Is there a reason why so many hoteliers do not respond?

I encounter this a lot. Sometimes they're full and don't bother to respond. Sometimes they're responding and my handy Internet provider is blocking their email (so check your Spam folder). The other possibilities are endless.

I use it as a winnowing technique. Quick responsiveness gets my business every time.

My experience is that most hoteliers respond within a day or two. I'm with you - if they don't they won't get my business. Do they have a website? Sometimes small places with close in the off season for a month or two, but if that's the case it should say so on their website.

I have had a few small B&Bs in germany not request / require a credit card to hold the reservation. I wouldn't worry about that.

I've never booked hotel rooms in Germany, but it is very common in France for desk staff to hold onto emails for a few weeks.
Perhaps they are waiting for someone who speaks perfect English, or perhaps they are tired of wading through bad Google translations in French.

If you are booking apartments, many people do not respond because they don't have availability. Remember that many people who list on the internet are not professional innkeepers.
It's also possible that the owners/managers are on vacation themselves, or live in another country.

Normally, in France, hotels require at least one night's booking by credit card.
Hotels require you to register at the front desk and present a passport.

Apartments normally require a 50% deposit, then the rest in cash or by credit card on or before arrival.

You would normally be asked to give your address and full name when filling out a rental contract.

If you are pressed for time, the easiest thing to do would be to pick up the phone and just call to make a reservation. It doesn't take much time, and doesn't cost much money.

IMHO, a large number of American companies, in every sort of business, do not handle email well. To us, that means "in Internet [response] time." But think of this: Every time the American consumer has been offered a choice between low price and good service (think clothing and other retail stores), we choose low price. It takes money to provide personalized, effective responses in Internet-time. Most posters here want a cheap, clean room. They are prepared to give up everything else for that.

I have never had problems getting properties in Germany to respond to my email requests.

I always write in German. This invites them to respond in Germany, and they almost always do. Contrary to popular mythology, everyone in Germany does not speak English. Hotels with 3 or more stars are required by DEHOGA (Germany Hotel and Restaurant Association) to have someone on the staff who speaks English. Often, hotels with less than 3, or even no, stars have someone on the staff who speaks English, but don't count on it.

Rarely is any hotel I write to listed on a booking website. I've found such places, IMO, to be over-priced.

The only time I've been asked for a credit card to hold my reservation, it was for late arrival.

There are countless reasons why you may not get a response, they vary by hotel. I hardly ever write to individual hotels unless it's some extraordinary hotel that can't be accessed any other way. Have you heard of www.booking.com? It couldn't be easier to just book that way - you can apply filters (price, number of guests, area, etc.), look at hotels on a map, compare hotels, and get instant confirmation (you can even cancel just as easily as long as it's a hotel that allows for cancellations up to a certain date). There are people on the forum who have an ideological aversion to third party sites, but I've used them successfully for over a 100 bookings and am perfectly happy with my choice. I have a budget and I find hotels that meet it. Simple. You just need to read the small print, like everything else in life. I compare the booking price with the hotel website's price and go with the one that's lower (for the same type room - in other words, apples-to-apples)

If you want to go the individual hotel way, then I would stop e-mailing and call them instead. That way you'll get a decision on the spot.

Depending on your email address, your email may have gone into their spam / junk mail box.
Some small hotels close down full operations in the winter and they may not even be there to answer your email.
The person who answers the emails and speaks English may be on vacation or in the hospital.

So, you can have an attitude about them, but pretty sure they aren't just ignoring you cause they don't want your business. Who would do this?

For me this is plus about booking consolidators, you don't run into this problem about not getting your email answered. For Germany, I have had good luck with www.hrs.com because they have such great cancellation policies.

Yes, I have had hotels just ask for my name and address and not need a credit card.

Do keep your requests as simple and clear as possible, as Rick describes at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating/making-reservations.

It used to be standard practice for European hotels and B&Bs to hold a booking on your name only, without a credit card, and to take payment at the end of your stay. It does not surprise me if many properties in Germany still follow this tradition. Any moves toward using credit cards to hold a booking, pay a deposit, or pay the whole charge upon arrival are in response to people who abused the system in the past, the wider availability of automated systems, and demand from customers to be able to use credit cards instead of cash for payment.

Hi,

On Germany: I don't use e-mail. If they are small hotels or Pensionen, I don't contact them by e-mail, I call them up on the phone instead, ask if they have a single (EZ) on the days I would like. The reservation is made over the phone, ask about the price, breakfast, what sort of room, date of arrival/ departure, etc.

