email multiple hotels for reservations at once?

We emailed one hotel per area and then emailed a second hotel if there was no response the next day. One hotel took 7 days to respond - we had already booked at another and declined the late responder. You can email as many as YOU feel like, I just don't want to get confused on which hotel is which.

I always send out several requests at once. In my experience, even if they all answer (which they seldom do) some of them will be above my budget, some won't be able to offer the accommodation we need (family of 4), some will not be available.

In the end we usually end up with a maximum of 3 possible options for one location, pick the one that seems to work best for us, book it, respond to the rest with a polite "thanks for the information, but not this time" or something along those lines.

I see no reason why I should limit myself to 1 request per day. You do need to keep your email inbox organized though and make sure you can sort through the appropriate emails.

I will send out at least two or three at a time, asking what price they can offer for the dates and length of my stay, and when I choose one I email back to confirm, and ask if they want a cc# to hold the room, which is not always neccessary, and if so, I email that back to them, and re-confirm the dates and ask for a confirmation that they got the cc information. It seems like a long process, I guess, but then I save that price confirmation and print it out to take with me so there aren't any surprises when I get there. I don't usually email back places that I didn't choose, since I was only asking for a price, not making a reservation.

I think I am with the majority. Send out three or four requests at the same time. I doubt seriously if they hold a room for me until I accept. I can remember a couple of times requesting availability and rate, only to be told a couple days later that the rate or the room was no longer available when I tried to confirm the reservation. It is part of the game.

I'm an obsessive planner, so I research for days until I finally decide on one hotel. Since I tend to book early and travel in the off-season, I usually get my top choice.

However, when a mix-up meant we had to reserve a month before the trip, I emailed 2-3 places asking about their availability & rates. We went with the one that emailed back first. I see nothing wrong with multiple inquiries if that works for you.

I never thought sending multiple e-mails a problem. I do this all the time. It's fun to do my research and send the e-mails in the evening here and then get up in the morning and see who responded. I always ask for price and availability, though, so I'm not "tying up" any rooms.

I used to worry about sending out more than one request, but I don't any more. I now usually do about three at a time. I'm not always as early as I would like with my reservations and this way I'm more apt to get something reasonable. I find that there are many smaller places that don't bother to respond so you have to have a broader search.

Pam