People are suing for paying service that doesn't disclose what they just paid for?

It's easy to boost ratings by adding token amenities to appeal to specific needs. Hotels in Europe have been doing that for decades. ("Say, Gerard, let's convert thees storage closet into a centre de fitness. Voila, three stars!")

I appreciate what Hotwire does, but you also have to realize what Hotwire does. ie, how much sympathy should we have for someone who books sight-unseen based on a proprietary star ranking system?

Rather: people are suing for using a service that doesn't disclose the product until you pay?

I can't say I'm surprised here. I booked a hotel through Hotwire last year, and it said it was a "3.5 star" hotel. Now, it was one of the Hilton hotels in the area, but it wasn't even close to what I would consider 3.5 stars, or even 3 stars. Maybe that one was just riding on the name.

On the other hand, I booked a 2 star hotel stay through Hotwire a couple years ago, and the hotel actually was much nicer than I expected. Maybe it's a ratings tradeoff, or maybe their staff just doesn't know much about hotels...

That Denny's sponsors the professional bowling league is so appropriate.

I'm going to have to go with Hotwire here. I think the consumer has some responsibility to research the hotel they're considering and not simply relying on a proprietary ratings system.

But I think it depends on how egregious this is. If you booked a three star and the "norm" is 2.5, tough luck. That's within the margin of error

Now if you booked a four star and everyone else gives them one, you might have something because their ranking system may be misleading.

@ARP: RTFA:

On Hotwire, you can't preview the hotel before booking

@ARP: The thing is that you CAN'T research the hotel before you book it with them. The only thing you have to go off of is the ratings.

At the same time, my only experience with Hotwire is booking for a 4-star hotel in downtown Chicago and getting the historic Palmer House, which was AWESOME. So I've only had a really good experience. Sometimes you get what you pay for and sometimes you get a really good deal. I don't really see much of a problem with them.

This is why I never use Hotwire, only Priceline. Priceline's star ratings are a lot more accurate, and you get what you pay for. I've heard too many horror stories about getting duped on a Hotwire purchase.

So people who are penny pinchers to begin with, and would never pay for a 4 star hotel in the first place are upset that they're getting put into hotels that they think are 3 stars, but are really just "2 and a half star" hotels. That half-star really makes a difference I'm sure!

This all sounds like a software malfunction to be honest. Hotwire says you're paying for a 3 star. After you pay, you get 2 stars. The article says it best - there's no consistent "star rating guide", so what's stopping Hotwire from just changing all the 2-star hotels in their database to 3? You see what I mean?

@DwightIsMyCopilot: @Dobernala: ARP might, just maybe, have meant to research it by other means like a different website or something of that nature.

I use Hotwire all the time when I visit my aunt/uncle in a small town in PA. Usually, I can get the Hampton Inn for $35/night vs. $119++ rack rate.

@Lo-Pan:

How can you research the hotel you're going to stay in when Hotwire doesn't tell you what hotel you're staying in until after you've purchased?

Speaking of rates, has anyone actually read the disclosure form in every hotel room (usually on the back of the door) that states what the "normal" rate for that room is? How are they consistently ~2x higher than you ever see advertised or sold for?

They should have been tipped off when the local MacDonald's was rated four stars; "Clean bathrooms ****"

On Priceline, I've occasionally gotten a hotel that was a dud. In every case, I was able to get out of it by going to the hotel and telling them nicely (1) that it was not what I expected and (2) I'd be very unhappy there. They have always told me that I could call Priceline and it would be okay with the hotel to cancel the deal. It takes a bit of doing, but Priceline has always then cancelled the deal after I explained that the hotel was willing to cancel.

@missdona: If thats the one in Whitehall I paid $45 the last time I booked it. Maybe all these companies should work with the whatever the Hotel trade group it called to come up with a true universal rating system.

As for the lawsuit, sounds like Kevin is trying to find himself a big score class action to get out of daddy's shadow. (Daddy is a scuzzy personal injury attorney in LA)

all right, all right, say what you want about hotwire, but leave Dennys out of it. at 3 am it there or the Waffle House, and sometimes you just dont feel like hearing the Waffle House song on the juke box.

mmmm grease and bacon...

I used Hotwire twice. First time I got a pretty good deal on a hotel suite (perhaps because they were new?), second (and last) time I got a lousy deal on a hotel they indicated would be "beach-front" but was really "beach-is-sixteen-blocks-away-walking-through-a-busy-city-good-luck-carrying-that-there-cooler-charlie".

Either I misread this or everyone else did.

The way I read it was that the issue is not people paying for a 3 star hotel and being unhappy with it, but instead paying for a 3 star hotel and then getting booked in what HOTWIRE rates as a 2 star hotel.

Please let me know if I misread it.

@Ash78: But did they know at time of purchase that the star rating system was proprietary?

@Franklin Comes Alive and DwightIsMyCoPilot

One can actually do a little research on both Hotwire and Priceline by going to sites such as betterbidding.com or biddingfortravel.com.

