Is there a catch to HotWire?

Question

So I'm planning on taking some vacations next week and I saw this commercial of HotWire. Supposedly they get 5 star hotels in 2 star prices or something like that. Is there a catch to this or is really that good of a deal.

Answer 1

Not that I am aware of. I have typically found as good or better airline deals elsewhere though.

Answer 2

The "catch" is that you don't know which hotel it is until after you have paid and booked.  Once you pay it's non-refundable and non-changeable, so if you don't use it you lose the money.  Also, since you are getting the hotel's excess inventory you're likely to get the least nice rooms (poor views, noisy, smaller rooms, etc.) since they will give their better rooms to those customers who are paying full price.

If you're fine with all of that - go for it.  Hotwire is a legitimate operation that can get you some deals every so often.

Safe travels!