Hotwire Reviews

Canceling a hotel reservation turned into a complete nightmare. I booked three months in advance assuming it was refundable so I could adjust later if needed. The website makes canceling practically impossible - the cancellation button just loops you back to login. There's no phone number listed in their emails, so I had to search online to find support. Even then I waited over an hour on hold just to cancel what takes one click elsewhere. This company should honestly be investigated with all the negative reviews out there. I'm literally still waiting on hold as I write this. An hour passes with no answer. Now I'm doing deep research trying to find another way to contact them, which is ridiculous. I did reach the actual hotel and they canceled their end without any trouble, but now I'm stuck figuring out how to get my money back from Hotwire. Has anyone else dealt with this mess and found a solution?

I'd rate them zero if I could! How do they even manage to get contracts with major companies? Honestly no clue. People are literally leaving apartments because the internet service they provide is so terrible.

We drove from Vancouver to Victoria with our family for a vacation that we had planned carefully. Our reservation was confirmed and locked in. We arrived late at night with exhausted kids, only to be told at check-in that the hotel had overbooked and had no room for us. Nothing. No alternatives. No real assistance. With no ferries available that late, we were essentially abandoned in Victoria with our children. We ended up sleeping in the car all night with the engine running just to stay warm because of their overbooking disaster. The kids were confused and upset. Our special family trip turned into a stressful ordeal. What's worse is they never apologized, offered no compensation, didn't even follow up, and showed zero accountability. They acted like this was completely normal. This kind of treatment is unacceptable, especially when families depend on confirmed bookings. Hotels that can't honor reservations shouldn't be trusted by anyone.

I've booked with Hotwire several times without problems, but I never had to contact support until now. Their customer service is incredibly poor. For car rentals, you're supposed to use their text support. It asks for your reservation and phone number, so you type it in. A few minutes later it asks again, and you enter it again. Then nothing for thirty minutes - just the same request for information. By that point I'd already called their main line, but their automated system only has options for flights and packages. I picked packages and someone answered, but all I could hear was typing and background noise. I said hello multiple times and got no response at all. I ended up canceling the reservation. Won't be going back to Hotwire.

Really let down by Hotwire. They market themselves as the go-to for last-minute deals, but what I got was misleading and frustrating. I specifically chose city center as my preferred location, but they booked me at a hotel that's 8.5 kilometers away from downtown. That's not city center by any stretch - it defeats the whole point of wanting central access. When location filters get ignored like that, you can't trust the platform. A cheap price doesn't matter much when you're miles away from where you need to be, paying extra for transportation and losing time. This really hurt my confidence in Hotwire. If location is important to you, think carefully before booking.

COMPLETE AND TOTAL SCAM!!! I'M CONTACTING MY LAWYER AND FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!!! IT ONLY TAKES ONE CLASS ACTION SUIT TO BRING DOWN THIS FRAUDULENT COMPANY AND I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!! STAY AWAY FROM HOTWIRE!!!!

THIS IS A COMPLETE SCAM!!! I'M GETTING A LAWYER AND REPORTING THIS TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!!! ONE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IS ALL IT TAKES TO SHUT DOWN THIS FRAUDULENT OPERATION AND I WILL SEE IT THROUGH!!! DO NOT USE HOTWIRE!!!!

I paid over $300 for a car rental that never materialized. When I got to the airport, they said they had no cars available because of the government shutdown. A friend had to drive me home, which was over an hour out of the way. I've reached out multiple times asking for my money back but got nothing. No car, no refund, nothing. I'm done with them. I hope they get what's coming to them.

I booked and paid for a trip but had to cancel it. Not only did they keep my full payment, they also tacked on a cancellation fee. Plus nobody told me that your account balance disappears after a year. I'm out $400. Total scam.

Hotwire completely botched my flight bookings. I used them to reserve a round trip to Mexico City. On the return flight, I discovered through AeroMexico that my flight had been canceled and I was never notified. I had to buy new tickets out of pocket. When I contacted Hotwire about it, everyone acted like they had no idea what I was talking about. No one called me back. I lost $900 because of their mistakes and they don't seem to care at all. Don't use them - they mess up and then ignore you.