hotwire and expedia

hi everyone.... i have a question... i have been dying to go back to disney since i left my job there almost a year ago... and i have been searching the inter net and i came across expedia and hotwire... well, they both list prices that are too good to be true... like hotwire has a price for the courtyard on hotel plaza blvd... its a downtown disney hotel... for 382 dollars per person for 2 people, and thats for 7 nights and round trip airfare from detroit michigan. can anyone tell me if this is legit because that seems way to ceap for both airfare and 7 night hotel stay at a downtown disney hotel... if it is legit i gonna jump on it right now... also hotwire has a feature for last minute weekend trips... i looked at that and for this weekend... which is thusday night till sunday it includes 3 nights at the courtyard disney and airfare for 288 per person, al i can say is wow because airfare aln fo that early is like 300 dollars usualy... any information any of you would have would be great, thank you!

Keep in mind that Hotwire will not let you cancel your reservation. Also, you are not told what airline you're flying, nor when your flights are, until after you've paid.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
Hot stuff.

Hotwire is legit...I've used them lots of time. You might also want to check out Orbitz.

mOOSH

PS - you spelled "castle" wrong in your username.

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i know i spelled cstel wrong, its an inside joke between a friend and me... and as far as not nowing what time or what airline... does it really matter? jus as long as u know u have those dates open.?

Yea, like Chernabog said, there is a downside to Hotwire. However, a deal like that doesn't suprise me too much. Last spring I landed a "last minute" trip on Travelocity, 3 nights at the Crown Plaza in L.A. with airfare for $320. The last minute package deal was actually cheaper than booking the flight alone!

Personally, I would check Travelocity, or maybe Expedia and compare. They have some great last minute deals, and you can choose your flights.

Keep in mind that these deals come and go, and can change by the hour. Good luck!

i nnoticed that hotwire was a little cheaper, i ean would that hurt anything if i kew i wouldnt need to cancel it?

If you are absolutely, positively going somewhere and have no need to change plans, Hotwire can be awesome. Especially some of those new combo deals they are doing. They are truly legit.

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Mike Miller - Thinks "Castel" needs to proof-read his posts before hitting "reply".

I've used Hotwire many time to book hotels, and you can't go wrong. I've gotten some spectacular rooms at great rates. I recommend them.

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Ask yourself; When was the last time YOU visited Conneaut Lake Park?

No, but as mentioned, with Hotwire, you get what you're dealt with. For example, you book the trip at a great price. After you pay for it, they let you know what flight you're on.

You could get stuck with a flight that leaves Detroit at 12:00am and arrives in Orlando at 3:00am. Where the heck are you going to go? Cinnabon? They probably won't be open either. And most hotels don't allow check in until 3:00pm. Your best bet is to call the hotel DIRECTLY and see what they can work out, should you get put on a flight arriving in the middle of the night.

Or, worse yet, have three connections. Be sure to specify the maximum number of connections you deem reasonable.

well on hotwire it says... no more than one connection... and it give you a time window of when your flights will leave... ususaly a 4 hour time window.

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention to specify a time window as well. If it doesn't give you that option, I'd avoid it. But, if there is a 4 hour time window like you said, I'd jump on it. Happy traveling, and let us know how it works out!

thanks for all of your input... has anyone actualy used this before? i will definatly be jumping on it now... thank you.

Check out Priceline too, I got my hotel for IAAPA week (8 nights at the Wyndham Orlando in I-Drive) for $35.00 a night! and my Rental for $17.00 a day.

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Dave

Magnum Force-" I cant eat on an empty stomach!" Chirs -"what did you say"
MF-I cant eat on an empty stom... Oh, Ride I mean Ride"

The only online travel agency I have used is Cheaptickets and I was very pleased. I used them to fly out to LA last year.

I hear good things about Expedia but I found them to be a tad more expensive. I haven't heard much about Orbitz but I have had a few friends try out Priceline, where you name your own price and they may or may not accept it.

I am not too familiar with Hotwire.

-Tina

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Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!
*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN 9/23/2003 8:14:14 PM ***

Try this come up! http://www.floridakiss.com/specials/hotels.html
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I've had good experience with both Orbitz and Travelocity. One bit of advice is to get the price quote off of these sites, and then go directly to the provider (airline/hotel/car rental) to see what they have for the exact same thing (flight/night/etc.). I saved 15 bucks a ticket by going directly to Midwest Express' website for my upcoming east coast flight.

Later,
EV
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"Everybody has desperate days of quiet questioning.
Everybody has times when they feel like they don't fit in."
- Color Theory, So Many Ways, 2001

I tend to lean towards Hotwire more than Priceline, but less than Expedia or Orbitz. I have used all four in the past. I *used* to swear by Expedia when I needed to know my flight times in advance, but for hotels, they have gotten extremely clunky to use. Hotwire I will use just about *every* time I need a car rental. Their car rental prices cant be beat (especially for the larger cars) and they guarantee that you'll be renting from one of the major chains (Hertz, Avis, Budget, etc..). That r0x0rz!

However, I have never used Hotwire or Priceline for hotels. I am very particular about the things I want in my hotels so I am willing to give up the extra dollars to get what I want, be that location, ammenites, whatnot.

But among Cheaptickets, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, and Orbitz, I have not yet heard any "horror stories". When I used to use Priceline, I would get odd flight times (usually early morning), but it was cool 'cause I was mostly visiting friends/family who could pick me up. This is more of a problem with hotels, but you can try to get them to arrange for an early check-in. Echovictor though makes a great point (especially true regarding CheapTickets, Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity). You can often get the same deal by contacting (via internet or phone) the hotel/airline directly. AND you can avoid the 5-10 dollars "service charge" they have.

happy hunting,

jeremy

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I'll do it to you like Billy White Shoes baby!

Jeremy, we have stayed at some *really nice* hotels using Priceline, just remember to use the star-rating feature....in O-town, we stayed at the Rosen Center last time for under 50 bucks....;)

We've used almost all of the aforementioned, and have no horror stories to tell...just remember to NEVER fly out of FL in the mid-day summertime if you need to make connecting flights....argh!
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The rules are very simple:

For airfare: check Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity first. Run Southwest and Jet Blue if applicable. Price it on Hotwire last. If you have a day free at either end of your trip and Hotwire is the cheapest, go with Hotwire; otherwise pick the best price between the first 5 sites. If choosing an airline from Expedia, Orbitz, or Travelocity, make sure you check the same flight on the airline's web site. Saved $50 once doing this.

For rental cars: Nothing but Hotwire for me. Great rates, and all of the fees, taxes, and extra BS is included in the price you pay up front. After getting burned with an Expedia rental car purchase (IE, getting hit with another $80 in fees at the airport after finding a "great" rate online) I will only use Hotwire. The downside is, you can't cancel if your plans change.

For hotels: Priceline (PL), there is none higher. Via PL, I've swung a $300 Phoenix room for $30, a $400 San Diego room for $80, and a $700 San Francisco room for $75. To use Priceline, first look at the site and determine which city/region of a city you're going to be staying in. Pick which star-level of hotel you want. Then, go to biddingfortravel.com (BFT) and examine all the bid info there. BFT can tell you pretty much exactly what to bid to get the hotel/region/class-level you want. They also have listings of exactly which hotels Priceline will be choosing from, and usually reviews of those hotels as well. Take your bidding info back to PL and get your room! Downside, you can't cancel once it's paid for.

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Mike Miller - Qualified Coaster Travel Agent since 2001

The "downside" of travelling with bASS is that sleep comes at a premium...;) The "upside" is that he can take a decent amount of abuse, in addition to being able to "dish it out"...:)
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