<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MisterNice:
I have scanned the Hotwire site after plugging in a couple hotel dates but never saw what or if fees are added. Where do I look? Ditto for car rates.
MisterNice</font>
The point is Hotwire includes their 'phantom fees' in the taxes calculation. You'll never know they charge fees unless you find out the tax rate and other surcharges directly from a rental car company or hotel.
That's what makes what they are doing so fraudulent.
When I called them, they didn't admit that service fees were buried in there until I told them that the sales tax in LAX for rental cars is 8% and the vehicle license fee is ~ $0.75 per day.
I told them to do the math, and then they fessed up. They told me the fees are based "on all sorts of factors" and couldn't tell me the formula for the fee computation.
But note that on airline tickets, fees are all bundled into the price. My complaint applies only to rental cars and hotels.