Have never used Hotwire. Have used both Travelocity and Expedia. But lately I've been going directly through the airline. For instance, if you know which airlines fly into your destination city the most, go on their website and check them first. You can often get a lower fare there. I recently flew from GR to San Francisco for $230. You can generally get Chicago to San Francisco for $200 or under, but to add GR for only $30 extra was amazing, and time saving. Wish I could help more with GR-LAX. Maybe try Southwest.