Use hotwire?
 

Hi I found a 145 night 4.5 hotel in Beverly Hills and West of Holliwood. Should I take this offert?

Can you find out which hotel that may be from betterbidding? What are the amenities?

And what are the rates for 4* hotels for the dates you're staying? Keep in mind that Hotwire inflates star rating by at least 1/2 a star.

Well it has Pool, Spa, Buisness Center, GYM and internet.

So if is a 4.5 hotel is really a 4 hotel, still I think its good.
What hotel will be?

oavcech95, the website
www.betterbidding.com specializes in answering exactly that kind of question. You tell them the location, star level, dates, price, and the "amenities" and they tell you what the most likely match is.

When? Sounds like a good offer but parking might be another $35 per night and hotwire might only guarantee one bed.

Betterbidding only shows one 4.5* in Beverly Hills/West Hollywood, the Sofitel. But its amenities include restaurant. Does what you see have restaurant? [And I'd think a 4.5* hotel should have restaurant.]

Anyways, if it's not the Sofitel, it'll be something in that class. $145 is not bad, but you just may find better deals by using Priceline.

Hi, I already make the question in that page.

Maybe is the Sofitel, but I was thinking about the one bed?

While there's no guarantee of bed type, as long as you call the hotel itself (not Hotwire, not the chain's central reservations) to request a specific room type, it's very rare that they won't honor that request.

Well I was planning to do that and also ask at the check in and if is not possible so an extra bed will be good.
I'm almost booking with hotwire I just wait the answer in the other page.

Priceline only guarantees accomodations for 2 people (1 bed) Hotwire can accomodate 4 people (2 beds)

If you click on the continue button on the offer, see if there is a TripAdvisor Rating and # of reviews. If so, you can then cross reference the hotel with reviews on TripAdvisor to figure out what hotel it is.

I don't think Hotwire ever guarantees you will get a room with two beds.

rkkwan,they must, because you can specify 4 people (as opposed to Priceline, where a room is only guaranteed to accommodate 2 people).

From Hotwire's Customer Care section:

Q: How many beds are in the lodgings?

A: All rooms booked on Hotwire will accommodate the appropriate number of guests in each room, based on the total number of guests you provided and the number of rooms you requested. While we cannot guarantee the number of beds in a property room, some properties may offer pull-out couches or cots. If you have specific needs, please contact the property directly. Our partners will do their best to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

If you specify 3 or 4 people in a Hotwire request, they must supply at least 2 beds. But the charge/price quote may be higher because it's a higher class room and/or there is an extra charge for over 2 people. Otherwise, you may be given only one bed, and have no options if they refuse to give you a room with 2 beds.

So you're saying that Hotwire will guarantee a room for 4 people, but they may end up charging you more than the guaranteed price for it? HUH?

How can you or they say that they guarantee a room for four and then can give you a room with only one bed? Hardly a guarantee in my book!

<i>So you're saying that Hotwire will guarantee a room for 4 people, but they may end up charging you more than the guaranteed price for it? HUH?</i>

No, I think what nyer is saying is that the Hotwire price for a room guaranteed for 4 may be higher than the Hotwire price for the same hotel for only 2 (and I have found that to be the case, although generally the difference is not nearly as much as if you add 1 or 2 people when booking directly with the hotel).

Yes, sf7307 explained it more clearly.

If you request a room for 2, and the price comes out to, say,$100, they only guarantee one bed.
If you request a room for 3 or 4, the price might be $120 but since there's no way to put 3 or more in a bed, there must be at least 2 beds.
I suppose that gives you the option to pay more, and just not bring in the 3rd or 4th person.

I guess I understand now.

But how is that different than booking any other way? If you call and reserve a room for 4 direct and only bring 2, wouldn't you also be paying more than for 2? Sorry, guess I just didn't get the point that it costs more for 4 than for 2 -- why wouldn't it? Or why would you book for 4 if you are only bringing 2? Or for that matter, why would you book for 2 if you were bringing 4?

I think I need a drink -- this is all too deep for me right now. Carry on.

I can see the logic.

If you absolutely need 2 beds (whether it's for 1, 2, 3 or 4 persons), then you specify you want 3 or 4 persons in a room.

Hotwire will check inventory and since this is more restrictive, it makes sense that the rate can be higher. Even for the same hotel.

Say a hotel has 500 rooms. 300 of them are king, 200 are double. They want to release inventory to HW to fill up the rooms, but they can tell HW, hey, we'll sell them to you for $80 if it's any type of room. But, if it has to be double, since we have fewer inventories, we need to charge you $100.

So, when a customer search on HW, the rate will be higher if one specify 3 or 4 persons, compared to 1 or 2.

At least that's the logic. Whether in reality that's the case, I have no idea or experience.

Whoa, Patrick, yes you do need a drink.

Many hotels charge the base rate for 2 guests, then each additional guest staying in the same room adds $X.

For example, I book a hotel (via traditional way) for 4 people in 1 room. The base price for 2 people is $100, but each additional guest is an additional $20, so the grand total will be $140.

If I end up showing up at the hotel with only 2 people, the hotel *should* only charge me for $100 without the additional charge, even though I made the reservation for 4.

On Hotwire, if you select 4 (or even 3) persons in 1 room, Hotwire automatically weeds out the hotels that cannot guarantee a room with 2 beds.

For example, there are two 4* hotels in a zone that participates with Hotwire.

Hotel A guaurantees w/Hotwire that it will provide rooms that have 2 beds.

Hotel B only guarantees w/Hotwire that it will provide a room - but won't promise it'll have one or two beds.

If I enter 2 persons on Hotwire for this zone, I will be offered both Hotels A&amp;B.

However, if I enter 4 persons on Hotwire for this zone, only Hotel A show up (@ perhaps a higher rate, though I have no personal experience).

Based on this assumption, IF I want to make sure I get a room with 2 beds via Hotwire, it *may* make sense to select 3 or 4 persons in order to get a hotel that provides that.