Hotwire Extranet: Login guide for hotels

What is Hotwire.com?

Hotwire.com is an online travel site that offers opaque pricing for hotel rooms, rental cars, and airline tickets. It allows travellers to book accommodations and other travel services at discounted rates without initially revealing the provider’s name.

In this blog we’ll give you a full guide to using Hotwire as a hotel manager.

Table of contents

Why use the Hotwire extranet site?

As a hotel owner or operator, leveraging the Hotwire Extranet can be an incredibly valuable opportunity to grow your business. This powerful platform opens up a world of potential by connecting you directly with Hotwire.com’s massive audience of travel shoppers.

Increased visibility. Hotwire.com attracts millions of visitors each month, many of whom could be your next guests. By optimising your listings through the Extranet, you put your property front-and-centre for this built-in customer base to discover.
Fill unbooked rooms through opaque pricing without undermining your mainstream rates. You can offer select inventory at discounted rates to price-conscious shoppers, maximising occupancy during slower periods.
Maintain rate parity and manage your distribution. The user-friendly Extranet interface enables real-time rate and availability updates across Hotwire.com. You stay agile and can deftly respond to demand shifts, seasonal patterns, and more.
Rich content options for your listings. The Extranet equips you to showcase your property with vibrant descriptions, professional photography, and a full rundown of amenities. These rich details allow your hotel to truly stand out.
Robust data and analytics to guide your revenue management strategy. Insights into booking trends, customer profiles, rates and more empower you to make highly informed pricing decisions.
Promotional tools and marketing opportunities. The Hotwire platform provides unique marketing options that are tailored for the Hotwire audience. This helps you cost-effectively highlight special offers, packages and drive more bookings.

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How does Hotwire.com work for hotels?

Hotwire.com operates on what’s known as an opaque pricing model. This unique approach allows hotels to offer rooms at discounted rates to bargain-hunting travellers, while still protecting rate parity and brand identity.

Here’s how it works:

When browsing Hotwire, customers can see the nightly rate, general location, star rating and amenities for a property, but the actual hotel name is concealed until after booking. Shoppers make their decision to book based on the obscured information provided.

For hotels, this opaque model presents an opportunity to sell unbooked rooms at lower prices through an elevated distribution channel. Rather than offering a public “fire sale”, you can discreetly offload select inventory through Hotwire while maintaining your property’s premium positioning elsewhere.

It’s a win-win situation. Cost-conscious travellers get enticing discounts, while hotels are able to maximise occupancy without undercutting publicly-advertised rates. Brand reputation remains intact.

Once a booking is confirmed, then the hotel’s name is revealed to the customer. This allows properties to fill rooms that may have otherwise gone unoccupied, while still preserving rate integrity across other sales channels.

The opaque model is especially valuable during periods of lower demand. Hotels can optimally sell unbooked rooms through Hotwire without compromising prices on other channels and undermining revenue managers’ carefully constructed pricing strategies.

hotwire extranet

Hotwire extranet login: Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Access the Hotwire extranet

To access the Hotwire Extranet, visit the official website (extranet.hotwire.com) and enter your login credentials. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to register for one.

Step 2: Manage your hotel listings

Once logged in, you’ll have access to the Extranet dashboard, where you can manage your hotel’s listings. Here, you can update your property’s details, including descriptions, amenities, and photos, to ensure potential guests have accurate and up-to-date information.

Step 3: Optimise rates and inventory

The Hotwire Extranet allows you to set competitive rates and manage your inventory in real-time. You can adjust your rates based on demand, seasonality, and other factors to maximise revenue. Additionally, you can control your room availability and block out dates as needed, either through the Hotwire.com extranet or through your dedicated channel manager.

Hotwire.com reviews: Should you use it?

While Hotwire.com offers a unique opportunity to fill unsold inventory and reach a broader customer base, it’s essential to carefully consider the platform’s pros and cons. On the one hand, Hotwire can provide a steady stream of bookings and revenue, but on the other hand, the opaque pricing model may not suit every hotel’s business strategy.

For hoteliers, it’s important that you use Hotwire.com appropriately. It caters to a very specific set of travellers – those who want to get a great deal without worrying too much about the specifics of the hotel that they end up with. Some negative reviews of Hotwire.com unfortunately highlight how this can be a negative experience, with guests of some hotels expressing disappointment around the hotel that they stayed at.

For your hotel, the solution is simple: ensure that the experience you provide is always a pleasant surprise, rather than a nasty shock.