Report on First Hotwire Experience

As previously reported, I recently used Hotwire for the first time, to rent a car, saving $50 over the lowest available conventional rate I could find using Travelocity, etc. Now it is time to report on my experience.

In my reservation, I had indicated out at 2 p.m., and back 5 days later at 4 p.m. The 4 p.m. was a quick approximation, I figured I might be an hour earlier or later. I figured it didn't matter much, I was probably paying for most or all of a sixth day.

When I was checking out the car, Budget mentioned it was due back by 2 p.m., or I would be charged a $100 late fee. I objected to this, showing them my reservation for 4 p.m. She explained that my contract was with Hotwire, there was nothing she could do. I was completely unsuccessful in making any headway, as I politely argued my point (I had a contract). She did simulate my return time, and noted I had a one-hour grace period, so I could effectively return it as late as 2:59 p.m.

I left it at that, figuring I couldn't lose. So, five days, one hour and 30 minutes later, I showed up at Budget. As expected, they charged me the $100 late fee. I didn't even bother to argue. When I got back home, I emailed Hotwire about the situation. To their credit, they responded promptly, and reasonably intelligently, to my email. They asked me to fax in my check-out receipt to confirm my time out, which I did. A couple of days later, they informed me Budget would credit back the improper charge. A couple of days after that, the credit did appear. So. Hotwire did well on that score, although I was disappointed, but not surprised, that they offered no explanation whatsoever of why the problem occurred in the first place.

Having secured my indisputable credit, I decided, as part of my get-tough policy, that my next move would be to request Hotwire to comp me one day's rental for my trouble (which, when you add up arguing with Budget, exchanging email with Hotwire, faxing Hotwire, and confirming I had received my credit, was not insignificant). I got absolutely nowhere with this request, even when I insisted it be escalated to a supervisor. Hotwire's rationale was exactly the same as Budget's had been: my contract was with the other party. This is not defensible, in my view: from the customer's perspective, Budget is clearly Hotwire's subcontractor (recall that a central feature of Hotwire is that you do not get to choose the specific service provider, aka, rental car company). Therefore, Hotwire is owns the whole customer relationship, I have no direct contract with Budget. In other words, it was a very typical multi-vendor, finger-pointing situation.

So, here is my summary of Hotwire's performance:

1. Delivering a better price on a commodity product: A.
2. Customer-friendly contractual practices: D.
3. On-line customer service: B.
4. Co-ordinating with their service partners: D.

Will I give Hotwire a second chance? Yes, the savings is too great to cut them off, however tempting it might be. Although I will give Priceline the first shot. I will also apply what I have learned, which I summarize for the benefit of others:

1. Cover your bases. Book your best conventional, cancellable reservation in advance, then check Hotwire 48 hours before your trip. If you find something better, cancel your first reservation, then book via Hotwire.
2. Be conservative when estimating your return time. I doubt they would have charged me any more if I had initially said 6:00 pm instead of 4:00 pm. But once I named 4:00 pm, they locked me in with that nasty $100 late fee. Even if it costs you an extra day on a car rental, it is probably worth it.
3. Read the fine print, and generally think of every legal angle they could use to get the better of you!