If I have 16 nights booked in various hotels across Europe and I have a breakdown and can’t make it to the hotels, I’ll still have to pay for the rooms . Anyone know of a policy covering this?
When I book hotels I have the option of canceling before 3 pm on the day. Works for me. JJH
Yes, but they cost more per night....
My policy is not to book anything in advance.
or use booking.com which allows cancellation right up to the day
or use booking.com which allows cancellation right up to the day
Be careful regarding the repair and carry on option, mate got caught out last year when his bike broke down (Aprilia leaking clutch slave cylinder) between the recovery driver, the local ford mechanic and himself they managed to rebleed the clutch and get it working .
This wasn't good enough for the insurer , he had to have it transported and leave it for a week at an Aprilia dealer and take a hire car , if he had continued they stated that his breakdown cover would be suspended ntil he returned to the UK ie he would be on his own
Yes but what about all the other nights you might have to rescudle? JJH
or use booking.com which allows cancellation right up to the day
Depends on the hotel. booking.com try to get hotels to sign up to the late cancellation policy. Not all hotels sign up for this. We aways took a non returnable deposit Sad to say there are a lot of people lot there who abuse the system booking two or more hotels and cancelling one at the last moment.
Think of it from the perspective of a owner of a small hotel, the chances of selling a room, possibly booked months in advance , are almost nil if cancelled at short notice. That is lost income that can never be recovered.
The minumum commision charged by booking.com is 12% so often you can get a better deal by going direct to the owners
John
It's often worth paying the premium, if like me, you book maybe 7 rooms for 10 people some months ahead. People drop out, people come in, people come for 4 days not 10. The flexibility booking.com and others offer makes it relatively low risk for people like me that are amateur travel agents, earning nothing for our trouble, except maybe 3% of that 12% as a Quidco kickback.
As you very well know, if one of my touring parties descends on your hotel, you will make a decent amount of money as we tend to consume copious amounts of beverage. We were just 5 people in Malta in 2014. The group has expanded since then.
So, do not decry booking.com as it has created a new sector of the market that was just not possible before. Individuals like me cannot arrange a trip for a dozen people if we have to start taking deposits as a) we may lose money and b) we may fall foul of legislation as we are not bonded travel agents.