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Comments (15)
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Save/ShareIt's been a while since we checked in with Hotwire.com. It's an opaque site, which means that you don't find out which hotel, airline, or car-rental company you're working with until your selection has been accepted and your credit card charged. (Unlike Priceline and other bidding sites, Hotwire customers see prices for hotels, car rentals, and airfares. Hotwire also sells standard travel products with all the details disclosed, too.)
When travelers are booking hotel rooms in Europe, they may be nervous about booking “blindly” without knowing the name and exact location of the hotel where they are saying. Why should travelers be willing to trust Hotwire?
I can understand how people might feel more uncertain about using an opaque site like Hotwire for overseas trips. We try to assuage any concerns by
a. Focusing only on major European cities, and carving out a large number of neighborhoods for each, anchored by points of interest well known to US visitors (e.g., in Paris, the Louvre-Marais is one neighborhood, then there is the Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, Invalides, etc.)
b. Focusing only on higher star ratings. A four-star experience is a four-star experience, whether you’re in the US or Europe. If you search Paris hotels on Hotwire, you won’t see anything under three stars (and those are only a couple of the top 12 results).
If you're interested in European travel, you should check out (Hotwire's Europe deals page). It is something that some consumers might not be aware of, but we always try to have at least 10 percent off, with savings going above 60 percent.
How many hotels does Hotwire have in Europe?
About 1,700 spread over 17 major cities, including London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Venice, and more...
How many of those hotels are “branded”—meaning they'd be reliable with standardized amenities and customer service?
Almost half of the results displayed for Hotwire hotel searches for Europe are from major chains that would be well-known to US travelers (e.g., Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, Intercontinental)
What are some of the best deals so far for Europe for travel during the fall and winter?
1. Our Europe deals page has a 4* in London for only $116 a night (yes, that’s dollars not Euros) and a 4* in Paris for $139. Prices also look particularly good in Spain right now—we have a 4* in Barcelona for only $83 a night, and a 3.5* in Madrid for $79.
2. We also have more 4.5 and 5* hotels available on Hotwire this year in Europe. Read our current list of our best luxury hotel deals. This page features a 5* in London (Soho even!) for only $186 a night. In keeping with the Spain comment above, there’s a 5* in Madrid for $199.
3. As for flights, prices are still high relative to past years, due to the price of oil. That said, you can still find deals available if your dates, and especially your airports, are flexible. Travel Ticker by Hotwire has several fare sales featured right now into airports in Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark. [Editor's note: For more info, see our blog post on Travel-Ticker.]
Why are there not more opaque car rentals in Europe?
Hotwire does have some opaque car rentals in Europe (via the major brands that we work with in the US, like Hertz, Avis, and Budget). But overall, it is not a large business, because
1. We have only recently started to focus on the market.
2. We do not have existing relationships with all the major car rental companies (e.g., we have not worked with Europcar and Sixt, to date).
3. We are building those relationships, but the process is slower than it was in the U.S.
a. Longer period to negotiate contracts, as we resolve differences in national laws.
b. Longer period to set up the technology, as these companies run on different platforms.
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The hotel rates mentioned are impressive, especially snagging a 4 star hotel in London for $116. Yet at the same time, there's an inherent risk in potentially winding up in a location that doesn't suit your interests and paying out the wazoo in incremental transportation costs as a result (especially in a geographically large city like London.)
Posted By Pete on September 12, 2008, 4:59 PM
Keep in mind also that a 4-star hotel might be terrible. Stars are no guarantee of comfortable rooms and good service. A 4-star hotel is more likely to be clean and well-maintained with a great staff then is a 1-star hotel, but there are a lot of bad ones out there. I got stuck with a horrible 4-star hotel in Italy a few years ago when I took a "great" deal from another blind bidding website. Never again. If I know the name of the hotel, I can research the location and get lots of feedback on how good the hotel really is, or isn't.
Posted By Bill on September 15, 2008, 1:12 PM
If you are an experienced traveler who knows how to go with the flow I think this would be fine. There are also people who are not quite as adventurous about exploring on their own, they would be better off to research the area they plan on visiting find the hotel that would fit their plans and income level and pay the money for securing their perfect holiday.
Posted By Nancy on September 15, 2008, 1:32 PM
A 4 star hotel in Europe isn't quite the same as a 4 star hotel in the US. There is no global standard for the star system, and I've been in plenty of 4 star European hotels that wouldn't rank over 2 stars in the US. So while I'm comfortable bidding for US hotels and often have, it won't be happening for European ones. I want to be able to know the name of the hotel so I can research others' comments on it and also pinpoint it's exact location. Yes, it may cost me more, but it's worth something to not get a pig in a poke!
Posted By Kathy on September 15, 2008, 2:04 PM
I never have and I never will blindly book a hotel.
I do research on every destination to find the right place to stay. I am not willing to gamble on the quality of my vacations.
Posted By Mike in Pennsylvania on September 15, 2008, 3:49 PM
I have used Priceline for more than 5 years in large cities in Europe and Asia and I have only had one bad experience in a twenty wins or so. I also use TripAdvisor for the inside scoop, but even that leaves a lot to be desired due to individual differences. While a 4 star in Europe is of lower level than a US 4 star, it is still better than a European 3 star!
Posted By Hal on September 15, 2008, 7:35 PM
I used Hotwire to book a 4-star hotel in London earlier this year and I paid less than 50% of the list price for my room.
