Just a quick tip when booking on hotwire. There’s a site called hotspyer.com that I use which helps you figure out what hotel you’re getting before you buy. They list the amenity icons and location, star rating etc just like hotwire so you just match them up. They don’t claim to be 100% accurate but they’ve never steered me wrong.

They only list hotels in the united states though so it wouldn’t have made any difference on this trip. Still, Hotwire does provide the best prices I’ve found, they’re usually MUCH lower than booking a hotel direct.

Dear Amy,

Here is a complete list of the problems for the hotel called “Stay” in New York City, room 720.

(1) Very small room – but marginally acceptable for location.

(2) Noisy room – outside noise even from 7th floor, A/C was extremely loud. NOT 4-STAR.

(2) Shower drain was plugged up, backed up to nearly overflow. Left message to fix, not fixed. NOT 4-STAR.

(3) Bathroom amenities were cardboard packages. Not upscale. NOT 4-STAR.

(4) Wireless internet did not work in rooms. (“Desk said it was their computer problem.”) NOT 4-STAR.

(5) Room key failed to work. At desk, said it was “Computer Problem”, and it was happening to everyone. If so, why didn’t they stop me @ desk to let me know before I go up/down to room? NOT 4-STAR.

(6) Request Wake up call to “Operator” – waited 4 and a half minutes for call to be picked up. NOT 4-STAR SERVICE.

I see your note that you are “Confident of your 4 star rating”. I don’t agree. And neither do a number of other people, based on the reviews of “Stay” I have since seen.

So, again, your boilerplate message says “I am wrong” … after traveling for business for over 30 years, basically you are telling me that “Hotwire” has a definition of 4-star hotels which is not mine or many other folks.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXX

——————————————————————————–

From: akent@hotwire.com [mailto:HotwireCorpEsc@apacmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:50 AM
To: cimarron@texterity.com
Subject: Re: Hotwire Itinerary Number 5578132990

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

I recently received your voicemail suggesting we email each other to work out a time when we are able to speak directly regarding your reservation with the Stay. The President of the Hotwire Group, Clem Bason has made me aware of the recent experience you had at the Stay.

We recently re-evaluated the star rating of this property and are confident in the 4.0-star rating; however, I would like to get more feedback from you regarding your personal experience at this property. If you have feedback you would like to share, please either share your comments in response to this email or reply to this email with a time when I can call you. Generally, I am available Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Thank you,

Amy L. Monfils

Customer Care Relations

Hotwire Corporate Office

Dear Mark,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your hotel reservation, Hotwire Itinerary Number ***********.

I understand you filled out a survey on the Apartamentos Principe 11. I see that you disagree with our star rating of this location. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.

To best assist our customers during the on-line booking process, Hotwire strives to provide clear instructions and accurate information on our site. To support our Hotel Star Ratings Promise, we constantly review our hotel partners’ star ratings to ensure we provide the most accurate and up-to-date information.

In an effort to remain faithful to our Star Ratings Promise, we determine our ratings by:

- Visiting thousands of properties each year
- Carefully and frequently benchmarking our star ratings against other travel sites and ratings authorities
- Soliciting customer feedback following every stay and adjusting our ratings accordingly
- Investigating and acting on customer concerns about specific properties.

Please be aware that the hotel brands displayed on our Star Rating Promise serve as examples only; Hotwire does not guarantee you will stay in one of the hotels listed. In addition, some hotel brands, like the Apartamentos Principe 11, feature properties in multiple star-rating categories because the rating is not based on the chain’s overall value, but rather on each individual property.

To help us understand your experience better regarding your reservation, please contact us at 1-866-HOTWIRE (468-9473) to provide us with full details. Our Customer Care Associates are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to reply to this email or contact us directly at 1-866-HOTWIRE (468-9473). Thank you for choosing Hotwire.
Sincerely,

Gerardo C.
Hotwire Customer Care
http://www.hotwire.com

Let’s give them a call…

Orbitz: 3 stars
HotelClub: 4 stars
Travelocity: 4 stars
Hotels.com: “not yet rated”
Expedia: unrated

@Chris, to be honest, this is the exception for me. I’ve had wildly successful stays, especially through Priceline, frankly. Hotwire has always been a bit more “generous” with the number of stars assigned to a property. Priceline has typically been more conservative.

@RJP, I like your yardstick for hotel quality.

@Nun, yes, it’s true, star-levels are determined differently in Europe, where state-run agencies assign the values on the basis of existing services, not necessarily the quality of those services. The official rating for this property was a 2-star “touristic apartment,” not hotel.

@BenW, that’s good to hear re: Hotwire customer service. I’ve sent them an e-mail, we’ll see how they answer. I’m not asking for any compensation or refund. I still feel like I got a fair deal, though it wasn’t what I paid for.

I hadn’t even complained about it, as I thought their description was accurate, but nice of them to do that, nonetheless.

If I’m using their site in a major city, I expect that the * rating will match what the other major sites would reflect for the similar property.

Big to Hotwire on cases like this.