stususs

I apologize if this topic has been addressed previously or is already common knowledge on this forum.

I have been monitoring hotel prices in the London neighborhood that Hotwire describes as the Ealing-Chiswick area. I have been specifically following the price of what Hotwire (opaque) describes as:

<<4-Star Hotel in Ealing - Chiswick area>>

The "brochure price" is listed as $114 (all prices are in U.S. dollars), the amenities are listed as: Free Internet, Fitness center, Kitchenette, Pet friendly, Self-service laundry and Smoke-free rooms. Reviews are scored as 9.5 out of 10 (5 total reviews) with 4.5 "stars" from 301-500 Tripadvisor reviewers. The Hotwire daily price is $60, not including fees and taxes.

I could be mistaken, but I am reasonably certain that this is the Urban Villa. Very few, if any, establishments in this neighborhood offer kitchenettes and a laundry facility.

Today I received by email a Hotwire coupon - $40 off when you spend $200 or more on a Hot Rate Hotel. I accessed today's Hotwire rates by activating the coupon which linked me to a Hotwire site.

The 4 Star Hotel in Ealing-Chiswick Area was not listed. Instead, there was an offer for a 4 star:

<<Ealing-Chiswick area condo>>

The "brochure price" is listed as $116, the amenities are listed as: Free Internet, Golf nearby, and Kitchenette. Reviews are scored as 0% (1 total review) with 4.0 "stars" from an unstated number of Tripadvisor reviewers. The Hotwire daily price is $89, not including fees and taxes.

Again, I could be mistaken, but I believe that this neighborhood has only one "condo" hotel offering a kitchenette and that this is the same Urban Villa hotel. Can I prove it is the same hotel? No, not without making two separate, non-refundable bookings. But, I am reasonably confident it is the same hotel.

Just to be certain that this was not a change in dynamic hotel rates, I opened a new window with a different browser. Lo and behold there was my $60 per night, 4 star, Ealing-Chiswick hotel.

That discrepancy between the results exists as I am typing this message.

So, if I want to use my $40 off $200 Hotwire promotion, then I am offered an $89 per night base rate. If I do not use the coupon, the base rate is $60 per night.

Is this a customary Hotwire practice? Should I be avoiding Hotwire coupons and promotions in the future?

boxo

That's pretty sneaky if true.

Your question may have a better chance of being answered in the OTA forum. Good luck.

I will ask the moderator to move this thread. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onlin...-agencies-204/

stususs

I am the original poster.

Hotwire is doing it again today. I received by email an ad offering $31 off a $314 hotel purchase. When I clicked on the button in the ad that said "Activate your offer," I was taken to a page where the <<Ealing-Chiswick area condo>> is offered for $88 per night and $26.22 per night in taxes and fees.

Using a different browser, and without activating the "coupon," the <<4-Star Hotel in Ealing - Chiswick area>> is offered for $60 per night and $17.50 per night in taxes and fees.

For the reasons stated in my first post, I am reasonably certain that these offers are for the exact, same hotel, the Urban Villa in the Brentford neighborhood of London.

With the inclusion of taxes and fees, Hotwire is charging an extra $36.72 per night for use of a one time, $31 coupon, where $314 in room charges are necessary to use that coupon.

I can't believe I am the only person who has noticed this Hotwire practice. Is it customary for them?

cbn42

It's fairly standard for a coupon to apply only to opaque hotels and not standard bookings, or vice versa. Pricing for opaque hotels is based on the assumption that you don't know what the hotel is, and therefore can't do a direct comparison. Sometimes this works to your advantage, and sometimes it doesn't. I don't think there is anything wrong here. Work the system and get the best price.

stususs

I hope my original post was not confusing.

My comparison is opaque rate to opaque rate, not opaque rate to published rate.

If you navigate to Hotwire's site by standard methods, you see various opaque hotel offers. On the other hand, if you navigate to Hotwire's site by activating a coupon, you are taken to a different Hotwire site with what appears to be a different set of opaque hotel offers.

For reasons I set forth in my original post, I am confident, to a high degree of certainty, that the exact same hotel is being offered at both sites. The hotel is being offered for $60 per night (excluding fees) on the regular site and the same hotel is being offered for $89 per night (excluding fees) on the site to which you arrive by activating the coupon.

cbn42

Oh okay, I see what you mean. I misunderstood you. Yes, that does seem a bit questionable, especially if the coupon simply says $X off per night.

Some airlines have been accused of showing different prices based on various factors, such as your browsing history, the type of device you are using, etc. I think it's going to get more common as companies learn to mine data better.

davie355

OP, I just searched Ealing hotels for 24-25 April (arbitrarily chosen) and applied the filter for "Amenities: Kitchenette." I got 2 results:



~~~~~

$115 $64 4-star Hotel in Ealing - Chiswick area
^ 9.5 out of 10 Amazing!
Free Internet, Pet friendly, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Self-service laundry, Kitchenette
Bed choice available

Clicking through shows: choice of 1 queen ($64) or 1 king ($81)
Tripadvisor 4.5 out of 5, 301-500 reviews; Hotwire guest rating 9.5 out of 10, 5 total reviews
Overall sat 4.5; condition of hotel 4.7; quality of service 4.5; room comfort 4.7; room cleanliness 4.7; location of hotel 4.7

~~~~~

$97 4-star Condo in Ealing - Chiswick area
^ 7 out of 10
Free Internet, Golf nearby, Kitchenette
Bed choice available

Clicking through shows: additional amenity listing of Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking; no apparent bed choice despite what appeared on the search results list
Tripadvisor 4 out of 5, 101-300 reviews; Hotwire guest rating 7 out of 10, 5 total reviews
Overall sat 3; condition of hotel 3.1; quality of service 3.2; room comfort 3.1; room cleanliness 3.3; location of hotel 3.1

~~~~~

I'm not ruling out the deceptive practices you suggested, but I did see these two separate results in a browser with no pre-existing cookies and no active coupon.

I have zero familiarity with this area but might the "condo" be the Best Western Maitrise Suites Apartment Hotel?

EDIT: I reran the exact same search on Hotwire through an affiliate link, which took me to a slightly different user interface, and the $64 hotel is gone. The $97 condo is there, but the ratings shown are different; it shows 0% (1 total) as you seem to have found.

stususs

Davie355, thank you for alerting me to the fact that there may be two separate establishments and that I may have been mistaken in believing that the hotel and condo where one and the same.

I now need to be careful about a Priceline Express booking I was considering for $55. I was certain it was the Urban Villa. Now, caution is required.

It may be that with use of a coupon, you only have access to part of Hotwire's inventory, not to a more complete list. Those of us who receive Hotwire coupon offers need to double check before assuming that a coupon is an unconditional benefit.

Thank you.

bamboopuppy

They're definitely two different hotels.

The 7/10 Condo is, as guessed by Davie, the Best Western Maitrise Suites Apartment Hotel
And the 9.5/10 Hotel is likely the Urban Villa
As per the identification on http://roomrevealer.com/ealing-chiswick/

I've known Hotwire to change the price of hotels arbitrarily depending on what you do, but they don't change the underlying reviews/recommendation. As for what hotels are listed on Hotwire I've noticed they change almost randomly from search to search. I believe some hotels are closer partners with Hotwire/Expedia and they deliver better commissions and those hotels will be prioritized over other ones.