I use the hotel booking site, Hotwire.com frequently for my travels, most recently when I went to Tampa for New Year’s (InterContinental for $99 per night, not including tax) and Jersey City, New Jersey at the end of January (Westin Jersey City, $129).

I prefer Hotwire to Priceline, because you don’t have to guess on the price. The site is “opaque” – meaning that you must buy the room before you know the name of the hotel. It’s easier to figure out what hotel you might be getting on Hotwire. And you don’t have to go through Priceline’s bidding process, which can drag on if the site rejects your original offer.

Here are some tips if you want to use Hotwire for your next trip:

1. Figure out what hotel you are getting before you buy. Hotwire has clues that makes this easy to do. First, check out the hotel’s amenity list – a group of icons that appear under the hotel’s location. Open up another window in your brower to BetterBidding.com, a forum where frequent Priceline and Hotwire users post lists of what the different hotels offer, as well as their recent buys.

For example, for my Tampa trip, I saw that the hotel I was considering had an airport shuttle icon on Hotwire. Of the four -star Tampa hotels listed on BetterBidding, only the InterContinental offered shuttle service. So I was 99% sure that I was going to end up there.

It takes more time to do this, but if you are like me and want to know where you are staying, it’s worth it.

2. Don’t forget tax. Both Priceline and Hotwire show prices without tax, which can easily add another $20-$30 to your per night rate. Factor this in to your budgeting.

3. It’s great for car rentals too. I’ve found car rentals on Hotwire for as low as $15 a day. What I like about Hotwire’s car rental policy is that it’s more flexible than their hotel purchases and they don’t charge you until you pick up the car (hotel purchases are non-refundable and must be paid immediately).

4. Be realistic about the kind of hotel you are getting. Both Hotwire (and Priceline) specialize in getting rid of unused inventory – the rooms that hotels haven’t sold. These hotels are going to be the larger chains such as Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton that often appeal to business travelers (which is why weekend rates can be so low). If your goal is to stay at the hippest hotel in town, you will be unhappy with Hotwire. Five star properties such as the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental are usually not listed either.

But if you are simply looking for a good deal on a city hotel that has basic four-star amenities, give Hotwire a try. My favorite Hotwire deal came last year when I was able to book my sister a room at the Wynn Las Vegas for $89. She was thrilled with both the hotel and the price

Tags: Hotels

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