I just heard about these. Has anyone used them? Any problems when you reserve at their web site-i.e. when you arrive at the hotel? The web site says that you can pick up the check books at the hotel. Does this really work? Do you land up with the worst room in the hotel? I'm a little worried about a last moment problem.

Hi,

I have used this many times, I used to buy the vouchers at travel agencies here in Spain and reserve over the phone with their reservations number, but since they got the website I have switched to booking online, it's much easier. I have never had to get the vouchers at the hotel because I've always been able to buy them at the travel agencies, but you can always confirm with the hotel by phone in a few days to make sure everything is ok.

The quality of the rooms depends on how full the hotel is, normally. For me, it always works better if I contact the hotel personally to request a nice room after the reservation has been made.

Another good thing about this system is their cancelation policy, which is until 6pm the day of arrival, which gives you a lot of flexibility when you are visiting several cities and have change of plans enroute. All you have to do is call the hotel to cancel.

Anyway, they are usually nice hotels and the standard rooms have always been fine, and you can't beat the price. Just remember you will have to pay the 7% tax upon departure at the hotel.

Olga, thank you for the information.

I too have been considering purchasing these coupons for a trip to Spain in November. One thing I was wondering about is since you have to purchase at least 5 coupons, and we only need hotels for 4 nights (are staying in time-shares for 2 weeks), if I have a coupon left over, will I be able to use it in the future, or does it have to be used within a certain time?

Also, if I reserve and have to make changes, are there usually hotels open or do they get booked up quickly?

How long in advance do you usually make the reservations?

We have used them in Spain in 2001. We bought them through our travel agent who apparently got them through the Petrabax Travel. They gave us a great rate with these coupons. However, you have to make sure that you keep them in the safe place because anyone can use them if they find them. Not all hotels accept them but if you have found a hotel that does, by all means, use them.

Artlover,

You can reserve online with a credit card guarantee, then buy the coupons in a travel agency when you get to Spain, there are many of them that sell them one by one. Even if you show up at your first hotel without the coupons, the worst case scenario us they jack up your rate and ask for your credit card until you produce the vouchers, when would change to your Bancotel rate.

The vouchers are valid for a year, from April 1 to March 31.

Generally, I book as early as possible to get a good hotel since the cancelation policy is so lenient. In November, lots of cities have conventions and they may ran out of rooms quick.

I sometimes use a Bancotel reservation as backup while I research hotels in depth or wait for last minute specials.

similar questions: Can I book without having vouchers in hand AND without credit card guarantee? I still need to finalize other travel arrangements (flights, train) but I'd feel better about those (some non-refundable) if I know I could book a hotel that's fully cancellable. Of course I'll cancel any that I know I don't need.

I'm sure the answer is somewhere on the Bancotel site, but I 'd appreciate a quick answer if anyone has one--sometimes you can't get much info on a website until you go through the process of registering, etc.

also. can anyone give me the name of a specific agency in Cordoba (my first stop) where I can buy the vouchers and if it possible to buy less than a whole book there.
Thank YOu!

You can make the reservations on Bancotel's website without having the vouchers in hand, but you must secure the reservation with a credit card. But, you can cancel the reservation at anytime but I seem to recall no later than 24 hours prior to arrival. Save your confirmation when booking - it comes via email. If you cancel, you'll need to input the confirmation number. But, if you don't have it, it isn't a problem as you can pull up a screen that will show you all of your reservations and confirmation numbers. One thing, you cannot double book. The system will not allow it. For example, if you have a reservation in Hotel A from September 1 to September 5, you cannot make a reservation in another hotel for all or the same dates unless you use a second registered name. This prevents double-booking.

Registering is free, and you'll easily get the hang of the site.

Also check www.madridman.com - sometimes people are either selling leftover vouchers from a previous trip. Sometimes you can buy the voucher(s) from a fellow traveller for less than the face value of $50 each. In fact, I bought all of my vouchers in 1s, 2s, and 3s that way, and paid an average of $35 per night for them.

Thank you , Leslie.

I guess it's just like booking any other cancellable hotel reservation--most of them do require credit card holds these days. As long as the cancellation policy is so lenient, I won't worry and this way I'll have some guaranteed reservations. I was also wondering about "double booking" -- not that I was planning on doing it myself

One more question:
Once you book through Bancotel.com. does the individual hotel actually have your reservation in its system? So if I want to contact the hotel directly and make a room type (or other) request, they will have an actual reservation to attach the info too? That might sound strange, but with some discount programs I've used, they don't send the customer info to hotel right away, maybe only a day or so in advance

In response to Alex regarding info being at the hotel. I used the vouchers for a trip in Dec. '02 (purchased through
ATRAPALO.com). You should be able to contact the hotel in advance regarding your reservation. One hotel I used did not have my information regarding the vouchers (but my reservation was there). I had my confirmation email, and the hotel happily accepted it, and released my vouchers.

Hello all.
My wife and I used bancotel vouchers for Spain and Portugal in 2005. We bought the vouchers and made all the reservations through a website called discount25.com,which unfortunately no longer exists. The whole thing was great. We stayed at 5 start hotels for almost %60 off. Part of our vouchers were UPS-ed to us in the States and part werer delivered to our hotels. Either way was very convinient. We are planning a trip to France and Italy in Sept. however, I am not having much luck with the website bancotel.com.Any suggestions????