Has anyone used venere.com? Are the prices listed on the website include all costs like tax or any other charges? I just don't want to think I got a great rate here and then get over there and there are all these hidden fees. Plus I thought breakfast was always included?

This is what their customer service response was to me - so I am even more confused....Dear madam,

Thank you for using Venere - Internet Hotel Reservation.

All rates are furnished by hotel properties directly into the Venere.com system and are per room and per night and unless different specifications on property webpages, the rooms are meant in only-bed basis, without any meal. The prices include taxes, however in some countries, a local tax might be charged on top of the room rate and/or a service charge may be included. The amount of this tax is subject to constant change and can only be indicated approximately.

Please feel free to contact me with any future questions or concerns.

Yours sincerely,

There was this recent thread: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34576886

I have seen quite a transformation in the website venere.com (I first learned it as a site I accessed as www.italyhotel.com about 7 years ago).

I suspect that this language reflects the fact that they now represent so many (more) in so many more countries. I think they make reservations. They do not reflect a <i><b>chain</b></i> of hotels, and there are no universal policies at these hotels. While most include breakfast, certainly not every hotel (particularly in France, just to name one example) does.

I think that many Europeans might wonder if a rate quote is with or without &quot;half board&quot; or &quot;full board&quot; - - this language would clarify that neither is included in the rate quote.

In short, venere (as far as I know) is a convenience to you (paid for by hotels) that makes communication with the hotel easier for you. Now, any question you have about the policies of the hotel(s) where you have (a) reservation(s)... you should address to the hotel.

Best wishes,

Rex

Hi bp,

Good advice from Rex.

My experience has been that the price quoted by Venere was the price I paid, inclusive of VAT.

At some hotels you will find a local tax of &lt;1E/day.

I booked the San Domeinco hotel in Urbino through venere.com last year, room only, &amp; it all seemed very efficient. The fact that it was room only (but including VAT) was clearly stated at all times. So we paid extra for breakfast + local tax (buttons).

I've used them a few times now, for Budapest as well as several places in Italy and had no problems at all. In each case it was clear where breakfast was included and we did not get any extra unexpected charges.

We had a good experience w/them booking in Italy in 2000. Now I would investigate to be sure the hotel did not offer its own direct website for booking before going thru venere. But we had no complaints about any aspect of using venere.

I have found that they are more expensive than contacting the hotel itself. I use them to find hotels and then search for their website. I feel better contacting the hotels themselves because you can contact them and ask for museum reservations, restaurant reservations and you can have a more personal relationship with them.

I used Venere.com to reserve our hotel in Paris last year simply because when I contacted the hotel direct the room rate was around 220 euros and we got it for 174 euros on Venere.

Lovely website with several hotel options to investigate which should have rooms available in your general price range.Very Helpful.Highly recommended.

I've used them once for a B&amp;B in Venice. On arrival the owner told us that next time we should phone him directly to get a better rate. He prefers to give a better rate to his clients rather than to pay a commission to venere.com.

Thank you all very much for the good information.

I tried finding the website for both of these hotels and I have not had any luck.

Venice - Locanda Antica Venezia anyone know of this hotel or a website?

Bologna - University Hotel

Thanks again!

I found that venere.com was helpful in sussing out a hotel - as was romeby.com and florenceby.com however, I was able to make a better deal by contacting the hotel directly via the hotel's website.

Sometimes Venere is cheaper than the hotel itself, and sometimes it's more expensive.

If you book a hotel through any third party (Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, whatever), just contact the hotel a few days later to ensure your booking went through. Very easy.

@ bptraveler
http://www.anticavenezia.com/
http://university.hotel-bologna.net/

bptraveler - I recommend Locanda Antica Venezia, if you search on here, you'll find what I thought of it and I also wrote a recent review on Venere. Do let me know if you manage to get it cheaper direct with the hotel.

Thank you everyone for all your help. I did contact both hotels and their rates were the exact same as Venere, thought maybe they would want to save the commission to Venere but apparently now since I mentioned venere to them.

&lt;&lt;He prefers to give a better rate to his clients rather than to pay a commission to venere.com&gt;&gt;

Not to be argumentative, Myriam... but this guy may not do well in business, in the long run. How many customers will he get over time by the &quot;word of mouth&quot; from clients who got a discount from him? versus how many guests will he get from venere.com - - there's no comparison.

This phenomenon seems to happen, to some extent with self-catering accommodations. I have been impressed with those property owners who profess (and live by) serious loyalty to the agencies who list their properties and keep their property full more weeks a year than the &quot;word of mouth&quot; guy. I'd rather rent from someone who is renting 28 weeks a year, has rare vacant weeks, is making handsome money, and generating the means to keep the place up in top shape... than the guy who thinks that the key to profitability is to &quot;keep expenses down&quot;.

Just for your information, Rex, the place was in top shape and brandnew. That could have been the reason why the man wanted to promote his little business (only 5 rooms) the way he did to us.

I personnaly like the reviews aklthough sometimes wading through them is difficult. But it does give you heads up on potential problems. Whether you book through them or not should be purely a matter of price, I'd think. Just one more tool in the box when hunting for a hotel.

Your experience, Myriam is a reason that I tried not to sound <i><b>too</b></i> dogmatic in my first sentence:

&lt;&lt;but this guy <b><i>may not</i></b> do well in business&gt;&gt;... realizing that the generalization can be trumped by specific circumstances.

As much as anything, I was trying to convey a defense for those (especially self-catering property owners) who will NOT offer a discount for &quot;going around&quot; the agency.