I've never done anything different to email Europe but it's my understanding that some ISPs are not readily recognized and the email may go into a spam folder and not be seen. If you have gmail or hotmail or yahoo you should not have a problem.

If you don't have a gmail account why not set one up.

Nothing special technically. But I have seen differences culturally. I felt, especially corresponding to France, that they seem to wait until they can find someone who can respond to you in good English or none at all. Germans seem to respond quickly even when the word order is awkward. If you want a reply quickly, call by phone.

Just like writing a letter and mailing it, if it's a valid address it will go to the email account. Whether it's opened, read or replied to, one never knows for sure. If it's an invalid address it will be bounced back to you as a failure.

There's nothing "special" you have to do when emailing overseas.

I think it's a cultural difference - not a technical one.

Our company has offices all over the world and they are perfectly responsive to email. But when talking to a few of them they mentioned that small businesses may not as email savvy - or see an immediate response as necessary. If you only get a couple of emails a week - it's a whole lot different than if it's the center of your business and you're dealing with 250 or 300 per day as we are. (So for smaller inns or B&Bs in europe - the pattern may just be different.)

<<they said if your server is not set up correctly they won't get the email.>>

That sounds totally bogus. I've never had a problem emailing anywhere in Europe. But getting a response back is often problematic because many French enterprises just don't tend to rely on email the way we do. They consider it a nuisance, just like they used to ignore faxes, which they still do.

If you got an email reply from ParisBestLoddge, they got your email, no?

Pick up the phone and call them. I never understand why people just don't do this, as it's the simplest, most direct way of doing business with people like this, and you get to ask and get responses to questions.

adrienne - I get tons of spam from both gmail and hotmail.

I have them permanently blocked.

I'd like to permanently block yahoo, but I get too many legitimate emails through them....

That's why I wouldn't set one up.

Having worked for global US companies most of my working life and being based in Europe, they are definitely cultural differences in email etiquette. Some emails from the US can be very direct and can be one liners which can rub people up the wrong way. That could be one reason. No salutation, no thank you, no please no nothing. (That could just be my company).

Another is that the recipient might not understand enough English to reply.

>>Pick up the phone and call them. I never understand why people just don't do this<< Me neither. It appears that some prefer huge email trails rather than picking up the phone & sorting the issue right away. It's another cultural difference plus dialling international seems to be present issues for some Americans. I'm always getting this " I don't know how to dial international" so I end up telling them how to call me. The value of personal contact is not always understood.

It could also be that they are closed for the season or not yet accepting reservations fir the period you are travelling and will respond when they open again or start taking reservations.

RGT gets "tons of spam from both gmail and hotmail. I have them permanently blocked."

I get almost no spam and I don't block either of these. In fact, if I blocked gmail, I would never get anything from my wife or many of my friends.

There is something else going on in the rastaguytoday's email settings or online activities that is leading to the spam.

I think lack of response to email is indeed a cultural thing, perhaps generational. People who are used to texting expect responses almost in real time. Not everyone has that mindset. Also, a message sent at a convenient time on the US East Coast arrives in the middle of the night in Paris.

On telephoning: we don't have a landline because we are seldom in one place for very long. We never answer calls to our mobiles that come in as "Restricted" or 'Unauthorized'. If it is legitimate, the caller will leave a message. If you have your number blocked, the same thing may be happening at the other end.

Rastaguytoday - you totally missed my point.

adrienne : You asked ``why not set one up''. Rastaguy didn't miss your point, he was answering your question.

Have you read the gmail privacy policy? (We only collect personal data that you give us, and your email contents, and your usage history, and information from pixel tags, and etc. We only use it and share it so we can serve you better (with advertising).) Like rastaguy, I also decline to set up a google account.

I have had problems when emailing to the U.S. in that my British ISP has had a block put on it by the U.S. ISP receiving the message. It could be that the European e-mail is rejected and the e-mail sender then has no way of contacting you.

>>>Odin on Feb 17, 13 at 6:06am
Another is that the recipient might not understand enough English to reply.
>>Pick up the phone and call them. I never understand why people just don't do this<< Me neither. It appears that some prefer huge email trails rather than picking up the phone & sorting the issue right away. It's another cultural difference plus dialling international seems to be present issues for some Americans. <<<<

If they don't know enough English to respond to an e-mail, they are not going to know enough English to chat on the phone.

I have the best results with Google mail. My other mail providers tend to block e-mails outside the US before it ever reaches my spam folder. G-mail doesn't do this for people I've e-mailed. I don't get a lot of spam on my G-mail. I have an account I only use for travel and not other personal things.

I dealt with Paris Best lodge using hotmail with no problems. Eric has good english skills as did my landlord (also named Eric). I am wondering if they are trying to tell you to put their email address into your contact list so that their messages will not go to your junk mail. We had an excellent experience with this company.

Thank you for all your replies. I did start receiving some replies, so feel much better. I'm not sure why it seems like such a big deal to call, but I think part of it is I'm worried they won't understand me speaking English. I know same problem with email, but I don't have to hear any annoyance in their voice.