Hotel Reservations in Rome

I generally reserve with hotels using the lower, non-refundable rate. I also use venere.com for making reservations. maybe you can find something on this website. Also, you could try to revisit the hotel you first attempted to reserve.and their system may take your post. Remember, this is Italy and conventional wisdom does not always apply. You may also want to consult Rick Steve's or Frommer's guidebooks to find some other hotels. If one place won't work try another place.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Try phoning. In one of the RS tips, it said that if you bypass the internet, you may get an even better rate. And let me know, I'm starting to look for hotels for my next trip :-) Thanks

We have been to Rome a number of times over the past five years (most recently last Oct) and have not encountered the pre-paid, non-refund rate. BUT over the last couple of years have seen it popping up in other countries so assume it is making it way to Rome. There are a lot of great hotels in Rome so why not look at another that is not using that system. Our experience is that the rate is always available because it is pre=paid. Never viewed it as a time critical rate. I would assume that there is some type of computer program and a direct call to the hotel would help to solve the problem.

I've been researching lodgings for our Oct trip and have found that no matter what rates you get on TripAdvisor, Venere, or Booking, if you email the hotel/B&B directly, you'll get a better rate. And the $ you pay them all goes to them, as they don't have to pay the online booking fees.

I always ask if:
- they give a discount for 3 or more nights' stay
- they give a discount for payment in cash

Every single place I have emailed has given me better rates than the online booking sites :)

I assume you are booking through a web booking service rather than going to the hotel direct. I find I get the best deal by e-mailing, or calling, the Hotel directly, not even using their "booking" page. This is especially important for a longer stay, as nearly all places will knock 10% off, or more, for a week stay, a booking service just won't do this.

First contact the hotel by email and see what the best available rates are for early booking. Then try Eurobooking.com, Venere.com, Caupona.com and see what you can find

Definitely contact the hotel yourself, preferably by email. Many online reservation services are not up-to-date or want to try to switch you to a more expensive room.

Thanks, all. In fact, I booked through the hotel. I booked the pre-pay rate and saved 20%

Again, thanks for the advice.