third: Price paid (if you are ok woth telling me). $39 a night for three nights $136 total.

Fourth: What location did you request? Disney North. And from what I can tell it's right on the boarder of North/South.

Fifth: What did priceline tell you when you called? I too notes (LOL
My arguments
1- told them that I have concerns with the motel that I received. That ths was not a 2 star quality hotel. That trip advisor has horrible reviews for this motel. That it was filthy, mold infested "the worst motel I have stayed at etc.... The girl on the phone looked up the reviews.
2- I told them that before I paid for the hotel I read on the web site that it states "Our 2-star hotel suppliers include:Comfort Inn, La Quinta, Days Inn, plus other top brands and quality hotel" And that no where did it say that I would receive a run down motel. And that the motel I received was not a top brand quality HOTEL and not at a 2 star level.
3- I asked if I could just up grade this to the 3 start hotel that they are listing and pay the difference.

What she said
1- That she would turn this into the people who determin the ratings on hotels. And that they would get back to me in 7-9 days
2- expedia, orbitz etc.. list this as a 2 star also
3-That I couldn't upgrade my room to a different hotel because she doesn't have athority to do it. And that we have to go through the ropes.
4-Also she told me that I could call once I got to the hotel if it was really that bad.

Also I did my home work. I found this board www.betterbidding.com and this hotel hadn't come up before. I thought that I was going to get the holiday inn.
Thanks for your Help!
Jen

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

I know you're seriously angry & disappointed but this reminds me of when my g-ma took the entire family (16 of us + my best friend) to DL & the toilet wasn't connected to the floor, there was hair in the tub & a big piece of metal jutted out off the beds. No it wasn't good but we can laugh about it now, umm....15 yrs later. Oh! And continental breakfast was a box of Entemanns donut holes w/ coffee!!!!

 

[JennHales]

LOL MomAZ

I am just glad that the trip we got this horrid hotel on is our trip to Disney. I am not planning on spending a lot of time in my hotel room. But then again I don't want to go home with head lice and bed bug either.
Jen

 

[pseudotheo]

Ok, so I wrote up this whole long posting for you and then for some reason it got deleted.

So here is what I suggest: First call back hotwire and speak to a customer service agent and argue the following (when I say argue be very polite and nice but bring up the following points and state that you would like a refund because hotwire failed to live up to what there policies state):

1) What you received is a MOTEL not a HOTEL and by travel industry standards those are two different classes and Hotwire advertises HOTELS NOT MOTELS.
2) Read them the reviews and ask them if that is what they expect when they choose a two star HOTEL. They will go into some scripted lines about everyone’s different opinion…blah blah blah.
3) Hotwire states that a two star HOTEL will be a BRAND hotel…Little Boy Blue is not part of ANY BRAND!

At this point the nice person on the other end will tell you there is nothing they can do until you get to the hotel…blah blah blah…ask to speak with a supervisor…they will tell you that the supervisor will state the same thing…thank them and still ask to speak with a supervisor.

Once the supervisor is on the phone use the same exact arguments as above but not personalize it for them…ask them if they would expect to receive a MOTEL after reading the description . . . ask them what a BRAND HOTEL means to them…read them a review and ask them if this is what they would expect from a two star…always tell them what you want…YOUR MONEY BACK. Tell them how you have used Hotwire AND priceline in the past and have always received good quality service from them and their HOTEL partners…

Finally, if you get nowhere (and I would be surprised) you may just have to get to the hotel. Once there if the room IS unacceptable IMMEDIATELY request a new room…if the second one is bad then call hotwire right away and tell them your issues…I did this once in Vegas and went from the Imperial Palace (same poor quality as little boy blue) to the Aladdin for the same price…it took a while on the phone but they also gave me 25$ credit…

Also, remember HOTWIRE is owned and operated by EXPEDIA who also owns and operates HOTELS.COM..so this is not some small independent internet travel company you are dealing with…they are a big corporation…they can afford to refund your money…but don’t tell them that!

Good luck and let us know!!

 

[JennHales]

pseudotheo,
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I feel out on a limb here because it says non refundable yadda yadda yadda. It gives me hope to know that I don't have to take no for an answer.

Plus I didn't know that Hotwire and epedia hotels.com were one in the same, interesting.
Thanks again.
Jen

 

[Mililani Mouser]

pseudotheo,

that is awesome advice!! i agree that you have to be calm and collective when calling, you are more likely to get results! that's why i make my husband call, i have no patience for people who are not customer service friendly. my husband once debated with the kirby vacuum salespeople for 2 hours about how their product does not work as well as they say it does. he also got me out of a 'no refund prepay' at holiday inn.

i hope it works for you jen!!

lynn

 

[jlima]

$39 a night for three nights $136 total.

It sounds like you were lucky before this, but this time you're getting what you're paying for.

The hotel is probably making less than $10/night when they sell at this price. If their business plans allows them to operate and function on that little revenue per occupied room, the resulting quality of product you're getting doesn't sound like a situation I would want anything to do with.

I may just book another hotel and count this as a loss.Jen

If they won't let you upgrade and won't refund or change you to another hotel, I would highly recommend walking away from this reservation and try to make a reservation at a real hotel. Go to the Hilton or Starwood websites, make it search for all of their brands and see if you can find anything better.