DeborahAnn

We leave next week for a trip to Germany that I have been planning since January. Most of our lodgings are B&B's in tourist areas and small hotels in the cities that I booked months ago through booking.com with no fee and that have liberal cancellation policies.

I made one reservation for a vineyard stay in the Moselle area, no credit card accepted and cash payment for our stay. The reservation was done entirely online emailing the owner. This is the reservation I canceled after not receiving an email confirmation after two emails sent a week apart beginning in April, a month before our arrival date. I then sent an email telling them that because they didn't respond to my emails seeking confirmation we were changing our reservation to a place that had responded promptly to my inquiry for alternative accommodations.

I lost confidence in the professionalism of this business so rather than send them an ultimatum that I would cancel unless I received a response, my email stated I was canceling our stay.

I haven't heard anything from the owner even after I sent the email canceling. I'm wondering, belatedly I admit, if I was remiss in not doing more to confirm my reservation before I canceled it.

I have been relying more on the internet for my international reservations rather than making phone calls like I did in the past. In the many times I've been to Europe, I've never had this happen before and that is why I'm wondering if I put enough effort into contacting the business should this ever happen again to me. Thanks for any comments, Deborah.

crckwc1

DeborahAnn, You sound like a lovely and conscientious person. It sounds to me like you gave the place every opportunity to respond. They didn't. You cancelled. I wouldn't worry one minute about this. There's no money, no credit card involved, so neither you nor the hotel will suffer. Don't give it another thought and enjoy your trip.
k

crckwc1

---another thought -- sometimes small lodging places, if they have no rooms available, just ignore the request. I'm guessing this might be what happened. Poor business dealings, to be sure, but not unheard of.
k

janisj

when I don't get a reply - and I want to stay there or need some sort of info - I always phone. (If it is just a general inquiry or not urgent --I don't bother.)

There are lots of reasons e-mails can go astray - server down; it being caught in a spam filter; the place uses an off site web master to handle e-mails (more common than one might suppose); etc.

Whether you did 'enough' depends on how badly you wanted to stay there.

lincasanova

Perhaps give them a call from your first place, with the help of the receptionist at your hotel confirming the cancellation if you are still concerned.

Do be careful with the bookings that have free cancellation. I fortunately realized I was charged fro one night at a SA B+B, even though I had cancelled and even though it was free cancellation. Luckily www.booking.com settled it quickly.

DeborahAnn

Thanks for the helpful comments and suggestions.

Janisj, you are right about whether I really wanted to stay there afterall. The communication with the owner was slow throughout my booking process which I attributed to being a small business so having no response to any of my emails confirmed my decision. I used the same email address for all my communications with them including the ones that actually got me booked with them. How likely is it that all three of my last communications went into the spam file or that their server messed up the the same emails?

crckwc1--now you have me wondering if they were "happy" I decided not to stay there

lina, I've been very happy with all my transactions with booking.com--I think I was using them before they became part of the priceline organization. I do save my communications for months after my return when I make a reservation change for the same reason you encountered.

Thanks again for the comments. Deborah

annhig

hi deborah - yes, you've done all you can. [and more!]

and as they haven't got your c/card details, it seems to me you've no cause to worry.

Gute Reise!