Autumn without reservations
May 3rd, 2017, 01:01 PM
#22
For those who don't know, that's when the landlord locks the pub doors as per the law but the local regulars continue on in the pub having another drink or two. I felt quite included.>>
yeh, as an Aussie I bet you did. They probably still talk about the night the Aussie joined in their lock in.
but it's a good idea, Peter - I hope you haven't patented it!
yeh, as an Aussie I bet you did. They probably still talk about the night the Aussie joined in their lock in.
but it's a good idea, Peter - I hope you haven't patented it!
May 3rd, 2017, 02:13 PM
#23
annhig: >>yeh, as an Aussie I bet you did. They probably still talk about the night the Aussie joined in their lock in.
but it's a good idea, Peter - I hope you haven't patented it!<<
I know it is hard to keep the players straight
-- but Peter_S_Aus was quoting a post by by dogeared (who is Canadian - and talks out both sides of his mouth 
)
but it's a good idea, Peter - I hope you haven't patented it!<<
I know it is hard to keep the players straight
-- but Peter_S_Aus was quoting a post by by dogeared (who is Canadian - and talks out both sides of his mouth )
May 4th, 2017, 12:30 AM
#25
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<i> The question is whether it is feasible to wing it </i>
If one interprets feasible as, would it ever be possible at all, then of course it is, since slmost nothing in life is impossible. But the OP proceeded to stipulate criteria along the lines of 'clean and comfortable' which for some reason, is frequently assumed to be easy to produce and thus easy to find.
However, much of Italy was built before the invention of the car or the motor scooter, to say nothing of increased population and stress on sewers, etc.
So if one is truly not fussy, one would accept a ground floor room with single glazed, poorly fitting windows that front on a major street in Florence. Rooms in such a building would not be in high demand and thus more likely to be rented last minute. But it would not meet many people's standards of comfortable, even if they were willing to accept a room that was completely plain in other respects.
The maid may have scrubbed the bathroom, but if the drains have not been updated to meet modern codes, the place has a risk of being smelly and thus appear unclean.
In other words, getting a room to be clean and comfortable can take money and ingenuity. Nothing to do with the decor.
The unarticulated assumption is also that they want their party of three housed in the same hotel, if not the same room. The person who pointed out that the probability of finding this arrangement easily in a part of the world where hotel rooms are apt to be small wasn't incorrect to do so.
As for the story of going for a drink, this is the era of airbnb. Social media, not bar media, fills desirable apartments so that they are much less likely to be vacant last minute than they used to be.
If one interprets feasible as, would it ever be possible at all, then of course it is, since slmost nothing in life is impossible. But the OP proceeded to stipulate criteria along the lines of 'clean and comfortable' which for some reason, is frequently assumed to be easy to produce and thus easy to find.
However, much of Italy was built before the invention of the car or the motor scooter, to say nothing of increased population and stress on sewers, etc.
So if one is truly not fussy, one would accept a ground floor room with single glazed, poorly fitting windows that front on a major street in Florence. Rooms in such a building would not be in high demand and thus more likely to be rented last minute. But it would not meet many people's standards of comfortable, even if they were willing to accept a room that was completely plain in other respects.
The maid may have scrubbed the bathroom, but if the drains have not been updated to meet modern codes, the place has a risk of being smelly and thus appear unclean.
In other words, getting a room to be clean and comfortable can take money and ingenuity. Nothing to do with the decor.
The unarticulated assumption is also that they want their party of three housed in the same hotel, if not the same room. The person who pointed out that the probability of finding this arrangement easily in a part of the world where hotel rooms are apt to be small wasn't incorrect to do so.
As for the story of going for a drink, this is the era of airbnb. Social media, not bar media, fills desirable apartments so that they are much less likely to be vacant last minute than they used to be.
May 4th, 2017, 12:34 AM
#26
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(preview function still not working)
So the probability of finding something is very dependent on the individual's or their party's standards of 'clean and comfortable' as is the exact time of year (as janisj and annhig have pointed out) and whether any competing activities (festivals, etc.) happen to be in town.
