How do I change a reservation on Hotwire?<\/strong> \u00a0Same as above. \u00a0Not only can’t you cancel but you can’t change your reservation either. \u00a0I don’t really see this as a valid complaint against Hotwire since they make it very much up front that you cannot change your reservation.<\/p>\n Will I get stuck with a bad hotel room?<\/strong> \u00a0This is a mystery. \u00a0Some travellers have reported that they’ve gotten a bad room at a hotel they booked on Hotwire. \u00a0Indeed, people do get bad hotel rooms. \u00a0But whether there is a correlation between the room and Hotwire, I have a hard time believing this. \u00a0All hotels have different tiers of rooms and a Hotwire reservation will get you in one of the lower rated room types, but the notion of them putting you beside the ice machine or near the elevators simply because you booked on Hotwire is a fallacy. \u00a0I’ve spoken to dozens of hotel check-in staff members and none admitted to giving crappy rooms to Hotwire customers.<\/p>\n Does Hotwire inflate hotel ratings?<\/strong> \u00a0I’ve often heard people complain that Hotwire hotel ratings are ‘generous’. \u00a0Meaning, a 4-star hotel on Hotwire would not be ranked as a 4-star hotel on other websites. \u00a0Thanks to the Hotwire and Priceline forum<\/a>, thousands of people have shared their winning bids<\/a> which I then put into a database and a collection of hotel lists. \u00a0When I compared the hotel ratings of Hotwire to Priceline, there does seem to be some generosity in Hotwire’s hotel ratings. \u00a0Have a look at this blog post on Hotwire vs. Priceline hotel ratings<\/a>. \u00a0What does this mean? \u00a0Chance are you are not going to get a resolution from Hotwire if a hotel doesn’t meet your expectations. \u00a0If, on the other hand, the hotel doesn’t have a particular amenity that was displayed when you booked, be sure to complain and get some sort of refund out of Hotwire.<\/p>\n Does clearing your browser cookies get better rates?<\/strong> \u00a0This is a bit of an odd one, but I first learned about this on the Consumerist<\/a> that some people get better rates on Hotwire after they’ve cleared their brower cookies. \u00a0In this example, they purport that someone tried to book a car rental on Hotwire and $41 per day, then cleared their cookies and performed the same search, getting a rate of $23 per day. \u00a0Wow! \u00a0I couldn’t resist and had to try this. \u00a0Surprisingly, I found similar result. \u00a0When looking for a hotel, I got slightly different prices (they varied by $1 per night). \u00a0More imprtantly, 2 of my searches only showed 3 results and one of my searches (after cookies cleared) produced 7 results. \u00a0These searches were done within about 2 minutes of each other. \u00a0I can’t explain the variance. \u00a0Tip: \u00a0Clear your browser cache and cookies and try searching Hotwire again.<\/p>\n How can you protect yourself against Hotwire Complaints?<\/strong><\/p>\n I like to think that using Hotwire is a bit like playing blackjack in Las Vegas. \u00a0You need to know the rules before sitting at the table. \u00a0You simply cannot place your bet and then and then complain when you lose because you didn’t know the rules. \u00a0This is not unlike Hotwire. \u00a0You really are gambling. \u00a0After all, you DON’T know what hotel you’re going to get. \u00a0That is the very premise of Hotwire. \u00a0They only reveal certain information and you have to decide whether to take the chance or not. \u00a0 Here are some tips to help you with better bidding on Hotwire:<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.hoteldealsrevealed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Hotwire-results-1024x724-1.jpg\" "\\"Hotwire")
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