Just figured I'd share my experiences here.
I found Hotwire to have the cheapest rates. This makes sense because Hotwire doesn't publish the hotel name until you pay for it, you're taking a bit of risk, and the only reason you'd take that additional risk is for a lower price.
The hotel gets something extra from Hotwire too, they avoid diluting their brand while selling excess inventory.
It all has to do with price discrimination and selling for cheapskate rates to cheapskates, and "rich" rates to the rich, even for the same good.
After purchasing, I found the Hotwire rate for the hotel was about $20/night cheaper than the same hotel on Hotels.com or Priceline.com. I have no idea whether the inventory is "worse" on Hotwire than on Hotels.com or Priceline.
I did find that on Hotwire, choosing a room for 3 adults resulted in getting a room with one queen size bed, and a pullout couch, so I ended up paying $20 extra at the hotel for a room with two double beds. I'm not sure if paying a little extra for a room for 4 adults would've saved me this extra expense, this is the first time I booked a hotel with any of these online services.
Oh yes, and I've used it for
Oh yes, and I've used it for Canadian hotels too.. $50 in downtown Montreal once, $45 in Oakville (near Toronto) another time.. as well as some good deals in Vancouver (can't remember the amounts) Again, really depends on time of year. Summer prices are always higher. I avoid 2-stars though because they are really loose with their definition of 2-star and I like to avoid Ramadas at all cost. Have rarely had good experiences there and some of the Ramadas were outright gross!
I use Priceline all the time.
I use Priceline all the time. I look up the rate for the same star-levels on Hotwire to get an idea of what to bid on Priceline. Usually I end up paying a good $20 or so less on priceline :) I've gotten a Delta in a suburb of Boston for $25 on Priceline and got a luxury hotel in the back bay area of Boston for $55! (it all depends on time of year of course)
The Priceline bidding feature
The Priceline bidding feature allows you to obtain lower rates which are competitive with Hotwire and you similarly won't know the name of hotel when bidding.
Thanks for letting us know
Thanks for letting us know about Hotline. Any word on how their "inventory" of hotels compare?
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