HOTWIRE_FRAUD

I DONT HAVE MUCH TIME TO EXPLAIN BECAUSE I HAVE TO FIND A DIFFERENT HOTEL. I WILL POST IT ALL SOON.I CAN TELL YOU THEIR EMPLOYEES HAVE NO INTEGRETY.

THIS PATHETIC COMPANY IS GOING DOWN THE TUBES.

AFTER TALKING TO THEM I CAN SEE WHY. BORDERLINE CRIMINAL WHAT THEY DO.

IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE ELSE I CAN POST THIS TO WARN PEOPLE LET ME KNOW!

ncgrrl

First, don't write in all capital letters. It's hard to read and equals SCREAMING in computer talk.

Second, write what your complaint is to us. How can people determine if you were wronged if you won't tell us.

Third, expect people to disagree with you.

Orlando_Vic

Calm down so we can understand you!

I have no idea what you are talking about, except that you are upset.

jersey

Well, I can see you're upset but you'll have to let us know why you feel this way. Oh, and you don't have to yell (no caps necessary). Those are pretty strong words so we'd appreciate some detail.

escargot

This is your first post here so you probably did not take time to get used to this site.
Everyone is right, no caps, no 'yelling' , and no blanket statements about anything without providing details and then asking for opinions or advice.
Otherwise, people will assume you are just posting something like this to cause a stir.

GoTravel

PLEASE TELL US WHAT THEY DID TO YOU SO WE CAN TAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS AGAINST THEM.

ltt

SHUT UP UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY!!! yes, i'm intentionally yelling at you.

Keith

You never have participated in our community and come here just to complain, and don't even give details.

Why should we value your opinion?

Keith

Dan

I've used Hotwire many times, without complaint.

EricH

Why do I get the feeling that this poster, who can't deliver even a brief description of the problem, is the source of whatever difficulty they are having and can't understand why Hotwire isn't providing special treatment (i.e., undoing their mistake)?

zeldar

Hi. I won't use caps, but I felt exactly like what the first poster sounded like after spending a day with customer service at Hotwire. I've used Hotwire for years--sometimes I got good hotels, sometimes bad, occasionally I have to cancel a trip and end up paying for the room. But I know the deal; those are the rules. I have thought Hotwire service was getting worse in the last year or so, but nothing I coudn't deal with for lower prices.

However three weeks ago, all this changed. What I do depend upon is accurate location--if I have a conference in a downtown area of a city--I want to be in downtown. I had noticed recently that hotline has designated an area wrongly in my hometown of Chicago recently, but didn't think much about it. Three weeks ago I booked a room in Downtown Atlanta--which turns out, according to the hotel itself is not in downtown Atlanta, whose branch does have another hotel actually in Downtown Atlanta. This hotel is under the stadium. It had also been a customer thumbs up on Hotwire, which used to be pretty reliable but which I also noticed has been less so. Once I got the name of the hotel, realized it wasn't in downtown Atlanta as it said it was, and had abysmal customer ratings on other sights, (still I wouldn't have called except for the location) I called hotwire customer service. The woman, who said she was a supervisor said: did you look at the map?
I actually had but since I don't know Atlanta, it didn't mean all that much to me. What Hotwire will do apparently is map out a location and call it a certain area, even if the city doesn't agree. Also there was no mention of it being near the stadium, but of other landmarks much further away. All misleading. But the customer service is so far past that. The first person told me I could email Hotwire support or contact the corporate offices; she gave me an address in San Francisco. I sent a certified letter a few days later, gave it a week, then wrote to the support line with the same, saying I had sent a copy. Basically all I was asking was to be switched to the hotel in the real downtown. When you email Hotwire, you get a automated message which says"
"We should get back to you in two hours." A day later I got a message saying they had received my message--that the support wasn't located at the corporate office--and that I should feel free to call a supervisor--where I started out. I emailed back and said bascially "contact your corporate office--I know they have the communication--I'll try again, but this is where I've started." Then I called to talk to a supervisor (they will only give first names, and for some reason I'm not sure they are real)--there was no supervisor available, one would call back within the hour--hours later while I was out--a supervisor called and said the corporate office got your letter and responded by mail (I leave in 2 days). You can't get a number for the corporate office, or an email--it's not as if there are real people on the other. I won't use them again. I'm pretty poor but there are things more important than saving a couple bucks.

Dukey

Sometimes you really do get what you (don't) pay for.

rkkwan

Lessons to be learned:

- Check the map.

- If you can't get a good indication what hotel it may be, via betterbidding.com, don't buy a hotel from Hotwire.

moneygirl

My, my, this is zelders first post too! What a coincidence!

J62

I guess I don't get it. When I check hotwire they show a map. I click on downtown Atlanta and it pretty clearly shows what area this covers.


Are you saying they sold you a hotel outside that area, or rather that you never bothered to check the map that is shown on the hotwire website?

If it's the former, then you have a complaint. If it's the latter, then I'm afraid it's your fault for not doing your homework.

Andrew

Yes, you must look at a map before you book something with an "Hotel unknown until you pay for it" service like Hotwire or Priceline. If not, as long as they put you somewhere on the map as shown, you have nothing to complain about. Period. It doesn't matter what they call the zone. People should be aware that hotel names and area names are often misleading, whether you are using Hotwire or booking with the hotel directly.

suze

Assuming these are 2 legitimate complaints, I've got to ask... how do you people find this forum to make a one & only post like these (Hotwire Fraud & Zeldar)?

Keith

Good catch, moneygirl!

suze, HOTWIRE_FRAUD asks for other places to spam his or her complaint. Perhaps they were sent here from other forums.

Keith

suze

Or maybe they read about us in Newsweek?

NeoPatrick

It is remotely plausible that the original poster came here and registered as a new person to vent about his own mistake in booking which he is unable to see or understand, but my question is:

Hey, Zeldar, who the hell are you? You didn't come here by accident and then register just to agree with this single post. Are you really expecting us to believe that you are not the original poster, and one day you just happened to find Fodors.com, and you just happened to run across a post with a situation identical to yours in the same city? Yea, when pigs fly.