I was flying into Heathrow and out of Gatwick, with an overnight in the middle during which I planned to meet a sibling who lives in the Canary Wharf area. So, I was pretty focused on getting a hotel which had tube access on the right tube lines.
How did I do it ? First I familiarized myself with the London neighborhoods used by Hotwire. I then cross-referenced hotels in these neighborhoods with listings from Expedia and TripAdvisor. By tweaking my Hotwire search just a little using this information, I got a great deal on a lovely hotel.
Posted By Michelle D on September 15, 2008, 8:27 PM
First, I want to know what I'm getting BEFORE I reserve and give out my credit card number. And often you can't cancel thru the cheap lodging sites, as I have learned to my chagrin.
We also want to be in a particular part of the city we are visiting - the center of town, or the "Old Section," or near the best restaurants, museums etc.
We have particular needs in hotel rooms - we are both tall, so a king bed is a requirement. We both hate the smell of cigarette smoke so it must be a non-smoking room.
With Hotwire, and even with hotel sites themselves we often do not have this option. For example, recently we were looking for a room in Elk River, Minn and a majority of the hotel either only offered smoking rooms or twin bed rooms or in some way of another were not to our liking.
We usually opt for the Hilton family of hotels - all completely non-smoking, and as a rewards member we have our profile of preferences on the site, earn free accommodations and are familiar with what we getting. Constantly looking for the cheapest only results in getting a pig in a poke. If I'm going to leave my nice bed at home I want something comparable when I travel. You get what you pay for.
Further more, many hotel sites have wised up to the cheap hotel search sites and guarantee the best price.
Posted By Jimmy P. on September 16, 2008, 2:04 PM
While I use hotwire extensively within the US and never had a problem, I'd not use it internationally--or any discount booking agency like Hotels.com.
When I booked and prepaid Hotel Intercontinental in Budapest ahead of time, the managment there refused to honor that payment, and charged me the full rate. So I not only was doubly charged when I'd already paid, but I was price gouged. The hotel management clearly wanted as much money as they could get. I was a speaker at an ISACA conference and two of my days were paid by ISACA on their account. The other two days I booked and paid separately.
But the hotel refused to honor those and charged and made me pay the ISACA conference rate to take care of my bill. As a small business solo-preneuer at the time, this was a big blow to my finances.
Even with receipt/confirmation in hand, and multiple long distance conversations between the hotel and Hotels.com, this was never resolved. The hotel in Budapest was horrid about it--it was very shocking.
Then when I came home, it was 100 times the work to get a refund from Hotels.com--a nightmare and it took me months to get my money back.
So for these bargain sites, I'll stick to direct booking internationally and use them only for local areas where I know.
Thanks, Debbie Christofferson
Posted By Debbie Christofferson on September 18, 2008, 1:03 AM
Hopefully, the hotels in Europe are better than the Hotwire recommended two-star hotels in the US. We chose a Hotwire two-star hotel in Madison, Wisconsin and were so disappointed with the accommodations that we chose not to stay at the "motel." I then contacted Hotwire and they said that the hotel was "up to their standards." I definitely won't try another Hotwire "two-star" hotel again.
Posted By Bonnie Smithson on September 21, 2008, 9:36 AM
I use Priceline regularly and love it. Hotwire however overrates their hotels. What most sites would consider a two star, they call a three star and what most sites would rate a one star, they call a two star. Also, after booking with them, I realized I could have paid the same price on more than one site. Never again will I use hotwire because of the quality of the rooms they were selling.
Posted By Sonya on February 12, 2009, 4:03 PM
My question is this: for any of these sites (priceline, hotwire, expedia, etc.) that offer hotels at discount, can you be displaced if the actual hotel "oversells" for the night(s) you are staying? I recently booked on Hotwire. I am not sure of their policy. When choosing which company to use, I would make it based on knowing that I am guaranteed my room at all costs. Anyone know the policies of any of these?
Posted By dana on May 28, 2009, 7:08 PM
Hotwire, Priceline, Hotels.com and Expedia are all the same parent company (and probaly trip advisor too). There may be more. Hotel prices are definitely down in Spain this summer. My advice is to check the rates on the big websites and then call the hotel directly or go to their own website.
I got one night free from the Hesperia Hotel in Cordoba because of a stay 3/pay 2 night promotion that was cheaper than the Hotel.com site.
At my hotel in Jerez (Chancilleria), the owner offered me a complimentary bottle of wine to book directly with the hotel at the Hotel.com price.
In favor of Hotel.com, I got the Madrid Airport Hilton at 50% off with breakfast buffet. When I tried to pay for it on the Hilton website, the price suddenly went up 12$. It stayed the same on Hotels.com.
Look around, do your research.
Posted By george on July 29, 2009, 12:10 PM
George,
You're partly mistaken. While Expedia, Hotels.com, and Hotwire are owned by the same company, Priceline is a separate company.
Posted By Blog Editor on July 29, 2009, 4:38 PM
Hotwire is a particularly good place for families to get hotel bargains in Europe. Almost all hotels in Europe will only have bedding for 2 people, either 2 twins or one double bed. But Hotwire lets you enter the number of adults and kids so you can find a hotel that will accommodate say a family of 3 or 4. I've used it several times, sucessfully.
Posted By Rayne on August 2, 2009, 9:20 AM