They never ask for a credit card to hold the room. I don't I've ever been ask that, even if I call up a place two-three days prior to arrival. At most they might ask around what time I would be showing up. If I'm not exactly sure, then I'll say, late afternoon or early evening. As a courtesy after the phone conversation, say within a few days to two weeks, I send them a confirmation letter in German, summarizing everything said on the phone.

My thought is if you don't speak the language (at least enough to write a very simple room request or basic question), it is easier to book through an automated system with immediate confirmation, like booking.com.

I get better responses in Spain (writing in bad Spanish) than Italy (writing in basic English). This could be just country dependent, but my sense is language has something to do with it. Perhaps the hotel worker doesn't speak English, speaks some but isn't confident she understood you, is waiting for the fluent person to take care of it, or just doesn't want to risk being embarrassed and making the hotel look bad for having imperfect English.

If you aren't doing so already, write very simply and add a line at the top in German apologizing for your lack of German, then proceed in simple English. Couldn't hurt.

I totally disagree. I make a reservation in the language of the country, oral or written, it is the best strategy employed, a sure fast way of eliciting a response, unless I want to go through booking.com. In Austria and Germany whether I call up a 2 or 3 star place, hotel/Pension, I always speak in the target language to get your point across, do the whole business in German. That way they understand you, and vice versa. . Yes, Pensionen and small hotels in Germany have an e-mail address but booking room on-line is not always possible. Then it depends how promptly they respond, if at all. . . Sending them in any other language other than their native one may or may not get you a reply. Sending it in their native language guarantees a reply.

I've booked my hotels for June in Germany and where possible I either reserved on their website direct or emailed them. I would say the majority responded within a reasonable time, 1-2 days, and none of the ones I reserved via email required payment. The ones I reserved via their website required a credit card but are refundable within a day or so of arrival. One B&B in Colmar (France) requested full payment in advance by wire, but I found the same place on booking.com with a reasonable cancellation policy and booked through there. So I would say your mileage will vary but you should get a majority of what you're looking for pretty quickly or perhaps something is wrong with your messaging. I echo Laura's (Rick's) advice - keep it simple, direct, specific where possible. I always try to open/close with "please" and "thank you" in the recipient's language, that's the least I can do!
I will admit to being intimidated by attempting to call for reservations - I struggle with languages and my southern drawl makes it difficult for non-Americans to understand me sometimes. (Truth be told, my California co-workers have a hard time on occasion! LOL)

I am certainly one of the people who has an aversion to 3rd party sites, but it is not ideological, it's economical. Yes, 3rd party sites are more convenient, but convenience has a price.

Case in point, I am now making arrangements to stay in a small town in the Spessart. The town TI office lists 16 properties in town (that have prices available via the TI or property's website). Seven of the properties are listed on a popular booking website for an average of 105,29€/nt DZ. Five of those seven are less expensive, by an average of about 9€/nt, is you book directly with the property. Two have the same price on their website as they have on the 3rd party site. None are less expensive on the 3rd party site than they are booking direct.

There are another 9 properties listed on the town website that are not on the 3rd party site. They average 66.15€/nt DZ.

So, using 3rd party sites might be more convenient, but you'll have a much more limited selection, and the options you'll have will be only the more expensive places.

Other than convenience, the availability of (often large numbers of) reviews is a major plus for third party sites. Some people, myself included, find that information useful in deciding where to book.

My way of booking is the best, and that is a fact with which nobody can argue...

OK, seriously, this is becoming one of the sillier conversations I've seen on this website. Of all the concerns in the world, how other people book a frickin' hotel room is probably ranks near the very bottom.

Lee's system works for him, my system (booking.com for new-to-me hotels, direct booking when returning to properties) works for me.

There is no single "best".

This thread reminds me of the "must-see" question. And it's not what the OP asked about.

Hey Judy,

We've stayed nearly 100 nights in Bavaria and Austria at many different Pensions, B&B style places and have never been asked for a deposit or a credit card #. In fact, every single place we've ever stayed, we pay the morning we leave, not where we arrive. Never have been asked for a dime until we are checking out. Here in the U.S., we don't get a room unless we pay in full when we arrive and it won't be held for is without a credit card. We were concerned on the first trip but it's the way it works there.

