I was lost with that analogy.

However, in Leon, Spain we went from 280 euros for two night to 180 euros for two night at the Abbey just by watching the cost on booking.com

I think whatever works for any person working the internet is all that's important.

Non-refundable reservations are a good reason to buy trip insurance.

This answer still does not answer the question. Plus still the wrong county!
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-8921028
The question is ***Booking.com - Would you opt for refundable or non-refundable reservations? ***
For the 3rd time I ask where on Booking.com does this occur?

Can you not read? The link in question says quite clearly: "non-refundable" with one price, and "free cancellation - pay later" with another price. And what difference does the country make? I have seen the same thing for pretty much every country I've visited recently.

Okay, one last time. Please read. This is in Venice Italy. Very very clearly states two prices for same room with free cancellation costing more.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/pesa...aaa85e711ddX12

I agree with 'thursdaysd' and 'ceezee'.

Out trip to Spain last September I always chose free cancellation and it cost more than the same non-refundable room.

But a few weeks from our trip, if the same room was available at the lower price, I cancelled our first reservation at no cost and made the new reservation.

Not sure what all the fuss is about. It was very easy to do.

Perhaps on a given day people are seeing different scenarios than what I have experienced.

However, I start researching 8 or 9 months out for our rooms and the way I explained it is the way I always see the listings on booking.com

at last....thank you for the illustration.

This is a non-issue for me. I do my research thoroughly, decide where I want to stay, book the cheapest rate I can find (which is usually the non-refundable rate), and that's it. I stop looking altogether once I've booked.

I have annual travel insurance so if a trip were to be cancelled for some unforseen reason, I'd have cover. And I wouldn't mess a host or hotelier about by changing my mind at the last minute or holding multiple options - I only book when I'm sure I want the accomodation in question.

My personal experience with trying to get refunds following cancelled hotel rooms, security deposit refunds etc is that they can be slow to come back into your account so the idea of saving a few quid by cancelling my room last minute and booking it at the new reduced rate doesn't appeal - I don't want to be scraping around for money on holiday because I've essentially paid for two rooms and am waiting for refund of the former. Also, I don't want to be spending every day on booking.com stressing about a nominal price drop or the addition of a new hotel that looks better than my first choice. Life is too short.

My personal experience with trying to get refunds following cancelled hotel rooms, security deposit refunds etc is that they can be slow to come back into your account so the idea of saving a few quid by cancelling my room last minute and booking it at the new reduced rate doesn't appeal - I don't want to be scraping around for money on holiday because I've essentially paid for two rooms and am waiting for refund of the former.>>

that's not IME how it generally works, RM67. if you book a room on the standard free cancellation terms, you don't actually pay until you check out, so there is no question of having to wait for a refund and [unless you want to] having 2 rooms booked at once. if you are using booking.com, you simply log on and use the 'cancellation" link - it takes about 5 seconds. I agree about not stressing and wasting time checking rates all the time - I do my research, get the best price that I can, and then book. but I do like the freedom that it gives me to book on free cancellation terms in case something crops up or i happen across a better deal. I rarely use the free cancellation option, but I like to know that I can if I want to .

My experience with booking.com when cancelling a reservation when I have paid for the first night, is the refund is immediate.

I've done both and the only time I had any trouble with the non-refundable bookings was when a couple of my traveling buddies had to back out from the trip only a couple of days before the departure...

Since you're traveling with your husband and you're pretty sure you won't be making any changes to the reservations, I'd say go ahead.

You might also want to check the Reviews list that belongs to the hotel you're booking, sometimes you can get some really good advice from people who have booked that specific hotel or even a specific room. I've heard of situations where the hotel manager refused to provide an invoice or change rooms, but as long as you do your research and everything comes out OK nothing should go wrong.

Travel safe! :-)

On booking.com, if you make a refundable reservation, you usually don't pay anything until you check out. There's no wait for a refund.

I have used booking.com for European hotels a number of times.
Always refundable. I keep checking the rates though and if a better refundable rate pops up
it takes a minute to cancel. I prefer to pay when leaving the hotel than at the time of booking
(which is the case with some hotels if the rate is non-ref.)
A few days before the trip one could always cancel the refundable and book
a better non- refundable rate.
I have travel insurance but I am not sure if it would cover the total cost of non- refundable rate.
Rather safe than sorry.

I have used booking.com for European hotels a number of times.
Always refundable. I keep checking the rates though and if a better refundable rate pops up
it takes a minute to cancel. I prefer to pay when leaving the hotel than at the time of booking
(which is the case with some hotels if the rate is prepaid)
A few days before the trip one could always cancel the refundable and book
a better non- refundable rate.
I have travel insurance but I am not sure if it would cover the total cost of non- refundable rate.
Rather safe than sorry.

sorry...