rholt

Leaving for Italy in 3 weeks. I made the hotel reservations (Venice/Siena/Rome) months ago. Should I reconfirm all those reservations? Am I being parinoid?

jent103

I'm leaving in about two months and made our reservations months ago too. I'm planning to email all of them and make sure we're still on the books before we leave. So clearly, I don't think you're being paranoid.

(I haven't been to Italy in about ten years, but I did this in the UK/Ireland a few years ago and all the owners seemed happy to respond to me.)

hetismij

I've never done this, and never had a problem.

sacc

I always do this -- it takes very little effort and gives me some piece of mind. I don't think it's being paranoid, just prudent.

sacc

BTW, I've not ever had a problem with hotels but last year there had been a mixup with my car rental booking -- which I discovered when I reconfirmed the booking a few weeks before my trip.

Since I rent automatics (which are hard to find in Italy) I'm so glad that I discovered the problem BEFORE I showed up at the Avis counter in Arezzo expecting to pick up my car. It would have been a major hassle and probably wasted a few days to try and get another automatic brought in.

Reconfiming reservations is easy and worth it.

mjknycmjk

I always carry a print out of my hotel confirmation with the confirmation number (if there is one). That should give you piece of mind.

Scootoir

I send an email a few days prior to departure from home then during the trip just prior to arrival at destinations further along in my trip. I include a confirmation number if any and say how we are looking forward to our stay. I usually book directly and stay in smaller hotels and inns so I've begun a bit of a relationship with the owner/manager prior to arrival.

We had family staying in 3 different hotels in the same neighborhood in Paris a few years ago. Two of us booked ourselves and made contact again before departing. One group had their travel agent book, made no personal contact and when they arrived discovered their rooms had been given away when they arrived late. They were found rooms at a sister hotel in the suburbs. Not the way to start a long-awaited trip.

thursdaysd

I basically do the same as Scootoir. I send back the last email from the hotel (or the email from the booking agency if I used one), saying that I'm reconfirming and giving my expected arrival time. If something's wrong I like to know in time to fix it - I once realized I had booked for the wrong month when doing this, and was able to get that sorted out.

lincasanova

I reconfirmed my last reservation in a 4* hotel in London the day before AND the morning of, after a few earlier emails asking other tidbits.. and our room was STILL given away the first night.

lincasanova

hit post too soon.. so yes, I do it.. but in this case it didn't help much with their last minute overbooking. We and four other rooms were the last to arrive and were sent away to another place by taxi.

Dayenu

ALWAYS reconfirm, doesn't matter how it was made.

Once the reservation was made on-line, they faxed my info to the hotel... and this is where the screw-up happened (pardon my language ). I was lucky it took only one more fax to resolve.

kja

I also reconfirm shortly before with information about my likely arrival time.

Byrd

I always reconfirm, too.

Actually, I email the hotels several time, usually asking questions(does the room have a hair dryer? Can you recommend any restaurants in the neighborhood? Can you suggest transportation from the airport? etc.)

I think it's nice to keep in touch, and make sure they won't be surprised to see us!

Byrd

cynthia_booker

Like the others above, I always re-confirm. Takes just a minute and it keeps the hotel and me comfortable with the arrangements.
At this point, I always re-state anything specific that I have requested, such as a street view or not, wi-fi availability, and the price if I have requested and been given a discount, etc.

nytraveler

We don;t reconfirm hotels or car - but do recheck flights - which can be moved with no notice. Have never had a problem - but it's always possible. If you're more comfortable - then do reconfirm.

greg

It depends on how one frames the issue as well the experiences with past reservations.

For those who had not had reservation mishaps or have good alternatives, such as those who always travel off seasons, it is framed as a comfort issue. I focus on the basis of recommendations and not necessarily the recommendation itself.

For those with past problems, the issue is seen as a statistical possibility. I am in this camp even before the last mishap. I had a written confirmation from a booking site, but stunned to find when I confirmed that the hotel had no record of my reservation. I reconfirmed enough in advance that they still had the type of room I wanted.