Paul

I think a lot of times if they are fully booked, they don't bother responding.Maybe they, like we travelers do, get lazy with the predominance of online booking. Often they will respond but not answer all questions such as cancellation policy, too. Cancellation policies in some countries are very punitive, on our 2006 trip to Germany the policy was "if you cancel you still pay 100%" for our Munich hotel. I have little patience for hoteliers who do not respond to that question, my experience is that even if they do respond to the original email they don't state cancellation policy much of the time. Oh yeah, and a lot of times they take two or three days to respond to an email at all. All of his is unfortunate because it makes travelers less inclined to book direct. While in theory I support booking direct, in practice I find myself using booking.com whenever possible. There may be some merit to the language question, but really I have not found language to be an issue anywhere remotely near the beaten track in Europe. I would not call on the phone because I want a written confirmation. A few hotels are very, very responsive. Many are not, which ruins it for the ones that are because travelers go to online sites. A lot of times if it's an employee answering the emails, they are less responsive than the owner. Last time I checked, Rick was in favor of booking direct. To encourage that, it would be great if he socialized the idea of being responsive to hoteliers. In summary, I have been traveling to Europe since 1999 and have found that over the last few years, responsiveness has gone down big time. I use booking.com whenever I can. It's not always more expensive than listed rates and when it is, worth it to save me stress.

Paul's experience is exactly that what I have over the years experienced in Germany. One time it threw me for a pleasant surprise. In the summer of 2009 I went to Sigmaringen an der Donau, stayed this time in the hotel in the Zentrum. I had reserved over the phone at home for two nights, at check-in I was about to give the proprietor the cash. He just waved me off, which I interpreted as he didn't want to be bothered with receiving the payment until the morning I checked out.

First - While doing data entry for the tourism branch of Commercial Services in the American Consulate, I discovered that there were a lot of hotels that just did not have a website. Thus the importance of being listed on a site like booking.com It was the only way to book a room.

Second - Hotels have guests from all around the world. It is all fine and dandy that you want to write your email in German, or expect your email in English to be answered but you forgot that visitors from Thailand, Kuwait, Morocco, France, or S. Africa want to book a room too. Best way to keep your rooms occupied is with a booking company because as a hotel owner you simply cannot be expected to know all of those languages and you want it to be as easy as possible for people to visit and stay in your hotel.

Third - Cities/towns charge a fee to book on their website too. No one lists a hotel/pension, etc. out of the goodness of their hearts. So, what kind of commission does booking.com or HRS charge? Let's say it is 10%. Your room costs 35€ per night. The hotel pays 3.50 € and writes this off their taxes as a marketing charge. Win-win for everyone.

Occupancy is the name of the game. What good does it do to save that commission while your rooms are empty? While you are staying in the hotel, you may buy other things, a post card, a souvenir, a drink at the bar, dinner in the restaurant, something from the mini-bar. A smart owner will have these items for sale.

A smart hotel will list their property in as many places as possible.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I asking for information that is already clearly listed on the website?
• Am I including irrelevant information in my email and asking irrelevant questions?
• Am I coming across as needy? Am I coming across as a difficult customer?
• Am I giving the receptionist reason to dislike me, even before I have checked in?

In my experience, the people who like to write lots of emails of enquiry, also like writing lots of reviews, and given that the travel industry is now dominated by the tyranny of reviewing websites - hanging like the Sword of Damocles over our heads - there are instances in which travel professionals decide to not reply to this these types of enquiries. It is a form of risk management.

Hotels not listed at third party sites maybe more economical, but are they better value? Do they have any online reviews giving you some hint what you are paying for?

When I bought my last Phone/SIM card, I intentionally purchased an unlocked phone and got service through Ultra Mobile. They let me call landlines (not cellphones) in 60 countries, including almost all of Europe, for free. I get some calls to cell phone time but not unlimited.

That allows me to call instead of email. Calling is so much better, if there is a language issue, you can work through it, you can work out any questions and specific preferences right then, know the price, book the room and have the name of a hotel employee with your reservation when you arrive. Plus you are saving the hotel commission on the booking, which is nice for the tiny hotels I tend to frequent.

In Berlin I know of Pensionen with that Berliner Milieu not found on third party sites, eg, booking .com...great. It's the one I always stay at, where a single (EZ) still goes for exactly 40 Euro with a traditional German breakfast, among other offerings in buffet style. The guests I've seen there over the years are almost exclusively German. The proprietor (Inhaberin) does not even know English.

Just as a point of interest (of no practical value):

Back in the 1960s/1970s (pre-internet, at a time when the cost of overseas telephone calls was exorbitant) there were codes that could be used for efficient transmission via telegraph(?) of hotel requests. I remember reading about it and seeing the codes in a Fielding or Fodor guidebook. Supposedly the codes--which may all have been 5-letter "words"--could be used for hotels around the world, and the recipient would understand that the request was for a quiet double room with bath and balcony (requiring just four short words), etc.