Said probability, therefore, is not easy, in fact almost impossible, to estimate with any degree of accuracy, as a 'one size fits all' matter for the general population of travelers.
So the probability of finding something is very dependent on the individual's or their party's standards of 'clean and comfortable' as is the exact time of year (as janisj and annhig have pointed out) and whether any competing activities (festivals, etc.) happen to be in town.
Said probability, therefore, is not easy, in fact almost impossible, to estimate with any degree of accuracy, as a 'one size fits all' matter for the general population of travelers.
May 4th, 2017, 03:26 AM
#27
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St. Cirq, wrote, "And the very same goes for your opinions."
I agree with everyone having the right to an opinion, but let's be clear on what was asked and what was answered. The question was is it feasible to which the answer is either yes or no. I answered yes, citing the fact (not an opinion) that I do it most of the time.
If someone wants to answer no, then I'd like to see them cite facts as to how they can show it is not feasible, in terms of facts, not opinions.
That means, you would have to say that you had tried to do it say 10 times and failed to find an acceptable room; in an acceptable amount of time; at an acceptable price; in an acceptable location, etc.
So where I am saying yes based on my factual experience, what I am reading in response is people saying no based on opinions, not facts.
Now with Sue_xx_yy,'s latest response, we are getting into finding reasons why it won't work like, having poor windows or maybe the plumbing will smell. That's called 'grasping for straws'. Am I and the OP supposed to believe that booking on a third party website in advance will avoid that happening? I would suggest that I am far more likely to avoid that if in fact I rent the room when I see it! It is when relying on a picture on a booking site that things like that are far more likely to occur.
StCirq tries to suggest that I am saying someone should sleep in a bar with their 3 year old. "or sleep in a bar with my 3-year-old. NOT!" That's taking a comment out of context and then trying to say it was meant as a 'universal' answer. Hardly a sophisticated debating tactic. Is anyone really stupid enough to think I would suggest you sleep in a bar with your 3 year old? I slept in the pub when I was on my own obviously.
As I wrote in response to yestravel, there is no secret method that applies in every situation to find a room. It depends on the situation at the time. I would not expect to find a room while sitting having a glass of wine in a restaurant, in a major city for example. That is a method that works in small towns/villages.
I don't know why whenever this topic of planning vs. winging comes up, planners feel this need to try and say you can't wing it. I as a 'winger' feel no need to try and say you can't plan it. I am perfectly happy to accept that you can do either. It is simply a matter of which do you prefer as an individual. I'm not trying to take away your security blanket from you all.
I agree with everyone having the right to an opinion, but let's be clear on what was asked and what was answered. The question was is it feasible to which the answer is either yes or no. I answered yes, citing the fact (not an opinion) that I do it most of the time.
If someone wants to answer no, then I'd like to see them cite facts as to how they can show it is not feasible, in terms of facts, not opinions.
That means, you would have to say that you had tried to do it say 10 times and failed to find an acceptable room; in an acceptable amount of time; at an acceptable price; in an acceptable location, etc.
So where I am saying yes based on my factual experience, what I am reading in response is people saying no based on opinions, not facts.
Now with Sue_xx_yy,'s latest response, we are getting into finding reasons why it won't work like, having poor windows or maybe the plumbing will smell. That's called 'grasping for straws'. Am I and the OP supposed to believe that booking on a third party website in advance will avoid that happening? I would suggest that I am far more likely to avoid that if in fact I rent the room when I see it! It is when relying on a picture on a booking site that things like that are far more likely to occur.
StCirq tries to suggest that I am saying someone should sleep in a bar with their 3 year old. "or sleep in a bar with my 3-year-old. NOT!" That's taking a comment out of context and then trying to say it was meant as a 'universal' answer. Hardly a sophisticated debating tactic. Is anyone really stupid enough to think I would suggest you sleep in a bar with your 3 year old? I slept in the pub when I was on my own obviously.
