Hotwire.com Barely Legal Insurance Scam , Internet
I purchased three nights at a hotel using Hotwire; the cost of the hotel was $98/night, plus fees. As I was completing the purchase, Hotwire offered something called, literally, Travel Cancelation Insurance for about $14. Since I knew that I might have to change the trip by one day (it's a business trip and one of the meetings is still up in the air), I decided to purchase this insurance. Obviously, any reasonable person would assume that this insurance would be through Hotwire and allow me to get a full or partial refund before the trip, if necessary, provided that I used it before the date of my stay. As it happens, I learned a couple days later that I only needed the hotel for two nights, not three. Enter the worst case of caveat emptor Ive ever seen.
After various phone calls and live chats, I eventually learned that Id been had. It turns out that Hotwire actually employs a third party insurance company. So instead of Hotwire issuing a partial refund and not actually losing money (theyd simply be making less money for less service but would presumably get that money back by renting the room to someone else), the third party insurance company would have to pay me back $98 while only receiving $14. Naturally, they wouldnt want to do that, so they make their cancelation policies as absurdly difficult as possible. By finally locating and reading the fine, fine, fine print, I learned that I could only get my $98 back if I had proof of a medical emergency, jury duty, a death in the family orseriouslyproof that I was quarantined by the CDC or taken hostage by terrorists.
Again, any reasonable person would assume that Trip Cancellation Insurance is already an extra step that youre paying for, specifically so you can get a full or partial refund on the purchase youre currently making (because God forbid a company give you a refund for something you did not use, provided you contact them in a timely manner), NOT some nebulous bait-and-switch designed to trick you into paying something for nothing. It seems to me that Hotwire is taking advantage of a very obvious misconception, and one I only learned about after reading page three of a PDF of the terms and conditions of my insurance that I received via email after the purchase.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Moderate_Traveler
Dunwoody,Georgia,
United States of America
Beware
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, December 29, 2012
FYI posing as a Consumer, while someone is paid or has a commercial favorable relation with a company is a crime and in case of an additional act during this impersonation, one could go to jail if anyone cares.
Christopher
California,United States of America
LOL
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 26, 2012
Whatever dude. I can browse whatever I want on any DAY that I want. Point being, you lost your money, get over it. Go elsewhere if you don't like it. Oh but wait, Priceline-Expedia-Travelocity-TravelZoo-Orbitz and the like all have the same "fine print" on the discount rooms. Snap!
Merry Xmas.
mrmeyerhofer
Muncie,Indiana,
United States of America
Hi, Hotwire Rep! Merry X-Mas!
#6Author of original report
Wed, December 26, 2012
Essentially, your "consumer" attempt to debunk my report boils down to: "You should have read the fine print," "You must not know much about traveling," and "I love Hotwire and how dare you besmirch them!" However, I find it hard to believe that a normal consumer would be compelled to compose an impassioned defense of a corporation's arguably misleading use of fine print. Nor do I think a normal consumer would be prowling Ripoff Report on Christmas Day, just for kicks. Nice try, Hotwire. Nice try.
mrmeyerhofer
Muncie,Indiana,
United States of America
Hi, Hotwire Rep! Merry X-Mas!
#6Author of original report
Wed, December 26, 2012
Essentially, your "consumer" attempt to debunk my report boils down to: "You should have read the fine print," "You must not know much about traveling," and "I love Hotwire and how dare you besmirch them!" However, I find it hard to believe that a normal consumer would be compelled to compose an impassioned defense of a corporation's arguably misleading use of fine print. Nor do I think a normal consumer would be prowling Ripoff Report on Christmas Day, just for kicks. Nice try, Hotwire. Nice try.
Christopher
California,United States of America
Hotwire
#6Consumer Comment
Tue, December 25, 2012
There is nothing that would indicate the travel insurance is a scam and I feel posting this was false representation of what really happened. As a long time user of Hotwire, I can tell you that the Travel Protection Insurance lists exactly what is covered in the very same box you click to say you would like to purchase it. If you didn't read the small two sentences about what is covered beforehand, that is your fault, not Hotwire's fault or the 3rd party insurance company. The reason Hotwire even OFFERS insurance for emergency situations is because their discounted bookings are FINAL which is stated all over their website and is hard to miss and you should agreed to those terms upon booking. If you knew your plans may change, why would you book a final non-changeable reservation? This is how Hotwire is able to give you low prices, they guarantee their suppliers that they will have the reservation. They can't just "resell" the room.