A broken Hotwire promise?
Q: We recently booked a Hertz car rental through Hotwire. The site asked for a “primary driver” and said a secondary driver could be added to the rental, as long as we provided a license and credit card. That sounded good to us.
However, after booking the car, we were notified that there would a $35 surcharge to add that second driver.
I wrote back to Hotwire, and was told that the information about the charge was in the Customer Care section on the site, under “Common Questions.” The surcharge was also disclosed on the final booking page, according to Hotwire.
OK, so Hotwire disclosed the fee — but not until we had already booked the car. And how are we supposed to know that we have to consult the Customer Care section of the site to get the full story?
I feel this practice is grossly misleading and truly violates Hotwire’s “no hidden charges” promise. Is there anything we can do?
– Karen Webb, Centerville City, UT
A: Yes, you can contact me. If what you say about Hotwire’s disclosure is true, then I think you’ve been blindsided.
Turns out that after you complete a car rental booking on Hotwire — and only — after you complete the booking, you receive the following notice: “Hotwire’s rates cover only one driver. Any additional drivers must be present and added to your car rental agreement when you pick up the rental car. There will be a charge for any additional drivers.”
So there is disclosure. But is it enough?
As a somewhat frequent renter on Hotwire, I am troubled that the site wouldn’t disclose this kind of fee in advance of booking. I recently booked a Hotwire hotel, and sure enough, it did notify me that there “might” be a resort fee added to my final bill. Not exactly what I wanted to see, but at least it was upfront about it. Why wouldn’t Hotwire do the same for the additional driver charge?
Is Hotwire hiding anything from you? Unlikely. We’re not talking about a huge amount of money here. Odds are, it just didn’t think about including it in the pre-booking screen.
The bigger mistake, in my mind, is that Hotwire insisted its disclosure was sufficient — at least until I became involved. I find that disappointing.
Could you have done anything to avoid this? Yes, reading the fine print would have prevented the fee from becoming an issue. But who wants to deal with another screen after making a booking, and who has time to go to a FAQ buried deep within a travel site to read contract language? Most of us just want a good deal. And we want it now.
After I contacted Hotwire, it took another look at your case and agreed to revise its site to improve its disclosure of the second-driver surcharge. That’s good not only for you, but for the thousands of motorists who are renting through Hotwire.
Hotwire also credited your Visa card for $72 to cover the maximum extra-driver charges you would have incurred. Plus, it threw in a $50 credit for good measure.