Priceline vs. Hotwire: An Overview

Used by millions for both business and leisure trips, the travel booking sites Hotwire and Priceline have a lot in common, including how much they claim they can save you. But they also have some key differences. These similarities and differences can help you choose which site is best the next time you make🦹 travel plans.

If blind bidding isn’t your thing, Priceline has other ways to shop. You can search its listings of hotels, flights, rental cars, vacatiꦺon packages, and cruises to find the best price; with that type of search, the providers are named, rather than opaque, so you know exactly what you’re getting.

Priceline

The older of the two sites, Priceline—a subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)—began operating in 1997, making it something of a venerable institution by internet standards. A long-running ad campaign featuring actor William Shatner (beloved of Star Trek fans) helped make it a household name.

Priceline's Special Deals

While Priceline made its name with its Name Your Own Price feature, the company changed its strategy, moving away from the "Price Negotiator" bidding model to a published price model. Instead, it offers special features called Pricebreakers and Express Deals.

With Pricebreakers, you're shown three hotels that have been grouped together, all offering the nightly rate; click "choose" and you'll be assigned one of them.

The Express Deals feature applies to hotels, flights, and car rentals. This is a blind booking arrangement, though in the case of rental cars, they'll name the car agencies (Avis, Hertz, etc.) involved.

Blind booking means that, until you’ve actually made a reservation, the company you’re doing business with is “opaque.” That is, you won’t know the name of the exact provider, and some other actual details are withheld until you’ve agreed to the deal. However, you can specify some parameters, such as an approximate location, amenities, and a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:star rating for hotels;🅘 or time of day for a flight; or size and features for an auto. Express Deals, like the Pricebreakers option, are nonrefundable.

Priceline also states that they've added two million "alternative accommodations," which include homes, apartments, and boats.

Other Ways to Shop

Although one of the major motivations for travel providers to partner with sites like Priceline is to move their hotel rooms, plane seats, rental cars, and other perishable inventory that would otherwise go unsold, Priceline generally has a large selection to choose from even months ahead. Overall, Priceline promises savings of up to 60% on hotels and 40% on flights and rental cars (if you use the Express Deals feature).

Hotwire

Launched in 2000, Hotwire is part of Expedia Group (EXPE), which also owns Expedia.com and Hotels.com. Like Priceline, Hotwire allows consumers to price-shop for named hotels, flights, rental cars, and vacation packages but doesn’t include cruises. According to Expedia, hotwire.com has 8.5 million unique monthly visitors worldwide with 45 million monthly page views.

Like Priceline, Hotwire promises savings of up to 60% on hotels and rental cars. However, Hotwire does offer an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:opaque pricing option for accommodations, which is a cross between Priceline's Express Deals and Pricebreakers. The service—called Hot Rate Hotels—lists a price and provides a general location and star rating, but the hotel names are opaque until you actually book. Click the "Which hotel will I get?" tab, and the site will list three properties and guarantee yours will be one of them—similar to Pricebreakers.

Sometimes, though, you'll only see one of four hotel chains guaranteed. Sometimes, the Hot Rate Hotels discounts are even deeper than the general 60%. Hotwire has no shortage of offerings, though less than Priceline.

Special Considerations

According to Trustpilot.com, Priceline received three out of five stars from over 91,000 reviews, while Hotwire received one star from 1,200 reviews.

The Bottom Line

Both Priceline and Hotwire (owned by Expedia) are extremely popular since they represent 70% of the online travel-booking marketplace between them. Both Priceline and Hotwire offer discounts. Priceline promises 60% off hotels and 40% off flights and rental cars, while Hotwirꦏe up to 60% in savings on both hotels and rental cars.