Hotwire question..
 

OK..we are looking for a hotel in a certain area of St. Louis. Best rate I can find is 145/ night at the Sheraton and 80/night at a Drury Inn. hotwire has a 3.5 star property (my hunch is it is the Sheraton...) for 57/night. We will be traveling with our two children as well. I have never booked Hotwire for hotels before. What happens if Hotwire reserves a room with one king bed? Will it be a problem to change that to two beds in a room? or when I make the initial request with Hotwire, should I tell them 4 adults in a room, just to get the bedding we need.

Any help would be appreciate...sorry to be so green about these things.

I would check the Hotwire site for that info. It's probably like Priceline where you get the room for 2 people and you may get either a queen or king or two double beds. If it's the same, you would make the purchase and then call the hotel to confirm and request two double beds. I doubt it would be a problem since I believe there are usually more rooms with two double beds than ones with only a king or queen.

You can also check www.betterbidding.com for info.

When dealing with Priceline, I have always called the hotel directly after getting my hotel and requested the type of room that I want. I don't know if that makes it certain, but the hotels has been good at accomodating what I wanted. It's best to call and request your smoking preference anyway.

I've never had a problem requesting a certain type and number of beds when using Hotwire or Priceline. Just call the hotel directly as soon as your reservation is made.

I use Priceline a lot and after the bid is confirmed I too call the hotel and confirm the bed/smoking. So far I have never had a problem but there is NO guarantee that you will get two beds. Properties like the Sheraton are so large I can't imagine you would have a problem. How old are the kids? Too old for roll away beds? Most hotels have those. Also if they are adult children, you may be able to bid on Priceline for two rooms at about the same price as one room on Hotwire.

The hotel has no obligation to provide space for more than what you paid for. Granted, most hotels have a high level of customer service so its unlikely they will just turn their backs on you. But you have to realize the hotel may simply not have rooms available for your requests, this is especially true if you check-in during the evening.