At betterbidding.com, for example, they list the likely hotels at each star level by breaking it down by amenities that are included, as well as whether it says something like, "Customer Favorite." In some instances, given the description, the end result will be one or two choices that the hotel is likely to be.

I love Hotwire, I use it everytime I travel. I look area hotels that I'll be visiting and price them on Orbitz and Priceline. Hotwire seems to give me good deals.

If you are going to use Hotwire or Priceline I suggest checking out this site [www.betterbidding.com]

To everyone siding with Hotwire, the problem is that Hotwire is telling you before you buy that the hotel room they are selling you as, e.g., in a 3 star hotel. But after you make the purchase, they actually place you in a hotel that, by their own rating system, is of a lower rating. It's a classic bait and switch.

@Tracy Ham and Eggs: Nope, Carlisle. There's a ton of crappy motels you can get for that price (super 8, motel 6), but I'd much rather go to the Hampton Inn.

How bad can you really feel for someone caught up in some old shitty scam like that? If you choose to make a purchase based on someone's arbitrary/proprietary rating system, you deserve what you get...

I've got some prime beach-front property in Florida for sale...

This car was only driven to church on Sunday's by my great-grandmother and only has 8,000 miles on it...

@loganmo: Thank you. I was getting very frustrated that everyone was ignoring the real issue.

@drrictus: @drrictus: Did you just claim to know who sponsors professional bowling? What a scholar!

I just keep to one simple rule: I can't preview, I don't stay there.

Get what you pay for?

In major cities you CAN see the hotels first. You can price a package for the same dates. It doesn't guarantee you will see the hotel you get but it shoes the hotels with stars--if you write down amenities and then price the hotel alone you can almost always guess. This doesn't work where there are no package options but it helps. Usually Hotwire is no less expensive than the hotel/flight/car. PL is the way to go--but never under 2.5 stars. Ouch.

Haha! The La Quinta/Denny's comment made me laugh. I spent my New Year's 2 years ago out of town staying in a La Quinta. I went into the new year with a couple friends in the Denny's across the street. :P

Rule number one: there is NO "star" rating standard in the US. You can get AAA Diamond ratings, or Mobil Star Ratings. And unless the property is advertising one of those do not presume that the rating has any meaning whatsoever.

I used Priceline once and probably only once. I got an unbelievable deal; a $500 room for $150 on the Boston waterfront. But it was a quite a bit further from where I wanted to be. So the whole blind reservation thing is definitely not my cup of tea.

I used to work for Hotwire. We throw everything out front:
1) Hotwire's star system is proprietary
2) Hotwire tell you exactly what the star system entails ([www.hotwire.com])
3) Hotwire tell you that you don't see the hotel
4) Hotwire is for DISCOUNT ROOMS. You save money. If you want specificity, goto Orbitz.
5) Hotwire uses a 5 star system. Places like AAA use a 4 star system. Don't be surprised when something that's a 3 star hotel on Hotwire is a 2.5 star hotel on another site. They're still half-way to perfect.

I am frequently amazed by the inability to read carefully shown by consumerist readers. Do I think it's dumb to buy a hotel blindly? Yes. Would I do it? No. But that isn't the problem here. Bait and switch is the problem here. We are giving you a 3 star hotel at X price, so you buy in, and then receive a 2 star hotel ACCORDING TO OUR OWN RATING SYSTEM. That is crap. That is crappier than crap. These people did not actually "get what they paid for", they got something that HOTWIRE ITSELF ranks lower than "what they paid for". I do not think they should be awarded excessive damages or anything, but if this happened to people, they should receive, at minimum, refunds. Companies cannot be allowed to take advantage of customers this way.

I used to use Hotwire frequently until I discovered that they were advertising with Michael Savage and other nutjob right wing radio shows. Now I just book through Orbitz.

I won a 3* in New Orleans which was the "O'Keefe Hotel" which was a former Days inn that happened to spend a good amount of time on the news during/after Katrina since it was where some cops were hiding with all their stolen goods and police issued pistols threatening to shoot everyone.

Anyways, this place was refurbished but still a dump, obviously 2* if that. The hotel website advertised $50/night and I won it for $58 - got the double-price difference refunded.

Hotwire is notoriously bad for this but hotel ratings are imperfect. I stayed at another 3.5* in New Orleans which then became the Intercontinental Hotel which had re-opened a few weeks prior to my arrivial. That was a steal.

I used to book ALL of my companies reservations through Hotwire. As long as you understand how it works, it is usually a pretty good deal.

If it is a "business trip", I will usually pick a 3*. If I am booking a personal trip, I only choose 4* or better. I have had great luck in Chicago, Denver, Dallas, KC, Wichita, Des Moines, Omaha, Minneapolis, etc.

Next to a Denny's isn't always a bad thing. Especially if the hotel is next to a bar.

I've booked a couple times with hotwire. Although hotels are decent, always get a smoking room. Yuck. I don't book with them anymore because I don't like smoking rooms.