Although I always doubted the utility of that code below the 3- or 4-star level, something like that could be useful today when emailing hotels or even when asking about a room in person at a hotel where you and the reception staff do not share a common language.

OK... Thanks to all who answered. I got a kick out of some of the replies, and actually laughed out loud at one of them. I would now like to answer some of the questions.

So: to the posters who asked:

No, nothing landed in my spam folder. I definitely checked.
Yes. They all had websites. No indication that they were closed for the off season.
I wrote to them in English. It's all I know.
I prefer to not use a booking website, I prefer to deal directly with the hotels/guesthouses.
I have never placed an overseas call in my life. I couldn't even imagine the cost.
Of the hotels who did respond, their English varied wildly. While some responses were in perfect English, others were not. But I understood exactly what they were saying. It was actually charming.

And lastly, to the poster who asked, Am I asking for info that is already clearly listed on the website, am I including irrelevant info and asking irrelevant questions, am I coming across as needy or difficult, am I giving them reason to dislike me, etc.... Here is a word for word copy of the email that I sent to each property:

"Greetings from Canada! I would like to reserve a room for 2 people, in your lovely hotel. We would like to check in on __ September and check out on __ September. We would like a shower and toilet inside the room. Thank you very much. Judy Freeman"

So.. NOT needy, or nasty, or asking irrelevant questions, or any of the above. And certainly no attitude. It's not my style. I save the attitude for those who have it coming to them.

I was just wondering WHY so few wrote back. Maybe they were full. Maybe they haven't even seen the email yet. Maybe a language barrier. Maybe a lot of things. But it was not due to any rudeness on my part. And not asking for a cc # to hold the room sort of seems like bad business to me. But if that's the way they do things over there, then that's the way they do it.

So thanks to all who took the time to respond. I appreciate it.

Judy,
If all the hotels had websites, don't they have a way to book a room through these websites? Or did they only have a request form? Your e-mail looked fine - but it didn't ask them to respond either affirmatively or negatively (it seems like it's not needed, but I always put it out there). Something like "Could you confirm availability and the room price for those dates?"

Judy, you were asking for a reservation. Is that really what you wanted or were you asking for price and availability? I always ask about that first, then ask for a reservation if a room is available and I like the price. Make sure you specify exactly what you want.

Often Americans ask for a reservation when they are really wanting to know about cost and availability. And the German host makes a reservation for them. I've had German hosts complain that Americans write asking for reservation, then never show up (probably because the found somewhere else but didn't cancel the reservation, because they didn't know there was one).

Hi Lee... yes what I wanted was a reservation. I saw, on their websites, the prices and rooms etc. Everything was satisfactory so I was asking for a room. I expected back either a 'yes' we have an opening for those dates, or a 'no' we are all booked up.

And, when I did receive a reply saying that a room was available and being held, I emailed back saying 'I'll take it" and supplied them with whatever information they asked for.

In the off chance that a second property in the same town responded saying they also had a room available and they were holding it for me, I emailed right away and let them know i had booked elsewhere. Its just common courtesy.

To Agnes... yes i booked through their website either with the reservation form provided, or through the "contact us" link.

When I call up a small hotel, 2 or 3 star, or a Pension in Germany, I tell them the purpose of the call, ie, if a single room is available on such and such dates. If I have not yet been told of the price, then I ask what does the single go for. Generally, I have a pretty good idea as to what to expect for a single depending if the place is a 2 or 3 star establishment. Then I tell them, " I'll take it" from which date to the check-out date, and just to avoid any confusion, etc I say also at the end, eg, 6 nights total. If they asked me if I had a credit card to hold the room, I would be totally surprised at such a question. Anyway, that has never happened.

Judy - when I posted about Spam/Junk mail box, I meant that your email may have landed in theirs, not that their email to you, landed in your junk mail box. So, you might try writing again.

Ah. Thank you Ms. Jo. Didnt think of that. Hmmmm.....

I've been reading websites with input from hotel manager, etc, and they all say that 15% is the starting commission for OTAs (Online Travel Agencies, of which Booking is apparently the biggest), but commissions can go as high as 30% in highly competitive markets. Booking also charges a higher commission for extras like being on the first page of their listing.

And remember, YOU pay the commission in higher prices.