As I wrote in response to yestravel, there is no secret method that applies in every situation to find a room. It depends on the situation at the time. I would not expect to find a room while sitting having a glass of wine in a restaurant, in a major city for example. That is a method that works in small towns/villages.
I don't know why whenever this topic of planning vs. winging comes up, planners feel this need to try and say you can't wing it. I as a 'winger' feel no need to try and say you can't plan it. I am perfectly happy to accept that you can do either. It is simply a matter of which do you prefer as an individual. I'm not trying to take away your security blanket from you all.
May 4th, 2017, 04:57 AM
#29
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I always used to wing it. I stopped after a trip to Spain, about ten years ago, when I spent hours trying to find a room in Salamanca.
On an even earlier trip, traveling with my two young daughters, I asked the owner of a restaurant (in Segovia) if she knew of a room for several nights for the three of us. She rented rooms herself, and gave us the key and the address. To get to the room, we had to go to the top floor of a building, exit onto the roof, and walk across to the adjacent building. The room was in an apartment, and the door to the room didn't lock. After a few hours, the other occupants of the apartment returned. They were all temp workers, apparently construction workers. When I sat on the toilet, something was dripping on my head. After that, I began using guide books or tourist offices in the train station to find rooms.
Tourist offices used to be great resources for finding rooms. Back in the old days, I've arrived late in the day, in high season, in Paris and London and found a decent room on the spot. I've also done this in China. However, the internet has practically killed these tourist offices. Proprietors don't list with them any more. It's easier to list with booking.com or hotels.com.
On an even earlier trip, traveling with my two young daughters, I asked the owner of a restaurant (in Segovia) if she knew of a room for several nights for the three of us. She rented rooms herself, and gave us the key and the address. To get to the room, we had to go to the top floor of a building, exit onto the roof, and walk across to the adjacent building. The room was in an apartment, and the door to the room didn't lock. After a few hours, the other occupants of the apartment returned. They were all temp workers, apparently construction workers. When I sat on the toilet, something was dripping on my head. After that, I began using guide books or tourist offices in the train station to find rooms.
Tourist offices used to be great resources for finding rooms. Back in the old days, I've arrived late in the day, in high season, in Paris and London and found a decent room on the spot. I've also done this in China. However, the internet has practically killed these tourist offices. Proprietors don't list with them any more. It's easier to list with booking.com or hotels.com.
May 4th, 2017, 09:19 AM
#31
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Tourist offices in Italy will help you find a room. For many, when they are shut, there is a list of rooms with telephone numbers posted in the window.
There is a tourist office in almost every Italian town I've ever been in. They are called Pro Loco offices.
There is a tourist office in almost every Italian town I've ever been in. They are called Pro Loco offices.
May 4th, 2017, 10:42 AM
#32
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The Pro Loco in most towns doesn't run the tourist office. The Pro Loco is a volunteer group that promotes the town. The tourist office is usually run by the comune, and has paid employees. In some towns, the tourist office may be manned by Pro Loco volunteers, and in very small towns there may be no tourist office at all, and the Pro Loco will will the vacuum. Usually what they do is organize festivals, Christmas festivities, sporting events (such as marathons or fun runs), and the like. They also promote the local wines and other produce, and sometimes offer tours of the town.
The tourist office in our town will help you find a room, but I'm talking about the big tourist offices that used to exist in train stations and at airports, and that could actually reserve a room for you, with hundreds of listings. That really is a thing of the past.
I am a bit perplexed by the jeremiad above. I'm the one who first mentioned a "third-party booking site", but I mentioned it as a resource that would probably succeed in finding you a last-minute room if you wanted to wing it. It's certainly better than trying to find rooms in the local bar.
The tourist office in our town will help you find a room, but I'm talking about the big tourist offices that used to exist in train stations and at airports, and that could actually reserve a room for you, with hundreds of listings. That really is a thing of the past.
I am a bit perplexed by the jeremiad above. I'm the one who first mentioned a "third-party booking site", but I mentioned it as a resource that would probably succeed in finding you a last-minute room if you wanted to wing it. It's certainly better than trying to find rooms in the local bar.
