Booking accomodations in monasteries or convents

The same may not apply. Presumably some, or many, of the monasteries and convents are what we in the US would call "non-profit" organizations. If so, booking them through a site such as monasterystays.com might not have as much negative financial impact on them, compared to using a big online site to book a for profit B&B?
But I'm just speculating and don't really know that for sure.

Now, as far as staying in one goes: Back in the Stone Age, before the internet, I once slept several days at a convent in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. I lucked out and was the only guest in a large dormitory style room--was there at a time when there were no particular religious occasions that would have caused the convent to be "booked."
They served a nice French-style breakfast.
The convent was operated by a French religious group, but when I got there I was surprised, and delighted, to discover that the nuns were all young Arab Christian women--and were cute and friendly!
And the rate was low!

But I expect my experience in Jerusalem might not be comparable to anything you would find these days in Italy. But who knows?

Thanks, Kent!

You're welcome!
The general topic of booking monasteries and convents in Italy has come up before here, so hopefully you will get further comments by other Forum Helpers.
Happy Travels!
Kent

On some you can book direct-we have stayed several times at Santa Maria alle Fornaci in Rome and with the Francisian Sisters of the Atonment house in Assis, -also you can book direct with Casa La Salle in Rome(a little further out of the center of Rome, but minutes to a Metro station).
Have used Monasterystays.com several times also, and here the advantage is they give you a letter in Italian to take to the convent or monastery as several we have stayed at had no English speaker. Have used them for stays in Cortona, San G, outside of Florence, and in Sorrento.
There appears to be a new site www.bookingmonastery.com that appears to be several convents and Monastreries that have come together-stumbled on it when last booking at Santa Maria the last time.
All we have stayed at have been clean, quiet, equipped with "chaste" beds, continental breakfast, and and no phone in the room. However, in Sorrento we had a Suite-bedroom, huge living room, laundry and bath, while in Cortona, it was like staying at the Hilton.

Convents and monasteries are my preferred lodging when I'm traveling. I like the quiet, the safety, and the availability of a chapel. And unlike some budget housing, I have always found them to be spotlessly clean. I also have found the monks and the sisters to be welcoming – in fact the Rule of St. Benedict has requirements about how guests are to be treated, and I have always found the houses to be very hospitable. Convents, monasteries, and religious orders have to earn their own living expenses, and the ones that do it by taking in guests tend to do a really good job of caring for the guests.

I used monasterystays.com once, when I was going to an isolated part of the Gargano peninsula and didn't want any surprises. But email and Google translate make it very easy to book directly with the house. I don't know what the business model of monasterystays.com is, but I prefer to work with the religious house directly when I can.

Thanks - lots of good info!

I have not used and don't know the fees or other policies of those particular booking web sites. But whenever I find a property on any booking web site, I usually check that property's own site to see if it has an online booking option. If it's easy, go for it. If it means a more lengthy exchange by email or phone, then you might as well stick with the middle-man service. The property may have chosen to use the service as a way of reducing the time they have to spend on booking issues. They may not have reception staff 24/7.

Thanks, Laura - wanting to offload booking duties to a middleman certainly does seem plausible for a convent or monastery. I will try going direct, but won't worry about it too much.

One additional comment – you are unlikely to find websites for most monasteries and convents. Once I have a place in mind, I've had pretty good luck searching the Internet for contact information in things like reviews or articles. I've also had good luck contacting the local tourist information office and asking if they have an email for the place I want to stay. It sometimes will take several days before I get a response from the monastery/convent, and if I don't hear back, I assume they're probably full