Hotwire www.hotwire.com FALSE Advertising at its finest! Internet

I am writing on behalf of Henrik Kjellberg, President of the Hotwire Group, in response to your inquiry regarding a hotel reservation in Lafayette, Indiana.

 I understand you are dissatisfied with the handling of your recent Hotwire situation. I understand you are dissatisfied with your recent Hot Rate hotel reservation. You disagree with the savings received and the Star Rating of the property. As such, you are requesting a full refund; equivalent to $137.13.

On Hotwire, we service two types of hotel reservations: Hotwire Hot Rates and Hotwire Standard Rates. For standard rates, hotel details are provided prior to booking and may be refundable; cancellation policies vary by hotel. You can find the cancellation policy during the booking process or on the confirmation email we provide after booking. For all Hotwire Hot Rates, bookings are final and cannot be cancelled, refunded, exchanged, transferred, or changed. These restrictions enable our partners to better manage their unsold rooms. I confirmed the type of reservation you booked is a Hotwire Hot Rate.

We obtain our discounted rates in exchange for guaranteed reservations. If our partners can be absolutely confident our reservations will be used as sold, they are willing to offer reduced rates. Once a reservation is confirmed on our Website, the details of your booking and our payment information is sent directly to the hotel. Regardless of whether or not the reservation is used, we are charged and for this reason are typically unable to refund reservations.

While we do advertise discounted rates we are unable to guarantee the amount of savings on every reservation. Our Low Price Guarantee provides a refund in the amount the difference to customers who find a lower pre-tax rate than the Hotwire rate within 48 hours of booking. Please allow me to clarify how the savings promoted on our site is determined. At Hotwire, we strive for clarity during the booking process. To ensure this we provide the following disclosure at the bottom of our site:

‡Savings based on median published rate we've found on leading retail travel sites in the last 24-48 hours for the same neighborhood, star rating, and stay dates. Availability is limited and rates are subject to change. Prices are dynamic and vary based on date of booking, length of stay and hotel class. Prices do not include taxes and fees. Hotwire is different from retail travel sites. With Hotwire you enter the date and location. Hotel revealed only after booking.

Please understand, currently there is no national or international standard for hotel rating systems, so individual ratings can vary by source. Every company and travel site has different methods for determining star ratings. At Hotwire, we continually review and update the star rating of each property to ensure the ratings accurately reflect the overall service, accommodations and facilities of the hotel. We want our customers to understand and trust the Hotwire brand. To ensure this, in addition to using other travel sites to rate our hotels, we determine our star ratings by:

* Soliciting customer feedback following every stay and adjusting our ratings accordingly

* Visiting thousands of properties each year

* Investigating and acting upon customer star-rating concerns

 Based on my findings, you are eligible for a full refund. To claim your refund, please contact Hotwire Customer Care at 1-866-HOTWIRE (468-9473). I have attached a note to your reservation instructing any associate you should reach to process the refund with your permission. Please ask the agent you reach to look for my note and you will not encounter resistance to your refund request.

 We appreciate your business and regret your Hotwire experience was anything less than exceptional.

 Best Regards,

Amy L. Monfils

Customer Care Relations

Hotwire Corporate Office