I thought I would pass along what happened to me recently to give those of us traveling to Europe soon some hope of some price breaks due to the dollar's decline. Six months ago I booked a florence hotel and reserved two rooms. With the rise of the Euro, these hotel rooms were no longer in my budget so I emailed the hotel saying I had to cancel my reservation because of budget concerns due to the decline of the dollar. The hotel emailed backing asking me not to cancel and offered me a 25% discount on the previously agreed upon price. The hotel owner said the dollar's decline was really hurting Europe because people were cancelling their trips. I, of course, took the hotel up on its offer and thanked him for his generousity.

Has anyone experienced this with any Parisian hotels? I know that I have checked with some hotels in Paris and replied that their offers were more than our budget but never got any lower offers from them. Maybe there's more of a demand for rooms in Paris than in Florence or your hotel was being very considerate to you and also did not want to lose your business.

Hey, that's great, itsv.

francophile, I just recently read (maybe in the NYTimes) that some Parisian hotels are lowering their prices.

Scarlett, can you recall what hotels are lowering their rates? Thanks.

Yes, it is called supply and demand. I would not book without asking for a discount--it always pays to ask.

I booked a Greece trip in January (for July 10-23) with Fantasy Travel and got a fixed price in Euro. I paid 1/3rd down in Januuary, so maybe I got a break because the dollar has slid since?

Mike,yes, you would get break on the 1/3; too bad they didn't give you a fixed price in dollars!

I hope you are pleased with Fantasy Travel; we used them a few years ago and were very happy. Lovely accommodations, and especially nice to have someone holding a sign with your name on it when you get off the ferry! Have fun!

Hi Grandmere,

Yes, I've been very impressed with Fantasy Travel (workong with Patra)and look forward to Greece (Athens, Mykonos, Naxos, Santorini 7/10-21). I've read a lot of your posts, thanks also.

Mike