In Germany one can always book hotels, two star to 5 star by calling them up to see what the price range is. I've done it with Pensionen, two star establishments and four star hotels. That was in Vienna. Calling them up offers a slight chance of negotiating. At most at the end they will ask for a confirmation letter from you. They don't send you a letter of confirmation of your reservation. It's the other way around.

Even if no mention is made by them on the confirmation letter, then I suggest it as a matter of courtesy, ie, that they will be receiving such a letter, all the more so if it's small two star hotel instead of a German chain. You call them up inside the country or outside, makes no difference. You won't be asked for a credit card number to hold it...that you can bet on...your word as to your arrival date or time frame (noon or early evening, etc) is good enough.

None of this is all that complicated. I've probably used Booking.com half the time and booked directly half the time. And we always stay at small hotels, so there's really no issue about bargaining over price. On our upcoming trip to France, we have 2 nights (1st and last) at hotels. I wound up booking 2 small hotel (10-15 rooms) directly. One of them wasn't on booking.com, so that was an easy decision. The other one was, and the price on booking.com and the price listed on their web site was pretty much the same. But I was hoping to get a room with a river view, so I emailed them directly, and when they said they had a room and gave me a price, I said fine, and asked if they had a room with a river view. They said yes, and gave me such a room. And in neither case did the hotel ask for any credit card info. So basically I just decide between booking.com and direct booking based on factors specific to that situation. For example, if I've stayed at a hotel before, I'll normally book directly by just sending an email to the hotel.

In most places, email and phone is being answered not by the cute little granny-proprietor who writes in cursive and values good manners and gemutlichkeit, it is being ignored by an underpaid staff member who is thinking "if you want a room, book it online."

Best response ever... Kaeleku drops the mic with that one.

Enjoy your marginally less expensive zimmer in these obscure little granny-run spots while they last, because I can almost guarantee once granny retires (or dies) in the next few years, her Millennial grandchild will swoop in to immediately replace all dusty lace doilies and Hummel tchotchkes with stuff from Ikea and will strike a deal with Booking faster than you can blink.

For Fred:
"You won't be asked for a credit card number to hold it...that you can bet on...your word as to your arrival date or time frame (noon or early evening, etc) is good enough."

This is copied and pasted from a confirmation email I received in response to my inquiry:

"Dear Mrs. Freeman,
From 7th to 11th September we can offer you:
- 1 double room with toilet and shower, TV, Wifi free, non smoking, breakfast included
Price XX per night
To hold the reservation we need: creditcard-nr. and exp. date.
Best regards,
XXX

and another property emailed back saying this:

Dear Mrs. Freeman,
Is it possible for you and pay 50% from this price?
Best wishes,
XXX

So I am definitely getting a couple of properties that are asking for at least a CC number to hold the room, and in the last instance, they are asking for half down.

Enjoy your marginally less expensive zimmer in these obscure little
granny-run spots

Ceidleh, do you really consider a savings of 37%, or 41€ per night "marginally less expensive"? I sure don't!

In this small town, there are 15 properties listed on the town TI website. Six of them are also listed on Booking,com; there are none on Booking that are not also on the town website. When I booked a month ago, the places I looked were not shown on Booking, and I had trouble finding an open place, and yet, as of today, all 6 of the properities using booking still have available rooms.

I don't think OTAs are taking over any time soon.

Ceidleh, Winner winner chicken dinner!

We have stayed at a number of family owned Pension's and Gasthof's that have been in the same family for generations. They take great pride in learning the business and keeping the family tradition and business alive for the next generation.

Yes, you do pay a commission through a booking site.

Paul, the new winner, easy peasy lemon squeezey!

"...strike a deal ...faster than you can blink." That may/could be the wave of the future. Still, as regards to that happening in Germany, I won't hold my breath. In the last ten years of staying at various small hotels, Pensionen in Germany, (Berlin,. Münster/Westf., Frankfurt, Munich, Minden, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Sigmaringen) aside from German chains, none of them was run by grandma types, all run by people then in their 40s and 50s. Maybe grandma runs " Zimmer frei" arrangements, (I don't know). That option I used only once.

