Hotel Reservations, paying in advance?

This will be my fourth trip to Europe, I have booked rooms many times before before. I know that when you book with CC they can charge a deposit. Is it kosher to pay in advance? To get a accurate budget i woulnd%26#39;t mind paying full price. Pro%26#39;s and con%26#39;s ?? Will hotels charge your cc before???

thanks

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It all depends on the company/hotel with which you book. Some want full payment upon booking; some will take a small deposit; some will simply take a credit or debit card number just to secure your booking, but not actually charge you anything until you get to your accommodation.

Pros and cons? Well, again, it depend on the rules of your hotel. Basically, you need to check out the refund and cancellation policy of your hotel. Whether you pay a deposit or the full cost of your holiday, some hotels will refund you all of your money if you cancel within a certain time scale; some may refund you your money less a handling fee or maybe 10% or so. If you are not required to pay anything until your arrival, cancellation may still land you with a cancellation fee.

May I recommend expedia.com to you? I have been using this company for years to book my vacations all over the world. With Expedia you can book flights, hotels, car hire, or a combination of all three or two of the three. Expedia also offers discounts for combination bookings (e.g. flight %26amp; hotel). Prices are usually very competitive. Note, however, that Expedia will charge you the full amount of your trip (whether flight, hotel, insurance, or car hire) immediately upon booking confirmation.

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book via

www.hrs.com

www.hotel.de

In many cases you don%26#39;t have to give a credit card info at all. And for most of the rest payment is due when checking out from the hotel and credit card is just for the case you don%26#39;t show up.

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Another one is www.venere.com

They don%26#39;t charge your credit card until checkout. If you know you won%26#39;t have to cancel, I guess it%26#39;s ok if you pay for the hotel at the time of booking. But I%26#39;d make sure you know of the hotel%26#39;s cancellation policy beforehand.

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Thanks for all the great advice! ;-)

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We%26#39;ve used venere a lot and always been very satisfied. Very clear website; possibility of booking various rooms eg for family group, a plus over expedia (for me at least!)Rates often undercut expedia for same hotel too and you pay on checkout as said. I can see that with exchange rate question dollar/€ you might actually prefer to guarantee your price on booking though. You can usually cancel up to 48 or 72hrs before (Hotel decides timeframe).

Another one we%26#39;ve used is octopustravel.co.uk but they make you pay upfront and there is a cancellation charge if you back out. Very good rates though.