Hotwire has been popular in the US for some time and hit the UK hotel market in 2011. You can book a hotel by choosing all the standard criteria – star rating, price, location, etc., but they also offer hotels in ‘Hot Secret’. Rate’. These secret offers mean that you can make a hotel reservation at a price well below the published rate.
Enter your travel dates and you will be able to choose the star rating and area of the hotel, but the hotel name or address will not be displayed until after booking. There is a map to verify that you have the neighborhood you want and you can see a limited list of the hotel facilities before booking as well, although no photos are available as that would rather give away things right?
To help your booking confidence, you can also view the TripAdvisor review rating and the number of reviews travelers have left on TA.
Availability is limited for secret special rates, as hotels don’t want to lose their regular clientele but they don’t want empty rooms either. You won’t always get the same deals as room rates are dynamic and vary based on reservation date, itinerary length, and hotel star rating.
Tried and tested
Hotwire asked me to try a Hot Secret Rate, so I checked the map and chose “Bloomsbury – Marble Arch – British Museum area” as it covered a large part of central London.
I chose a hotel with a 5-star rating and I could see that TripAdvisor received over 500 reviews with a rating of 4.5 out of 5. Although I could not see the reviews, this let me know that it was a well-established and well-thought-out hotel.
Hotwire customers can also leave feedback and they also rated the hotel 4.5 out of 5 so I can still feel confident that those who booked through Hotwire and possibly stuck with a secret rate enjoyed their stay.
The price of the room on offer was £ 171 per night, which is exceptional for a 5-star hotel in London.
I was able to see a list of the hotel facilities before booking and saw that it had a pool, which is what closed the deal for me, so I clicked ‘Book Now’.
When the booking confirmation came in, I found out that I would be staying at The Landmark London , a place I had always wanted to visit. (Read my Landmark London Afternoon Tea Review ).
Compare the rates
I booked a two night stay at The Landmark London through Hotwire at:
£ 342 for two nights (£ 171 per night).
I checked the best available rate if I had booked on the hotel website and the same reservation would have been:
£ 562 for two nights (£ 281 per night).
This means I paid 39% less with a savings of £ 220, more than another night’s stay!
As we all know, there are many hotel booking sites that claim to offer the best rates, so I kept comparing.
- Booking.com could offer the same booking for £ 575.
- Lastminute.com could offer the same reservation at £ 515.
- Expedia.com could offer the same booking for £ 515.
- Laterooms.com could offer the same reservation at £ 515.
Which means that most were able to scoff at The Landmark’s “Best Price Guarantee” a bit.
More tips
The Hotwire smartphone app makes booking even easier when I’m already on the road, but while researching the hotel I wanted on a PC, I was able to book online on my phone with no hassle.
MoneySavingExpert.com has some tips to help you even more with Secret Special Rates and can help you make an informed guess as to which hotel you might be offering, but of course their guess is just that and you won’t know for sure without booking.
Conclution
I knew a little about these secret hotel deals, but had never had the confidence to try them. But now that I have, I can wholeheartedly recommend them, as you still have control over the key criteria of your stay and can grab some amazing bargains. While I got 39% off for a weekend stay, it’s no wonder Hotwire customers pay 50% less so it’s definitely worth checking your next trip to London, Oxford, Edinburgh, Manchester, throughout Europe and around the world.
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As is common in the travel industry, the writer received ancillary services for review purposes. While you have not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.
