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Hotwire offers good deals on last minute business trips
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Photo: freepixels.com
The nature of my job requires occasional travel, which I consider a fair trade off for the flexibility of schedule and location this same job provides on a regular basis. I work for a great company, and am more than willing to hoof it out to a business development or client meeting if it means building the firm’s success.
Many fellow working moms work for small companies like mine, or are entrepreneurs themselves. Many often have to travel for one reason or another, and are very mindful of travel expenses. Enter Hotwire as a travel resource for those of us saddled with the visibility and responsibility over our own expenses.
Hotwire is a travel website with a bit of a twist.. you don’t get to actually see which hotel you’re booking until you make the reservation. Crazy, right? It goes against the very fiber of my overly planned being. I was so sure I would end up in a fleabag motel that I didn’t actually use it to book my own travel at first. The CEO of the company I contract with used it when I had to fly to New York City. The city where you can pay a princely sum to end up in a fleabag hotel. Imagine my relief when I ended up in a spacious apartment-style room across from Carnegie Hall. Trip to California? 3 star hotel in downtown San Francisco.
The concept is actually straightforward enough. We all know what an “objective” art travel costs can be. Most hotel clerks will upgrade you if you even look as if you’re about to complain. So Hotwire has created partnerships with hotels (and airlines, car rentals, cruises etc..) to help them get rid of their extra inventory. Without having to advertise that the room they’re selling to other people for 300 dollars a night they’re giving to you to for $150.
The biggest factor is the leap of faith you make in selecting a “tier” of hotel that you want to stay in. Going by the 5 star rating system, you have to choose which group you’re in, and once you book the rate, they email you with the information of the hotel where you’ll be staying.
Fair warning… like most other travel sites, I’ve heard of customer service issues here and there. Everytime I’ve used it, however, it’s turned out ok. More than ok, actually. So overall, I think it’s a great way to cut your travel expenses, if you’re willing to take the leap of faith.
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