How to Successfully Use Hotwire

In my Hub titled How to Get the Best Deals on a Las Vegas Vacation, I mentioned that I would write a Hub about how to successfully use Hotwire with a specific online forum. That forum is BetterBidding.com.

If you’re anything like me, then you’re a hands-on person. Following the directions below may make it easier for you to understand how to use the forum.

Go to www.hotwire.com. You’ll see a box titled: Hotwire Hot Rate Locator. Make sure the Hotels bubble is selected.

Under Where are you going? type in Las Vegas, NV. In the When? section, put in the dates 03/08/12 to 03/11/12. Make sure the How many people? section says it is for 1 Room, with 2 Adults.

Click Find a hotel button.

A long list of available hotels will appear. You have the option to refine your search. We will do this together. On the left hand side of the page, you will see a box titled Area Selection. Click Clear all. Like I mentioned in my previous Hub, I prefer to stay either on the Strip, or around the Strip (West of the Strip or East of the Strip). To make this process clearer, we will only select Las Vegas Strip – South and Las Vegas Strip – North. As you can see, the list has tremendously shrunk.

You can refine your search further. On the left hand side of the page, there is also a Star rating box. For the sake of this hub, leave only the 5 star and 4 and 4.5 star boxes checked. Once again, the list has shrunk.

You should see a 5-star hotel listed as being Las Vegas Strip – North area hotel. Click that option.

You will now see a box that says Las Vegas Strip – North area hotel, located on the center of the page, along with the star level of the hotel, it’s price, amenities, and other information. On the right side of that box, click the See all amenities link. A complete list of the hotel’s amenities will pop up. If this specific hotel is no longer listed on Hotwire, you can still use the amenities listed below as a guide, to figure out the hotel.

Currently, the listed amenities are:

• Spa Services
• Resort
• Smoke Free Rooms
• Fitness Center
• Pool(s)
• Restaurant(s)
• High-Speed Internet Access
• Kitchenette

It’s important to take note: This hotel’s amenities include Smoke Free Rooms and there is not a casino listed. These distinctions will help you narrow down the list of the possible hotels this one is.

You must be wondering where the hotel name is. Like I mentioned in my previous post: Hotwire does not tell you the name of the hotel; you will find out the hotel you’ll be staying at once you make the purchase. If you’re flexible on the hotel you’ll be assigned to, then this is a great way to save hundreds of dollars. But, if you know how to use the online forum, you will know the hotel you’ll be assigned to, before the purchase button is hit. This is where the next step comes in.

Open up a new online window, making sure not to close Hotwire’s pages.

Go to BetterBidding. As you can see, there is a long list of hotels that are located in the Nevada area. We only need hotels that are in the Las Vegas (Strip North) section.

Go back to the Hotwire's Amenities page that you left opened, making sure not to close BetterBidding’s page. If possible, position the Amenities page so that it is next to BetterBidding’s page. This will enable easier comparison.

It is now time to figure out the hotel! Remember: We are only looking at Las Vegas (Strip North) section.

What we know:

• The selected hotel on Hotwire is a 5-star hotel.
• This hotel’s amenities include Smoke Free Rooms.
• There is not a casino listed. Looking at all the 5-star hotels in this area, we can eliminate all the hotels but…

Have any idea what the hotel could possibly be?

If you figured it would be Trump Tower International, you are CORRECT! Trump Tower International is the only hotel in the Las Vegas (Strip North) section where Smoke Free is listed as an amenity. If you go back to Hotwire’s amenities list, all the amenities match up with the fourth set of Amenities listed. The amenities do not need to be in any specific order.

You may be asking yourself why there are numerous sets of amenities under each hotel. The reason is because BetterBidding’s users have reported those various amenity combinations (once the hotel name was revealed on Hotwire. Like I mentioned, the hotel name will not be revealed until after the hotel is purchased).

It is always enjoyable to know how much money you will be saving. Using the example above, go to Trump’s website and enter the exact dates you entered on Hotwire. Currently, you would be spending $586.21 if you book directly through Trump, compared to $427.70 by booking through Hotwire. That is a significant amount of savings!

Also, like I mentioned in my previous Hub, it is always a good idea to look at the hotel's website; there may be a promotion the hotel is running, with greater savings than Hotwire's!

BetterBidding states, “…by using this board you agree that you do so at your own risk!” It is important to know that Hotwire does not issue cancellations/refunds. I have used Hotwire, along with the forum, around 10 times. Thanks to the forum, each time I knew what the hotel was going to be, before I hit purchase. But, if you come into a situation where the hotel you are assigned to is different than you expected, neither BetterBidding nor myself are responsible!

Also, Hotwire’s deals are constantly changing. By the time you read this, the hotel I used as an example, may no longer be available, or the rate may be different. If you find this to be the case, and are confused on how to use the online forum with Hotwire, feel free to contact me, and I am more than happy to help. You can also ask for help on the forum’s page, and the Admins will assist you.

Would you like to practice what you’ve just learned? This time we won’t use Hotwire. I will give you the hotel location, its star level, and amenities; it will be up to you to figure out the hotel.

Location: Las Vegas (Strip South)

Star Level: 4.5-stars

Amenities:

• Pool
• Smoke Free
• Spa
• Resort
• Suite
• Kitchenette
• Restaurant
• Casino
• Business

Do you know what the hotel is? If you figured that the hotel is Signature at MGM Grand, you are correct! Why? Well, there are only three 4.5-star hotels in the Las Vegas (Strip South) section. We can take off THEhotel at Mandalay Bay as a possibility because Smoke Free is not listed as an amenity. Planet Hollywood Towers (aka – PH Towers) does not have Suite listed as an amenity, whereas Signature at MGM Grand does. The amenities listed above match up with the second set of Amenities listed under Signature at MGM Grand.

These tips can be used in numerous cities around the U.S., not only in Las Vegas, NV.

I hope you get the best deal possible!