RSSHow to Use Hotwire.com to Find Cheap Hotels
Mar 08
Uncategorized booking engines, finding deals, Hotels, hotwire.com, travel, Travel Tips No Comments
I use the hotel booking site, Hotwire.com frequently for my travels, most recently when I went to Tampa for New Year’s (InterContinental for $99 per night, not including tax) and Jersey City, New Jersey at the end of January (Westin Jersey City, $129).
Hotwire is better than Priceline, in my opinion, because you don’t have to figure out what price to set. Both sites are “opaque” – meaning that you need to buy the room before you know exactly what hotel it is. But it’s easier to figure out what hotel you might be getting on Hotwire – and you don’t have to go through Priceline’s bidding process, whcih can take a while if your original offer is rejected.
Here are some tips if you want to use Hotwire for your next trip:
1. Figure out what hotel you are getting before you buy. Unlike Priceline, Hotwire offers clues so you can figure out what hotel you are likely to get. Here’s how to do it: Check out the hotel’s amenity list – a group of icons that appear under the hotel’s location. Then open up another window in your browser to BetterBidding.com, a website forum where frequent Priceline and Hotwire users post their recent buys and lists of what the different hotels offer.
Let’s use my Tampa trip as an example. The hotel that I was considering had an airport shuttle service icon on Hotwire. BetterBidding told me that of the 4-star Tampa hotels listed on Hotwire, only the InterContinental had shuttle service. So I knew that I was going to end up there.
It may take a few extra minutes to do this, but if you are like me and you want to know where you are staying, it’s worth it.
2. Don’t forget tax. Priceline and Hotwire show their prices without tax, which can add $20 to $30 to your per-night rate. Factor this in when making your budget.
3. Hotwire is great for car rentals too. I’ve found prices there for as low as $15 a day. What I like about Hotwire’s car rental policy is that it’s more flexible than their hotel purchases and they don’t charge you until you pick up the car (hotel purchases are non-refundable and must be paid immediately).
4. Be realistic about the kind of hotel you are getting. Hotwire (and Priceline) specialize in getting rid of unused inventory – the rooms that hotels haven’t sold. And generally, these hotels are going to be the larger chains such as Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton that often appeal to business travelers (which is why weekend rates can be so low). So you aren’t going to find many boutique or independent hotels through the service. If your goal is to stay at the hippest hotel in town, you will be unhappy with Hotwire. Five star properties such as the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental are usually not listed either.
But Hotwire is great if you are simply looking for a good deal on a city hotel with basic four-star amenities.
Looking to find the best deals and travel tips? Visit travel writer Chris Gray Faust’s website Chris Around The World: A Travel Journalist’s Tips from the Road.
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