Hotel Reservations

It depends on the hotel Most have a very good refund policy, such as 48 hours prior but they can all be different. I would check out the hotels myself to see what their policies are. Just as an FYI, Italy is a very easy country to plan yourself. You might want to start by looking at hotels on either venere.com or booking.com. Venere.com will have reviews written by those who have completed a stay so they are pretty accurate. You can also find out what their cancellation policies are. Donna

Start by firing your travel agent. You don't need one nowadays. Do your own booking on Venere.com, Booking.com, Hotels.com or any other websites. Or if you want, after you find the hotel you like, you might want to try booking directly with the hotel. Sometimes you might save that way rather than go through the 3rd party website. It's as easy as booking a hotel in the US. No sweat. All hotels in Italy (at least the hundreds I've used) have at least a 48 hr cancellation policy (sometimes shorter, even the same day).

Do not book through a travel agent. Non-refundable is crazy... I have never made a non-refundable reservation. Do a little research, or just buy Rick Steve's book, and go with one of his recommendations in your price range. Search this forum - alot of good recommendations for hotels. You are looking at 3 large cities with a ton of hotel choices - no need for non-refundable. Glenn

The only non-refundable (at least the first night) hotels fees that I have seen are discount hotel rates. Some hotels will have a direct book, prepaid, deep discount rate this is non refundable. Then there may be a smaller discount rate that is refundable under conditions. And the travel agent may have a special arrangements with the hotels that requires a non refundable. The travel agent is not doing you any favors but the travel agent has to be paid somewhere in the process.

Unless you have an unusual situation, there's no need to use a travel agent to book hotels in those cities. You can book directly on their websites if they have an online booking engine (more and more do), or by e-mail (simple English works fine). Or, if you get a better deal, you can use booking.com, hotels.com, hrs.com, or venere.com. This way, there is no commission. Some hotels and websites will offer a discount for a non-refundable, prepaid stay. It's up to you if you want to do that. But otherwise, you do not commit money up front; you pay on arrival or (more commonly) on departure, with cash or credit card, depending on the hotel (not all take credit cards). Many hotels do have a charge of a night (sometimes more) if you do not show and do not cancel within a certain period (sometimes 24 hours, sometimes 72 hours, sometimes more). Again, these policies vary, so it's important to check them.

I stayed at two different Ibis hotels in June and July, both in Frankfurt. I booked those two stays months ago and booked a reduced rate that was non-refundable. When I arrived at both of those hotels, I saw the daily rate was just about 20E more than the price I paid.

Your travel agent is likely being truthful. Many hotels that travel agents work with offer deeply discounted rates for those willing to make a non-refundable prepayment, even in Italy. I've recently seen a few smaller hotels offer that as an option, too. Your travel agent is probably looking for the best rates (possibly at your request), and you may need to pay a higher rate if you want more flexibility. It's no different from what the airlines do – the more flexibility, the higher the fare. You should also pay close attention to the location of the hotels your travel agent suggests. Hotels in the historic centers tend to be smaller and family-owned, and less likely to work with travel agents to avoid paying commissions. Many but not all hotels that travel agents suggest will be less central. Be sure to assess whether the location works for you before prepaying.

Did you agent also advise you to get travelers checks? Richard, assuming that you found this site & was able to post, you certainly can make your own travel arrangements. Have a great trip!

@roberto, welcome back! Richard, you can definitely find hotels without a travel agent. Booking.com also only posts reviews from guests who have styled in their listed hotels. Read the reviews carefully, as well as the hotel's amenities (is a lift or wi-fi a deal-breaker?).

"Your travel agent is likely being truthful. Many hotels that travel agents work with offer deeply discounted rates for those willing to make a non-refundable prepayment..." Hotels are more likely to give you a lower rate if you book a non-refundable rate, but using a Travel Agent has NOTHING to do with it. You can book a non-refundable rate yourself WITHOUT having a TA in the middle of it all. Remove the TA from your equation. You'll likely save some dollars AND have less confusion/mixups with the hotel. You don't need a travel agent to book hotels in Europe. Start with Tripadvisor and look at all of the highly rated hotels. Go down the list until you find one you think you can afford. Email and/or call the hotel directly and make the reservation. That's all you have to do. Why on earth would you pay a TA to do it for you...especially when the TA probably has never been to your particular destination or your particular hotel.

The most restrictive cancellation policy I've come across in our hotel reservations in Europe is if reservation is not cancelled 14 days in advance, your entire stay is charged. Seems that most have 2-7 day cancellation policies and would charge 1 night. I make it a point not to book prepaid, non refundable reservations, especially since I book many months in advance to get my first choice for lodging.
If you are prepaying and rooms are not refundable, think about travel insurance.