Reservations In Advance

I'd make my reservations now if you know your itinerary and are at all fussy about where you stay. October is still busy and places sell out. There is some ability to negotiate, but minimal IMHO. The deposit is not lost money: it is applied to your rent. If you do not show up, it may be forfeit. I made reservations for December already, and I paid more deposits this time than I did on our last trip, I have had others tell me the requirement for deposits is increasing. Some hoteliers/owners must have been burned by cancellations and are getting tougher. They cannot afford to have no shows. Consider purchasing trip insurance that allows you to recover deposits should you have to cancel for health, loss-of-job, or other emergency situations. I use this website to select and purchase my insurance for travel http://www.squaremouth.com.

When you reserve an apartment through VRBO, Homeaway, etc. you are dealing directly with the owner and the policies are up to them. As Laurel pointed out, the deposit you pay up front is applied to your rental fee, so you are using it for your trip. There is often a separate security depposit which you pay upon arrival and they hold until you depart with the apartment in good order, in which case it is returned. (We've actually never had to advance a security deposit.) Individual owners can be flexible on their deposit requirement, but it is totally up to them. We have in the paast wired money directly into the owner's accoutnt to pay the deposit, but we prefer to avoid that if at all possible. Last summer we dealt with an apartment owner in Lucca who held my personal check (uncashed) until our arrival, then handed it back for me to tear up. That was a flexible arrangement. Many hotels will take your credit card # as a deposit but not charge anything to it unless you are a no-show. Most apartment owners, on th eother hand, will require advance payment of at least part of the rent, say 50%, to hold the reservation. It is well worth paying as apartments are generally considerably cheaper than hotels. One apartment agency you might look at for Paris, instead of VRBO, is VacationInParis. It is an American company that owns or manages apartments all over Paris. You deal directly with them, pay your advance deposit by credit card in US dollars (no FTF), and pay no upfront security deposit (they block out an amount on your card and then unblock it after your departure.) It is a reliable company with a good reputation. And don't count on October as being "after high season." Many people who aren't bound to sunmmer travel with school-age children wait until October to travel. It is still a busy time, especially in Italy.

I have rented Apartments in October without advance notice or hefty prepayments. When you show up last minute, they are also willing to rent for under a week. The big question is are you flexible? If you just want a place to stay that is suitable, do what I do. Make a list of places and phone numbers. Call the morning before you expect to arrive and see what's available. I often have to call more than one place but (so far) have never been left homeless. You may end up in an apartment or other lodging that meets your needs. If you will only be happy with certain accomodations and are certain of your arrival and departure times, you should probably book ahead. Regardless, I think calling is a better way to book. First to reduce scams and second to add all the possible places that don't choose to book online.