no response to hotel/room inquires

Italians in general seem to have a much more laid back attitude for email than Americans.

I usually try a two pronged approach. I'll compose an email, then use an online free translation service to translate to Italian. I will then email bothe the english and the italian. I will then also fax the same thing to a fax number if they list one. I have also included a phone number to reach me and have had a couple of places call.

If you are very interested in the spots you are looking at, you can also try calling, taking into account the time differential.

If you have already made a reservation throughan online service like Venere and are trying to confirm with the property directly some folks have reported difficulty getting that done.

sometimes especially at smaller spots there may not be someone who speaks English or they may be on vacation.

Welcome to Italy! :) Time to make some phone calls...

Welcome to Italy! :) Time to make some phone calls...

Check your spam folder. Also if you have Comcast emails from Italy will be blocked unless it is from a Gmail, Yahoo or generic account. I have Comcast and had a horrible time receiving responses. The Comcast server was blocking everything in an attempt to block spammers.

If they're not in your spam folder, it means you don't have a confirmation. Small family run operations don't have the time to reply when there is no vacancy, it's not like here.

You are doing something wrong to have made many inquires with no responses. Our experience is about one in five or less of no responses. When that happens I assume that they have no room availability and move on.

If you haven't heard back, they don't have room. Hotels in larger cities seem better about replying they don't have space, but not always. How many places have you contacted?

I suggest you try a larger hotel at this pt. w/ a website for booking or if there is a tourist office where you are going, upon your arrival go there and have them book a room. You are going off season so rooms should be avail somewhere. It is a pain and prob not the answer you were looking for but we all encounter this from time to time. Also the places you are interested in may have minimums. good luck.

Susan, you're not alone. I'm currently 0 for 4 in getting a reply for October bookings in Venice, CT and Rome.

I guess you just have to use the shotgun approach.

Accommodations listed in Rick's books tend to book up fast, since we all have the same books with the same short lists of Rick's picks.

It's okay to sleep somewhere not on Rick's list.:)

Thank all of you for the responses. I think I will start calling next week. Does someone speak English at most of the places. One of the places I really wanted to stay was an agriturismo called Agriturismo Le Caggiole (http://www.agriturismolecaggiole.it) in Tuscany but I have had no luck emailing. If anyone has stayed here and knows how to get in touch with them,please let me know. Also Vernazza, Cinque Terre is impossible. Any help is appreciated. We will be there the first week in October,2009.

Susan,

It's not unusual to receive no response at times from locations in Italy. I believe Rick's book states that "no response" generally means they don't have any vacancies.

However, there could be other explanations too. This is prime holiday time for Italians, so they may have "temps" staffing the desks. While they may be able to speak english to some extent, their reading & writing skills might be limited.

For the Agriturismo, you might try (in this order):

• one more E-mail (if you know anyone that speaks Italian, you could have your request translated - I don't trust the online translators as they're a bit primitive and too much chance for misinterpretation or errors).

• Phone call first to the office no. and then the mobile no. (keep the time difference in mind).

Which lodging in Vernazza were you trying to book? If you don't get any response to one more E-mail, you might consider choosing another property or even stay in one of the other villages. You could also try phoning them or send a FAX (if a no. is provided). As I recall, there's a FAX template in some of Rick's books.

It shouldn't be that busy in either location in October, but I suppose it's possible they're fully booked.

Let us know if you get this sorted, as I'm sure the information would be useful to others here.

Good luck!

Susan,

You might try sending another E-mail to the Agriturismo using this format:

RICHIESTA DI DISPONIBILITÀ

Nome (Name): ____

Cognome (Surname): ____

Indirizzo (Address): ____

Città (City): ____

Nazione (Country): ____

Telefono (Phone No.): ____

E-Mail: ____

N. Persone (Number of persons): ____

Sistemazione (type of accommodation): ____
(I didn't check to see what the options were on bed/room types)

Data di Arrivo (gg.mm.aaaa): ___
(Use the European dd/mm/yyyy format)

Data di Partenza (gg.mm.aaaa): ____
(as above)

Richiesta (Request / Notes): ____

This may or may not work, but it's worth a try. The problem with this is that you may receive your reply in Italian.

Good luck!

Thanks again. I will try all the suggestions. In Vernazza I must have tried 10 sites with no response except Maria who said she had no rooms. We just want a nice clean place to stay for a couple of nights. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I talked with a friend last night who goes to Italy every year and he is going to connect me with a friend of his in Florence to call the agriturismo in Tuscany. I think maybe the local person can get us a room.

that seems strange. i have always had good luck with timely responses. just persevere. are you trying Rick Steves suggestions? if so, you could let them know as well that you are not receiving replies. ciao.