Those of you who listen to the show know that I often use and recommend Hotwire.com as a good way to reserve a hotel room if you want a good rate and are flexible about which hotel you are willing to stay at. When you use Hotwire you prepay for the hotel room, so you need to be sure you are going on the trip. Well… I guess I did not realize that you need to be a little more flexible than I thought. My wife just got the following (edited) email:

Dear Joan,

This email is regarding your upcoming stay at the Four Points by
Sheraton Hotel and Suites Somewhere. The hotel has informed
us they are overbooked for the dates of your stay, your reservation has
been relocated to an alternate location. Your new hotel information is
listed below.

Ramada Inn Somewhere
phone
address
address
2.5 star hotel with pool, breakfast, and hi-speed internet

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause
you. Our customers are very important to us, and we would like to ensure
that you are provided with the best possible experience.

Say what? Even with a pre-paid reservation apparently the hotel can reject it. Now it is clear why they did this since they will make more money but I was quite surprised that they are allowed to do this with their agreement with Hotwire. There are numerous stories about hotels that treat guests who have booked through discount booking sites differently (although my experiences have almost always been positive), but this is a new one for me.