In Berlin the Pension I used to stay at (down from Savignyplatz) before the Russians got it in 2006, stayed the same with the new Russian owners with a few modifications made, eg, installing a shower in the single (EZ) where there had been neither toilet nor shower. Still, the newly refurbished room had no toilet. You reserve the same old way, they prefer being paid in cash, (don't think they accept a credit card), no AC nor elevator,

The Pension that I use now since 2009, be it 4 nights or 14 plus nights is run by a mother/daughter team, not listed on booking.com, mother is non English speaking, no elevator, no AC, no phone in the room, only last year was English news programming with CNN introduced, some rooms come en suite. others only with a wash basin ("mit fließendem Wasser") Of course, with such characteristics you are not going to see very many international tourists, especially anglophones...very true based on my own observations and looking at the guest book. You can be certain that such establishments still exist in Germany, and not only to be found in some town in the sticks, be it in Hessen or Bavaria, or Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein if Berlin is any example.

@ Judy...thanks for providing the information. Yes, I do also give my credit card info to hold the room when using booking.com or booking the hotel directly on-line, ie, w/o going through a third party. There is a difference in the way one reserves. When I reserve, say a single in Germany over the phone, then I am never asked to provide any sort of credit card information for the purpose of holding the room. Never happened to me.

I don't use e-mail to contact the hotel, never have. . Since you did, that could explain the reason for having to provide the pertinent credit card info.

Of course, one can ask how are they going to know if you don't show up (bei Nichtanreise). They don't. Once the reservation is done, they expect you to show up. As I said, I do all this business over the phone in German, then afterwards send the hotel a letter of confirmation written in German as a courtesy so that they understand and I understand . That's it.

Paying a deposit of 50% sounds fishy. Never came across that. Only at a hostel (Wombat in Vienna) where a down payment was asked for when booking on-line, , it was ten percent of the total room cost....not 50%. The 10% I paid on-line, the balance to be paid at check-in.

"I don't use e-mail to contact the hotel, never have. . Since you did, that could explain the reason for having to provide the pertinent credit card info."

We have only communicated and reserved via direct email. We have done this for about 100 nights of stays since 2001. Never asked for a credit card or a deposit, so I don't see it as the use of email being the reason Judy got the replies she did.

Paul

For Fred.... this 50% pre payment concerns you? I didn't see it as a problem.... should I? I'm not fond of the 'name and shame' game in this instance, since the hotel hasn't done me wrong. But it seems to be an established hotel, in a good location. The 5 nights I am reserving, includes one of the 2 biggest weekends of the year for this town, perhaps that is the reason why??

I will say that I haven't sent a cc number to them yet. Not that I'm concerned.... I replied to their email and said that, yes, I will be happy to pay half up front, and confirmed the amount they were asking. No reply as of yet. This was a couple of days ago. So I sent a second email, asking the same thing. Still no reply.

So... no actual deposit sent yet. It just drives me nuts, as I am a very impatient girl. Which I guess brings us back to my original question. Why oh why won't they respond? Lol

And... PS: Have I mentioned that this is my first vacation in 20 years? 20 YEARS. I haven't had time off of work in 20 freakin years..... it blows my mind when I read everybody saying that they go to Europe yearly.

Judy,
At least try a booking site like booking.com once, you'll be surprised. It is so easy. You would get instant confirmation in writing - you can look and compare many hotels at once. You likely could find many hotels that don't require you to send a pre-payment. At least take a look and get ideas. I think you're making this way too hard than it needs to be. The problems you're having is one of the reasons why I don't book with small pop and pos that I have write and wait and wait and wait for an answer. There are hundreds of hotels out there to choose from and you can get this squared away in less than 15 minutes. It doesn't need to be this slow and painful. Good luck.

Agnes, maybe I will!! Thanks. ☺

@ Judy...I say "fishy" because in all my experience and knowledge gained in traveling in Germany since 1971, I have never encountered anything like that...this 50% deposit request. I have never come across an establishment in Germany, be it a small hotel to a 4 star, except the deposit experience (above) with Wombat hostel of 10%, where prior to arrival the place wants money from you.

Of course, I book non-refundable to get the special on-line rate offered at some hotels, in which case I can expect to see the total price of my stay appear on my next credit card statement. Yes, I've had that. Then at check-in I'm told/reminded that I paid already. But your particulars are beyond me. You mean the hotel will debit your credit card account for 50% in Euro of your entire stay? Why, in case you're a no show?

This most likely does not pertain to you and your hotel, but keep in mind also one reason a particular small hotel/Pension in Germany does not ask for a credit card to hold the room whether one directly calls them up or sends an e-mail is that the hotel/Pension in question does not accept credit cards as payment. In your situation, however, I know this is not the case.

Maybe cause it's a big weekend for them? Maybe they've been burned and have changed their policy? I really don't know. I'm happy with the hotel and the location and was pleased to have found anything at all in that town for that weekend.

Should I mention the name? Maybe someone here has had experience with them??