earthhopper

Bad Luck!! If you'd have done it with the original contract, you'd have saved $20. So, that's the upside of all travel goods. You snatch a fair deal.

But if you change your schedule, you're doomed. The same is applicable to lowest airfares and other such deals.

Not just Hotwire, it's applicable to all travel agentd, online portals and airline companies.

We gotta be super-cautious while booking non-refundable or non-cancellable deals. Or just put or fingers crossed. Nobody is a Nostradamus!

joan

To use tracy2cents' example, it just isn't worth avoiding Hotwire, because if you extend you're right back in the same pool with everyone else. Converting from $150/week to $50/day is still exorbitant, (and that's a very valid example because the per day rates on the extension are always rack rate, sky high) and it would be worth a phone call or internet check to secure something better.

rkkwan

Back to the OP's situation. Her (sorry, I assumed the wrong gender earlier) story is actually very educational to many people. I don't know how long her original rental agreement was, but in general, one should save at least 40-50% over the regular rate for rental cars. If one's only saving $20 over several days, it's not worth using Hotwire or PL, for the exact situation she was in.

The monetary benefit needs to be higher to justify the risk involved.

OnVacation

Andrew said:

"If you think there's even a reasonable chance that you might need to change a car booking, DON'T USE HOTWIRE OR PRICELINE."

Well, isn't there always a reasonable chance you might need to change a booking? I think so! You can't control illness and weather. Therefore, using Hotwire and Priceline is a big gamble, and you better be sure you're getting a killer deal if you are going to use them. From what I've read on the Bidding for Travel website, these services don't offer rates much lower than the cheapest deal available by booking direct, which leads to the conclusion that the risks involved in using these sites typically outweigh the rewards. This I believe was the point of the original post. Due to the recent weather, our flight was cancelled and we had to cancel hotel reservations after the cancellation deadline (this hotel required a 48 hour notice). We had booked through the hotel directly and when I explained the situation, they happily returned our deposit. They didn't have to do this, but did so on the basis of goodwill. I suspect if we had booked through an outside website of any sort (especially Hotwire and Priceline, but probably even Expedia), the flexibility to make an exception would not have existed.

rkkwan

Hotwire and Priceline can indeed save a lot of money. My overall experience for hotels and rental car is that they save about 50-60% over lowest rates direct from the hotels or rental company.

One nice thing about them is that you can book with little advance. So, if it's a trip that may or may not happen, or have a decent chance of being changed, then book a regular hotel and car. Then do PL or HW when you feel the risk of cancellation is lower.

It's all about the risk level one's willing to accept. Everybody's situation is different; the discount level vary from deal to deal. Therefore there's no single answer.

In some cases, I use PL/HW; in others, I don't. The critical thing is to understand the rules and costs, and your own unique situation for this trip.

BKelly

I had a very similar situation happen to me about two weeks ago. I rented an SUV from Avis via Hotwire for a two day trip ($80 total); my wife became sick and we couldn't leave when we were supposed to. I called Avis to extend the rental by one day. The rep told me they would not honor the rate listed on the contract for an extra day ($40). I was not a happy camper and asked to speak with the manager - he agreed to allow me the rate on the contract.

My saving grace was that they actually had the $40 per extra day listed on the contract I signed at pick-up.

I asked the manager why they even listed the extra day rate on the contract if they didn't intend to honor it? He mumbled something about their computer system and reluctantly agreed.

Andrew

OnVacation says,
"Well, isn't there always a reasonable chance you might need to change a booking? I think so! You can't control illness and weather. "

It's up to you whether you think there's a reasonable risk of a change in your plans. Some people know that their final plans are more fluid than others. Some people's lives are more complicated. It's always a risk with Hotwire or Priceline that something could change and you'd lose the money spent on the booking.

As for weather, sometimes you can get a break on that. Last Christmas, I had a late flight arrival and booked an airport hotel via Priceline. When AA canceled my flight that day due to weather, Priceline refunded my money without much hassle (just had to verify I'd actually been on that flight and that it had been canceled - all done over the phone in about 10 minutes). I've otherwise used Priceline a few dozen times. When I am not completely sure of my plans, I don't use it or won't use it until the very last minute.

And you can buy trip insurance (at least with a Priceline bid) that would cover circumstances like change of plans due to illness...