Hotwire has a long history of inflating hotel stars by their so-called details-not-disclosed "adjustment based on customer feedback". Hotels on Hotwire may appear to be cheaper than what offered by its competitor. However, the fact is they are more expensive if these hotels are matched and compared 1-on-1 against each other. Hotwire tricked customers into using its "Secret Hot Rate Hotels", and takes advantage over customers by manipulating star levels, not disclosing the hotel name, and making the sale final.
Last time I booked a hotel via "Secret Hot Rate Hotels" on Hotwire, exact same thing happened to me. I called Hotwire and talked for hours, and they kept replying with the same generic answers. I initiated a chargeback (Not as Described). They waited for a while and fought back dishonestly. (I guess they probably have too many chargebacks and prefer dealing with them altogether periodically.) Their response to chargeback was pretty generic but unfortunately the credit card company accepted their response. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. The only thing left for me is to vote with my feet and choose never ever touch Hotwire again.
p.s. Any lawyer who is interested in initiating a class action lawsuit may contact me.
Please enjoy Hotwire's response to chargeback:
