Hotwire.com
I’ve been using this site for hotel bookings since 2010. Mostly I’m satisfied: type in the city/area, pick a hotel from the list, pay … and check in on the day. No need to confirm. No fuss either. But when it goes wrong, it’s a pain and frustrating, to say the least.
On Friday, I booked a hotel on Beverly Hills CA. The top two choices are W Beverly Hills (90% recommended; $295) and Beverly Hills (80 recommended; $322). Before booking, I looked at the options: there are hotels listed under W Hollywood/Hollywood/Sunset Blvd. And on the map, these areas are clearly defined and separately circled.
I picked Beverly Hills, because my friends want to stay there – which is the reason I called, to make sure they can check in without problem. The female Hotwire operator assisted me with the process and booked for me over the phone. Then she announced the hotel I got. I didn’t catch the hotel name but the W Hollywood. I immediately told her this is wrong. She first said it’s the same area then said all bookings are final. When I insisted to cancel or change, she forwarded me to her supervisor/another department.
The ensuring conversation took more than an hour and multiple long holds. After the last hold, she came back and found me not responsive. I shouted but to no avail. In spite of her asking for my phone number at the beginning of our long conversation, “in case we got disconnected” she didn’t call me back. No one did. My second attempt was fruitless and over an hour long too.
My email to Hotwire was returned in 5 hours:
…
Upon checking your account, I was able to verify that you booked this reservation through phone and you provided a reference number for this booking.
At Hotwire, we strive for clarity to assist our customers with the booking process. I have looked up your hotel and it does fall within the hotel neighborhood provided to you at the time of booking.
…
It DOES NOT and thank lord I’ve screen shots to prove.
What’s more, when I called the hotel, trying to cancel, Le Montrose said they’ve no Hotwire booking but Booking.com. Actually this is NOT the first time that I used hotwire but some other sites was the one did the actual booking.
In the past four years, we made enormous trips to Washington DC, and most times I used Hotwire. There was never a mixed up even DC has so many areas almost overlapping each other. I also had to cancel a booking – the hotel agreed, so did Hotwire. My experience with Hotwire was pleasant and amicable. I’m very disappointed at this booking: hours of time spent on the phone/email for a simple mistake. Please, someone help me out here.
PS: I called them again and this time they agreed to rebook and then cancel (in this order). The joke?
- It’s NOT in Beverly Hills
- It cost more then the hotel charges
