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hotel reservations in Switzerland in June?

hotel reservations in Switzerland in June?

Old Dec 17th, 2017, 09:57 AM
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hotel reservations in Switzerland in June?

We always make hotel reservations in advance -- it's actually a part of the trip planning research I enjoy. But I'm thinking we might want to "wing it" if we travel around Switzerland in mid to late June. We usually stay in 3 star or maybe 4 star hotels. I sense that June is not the busiest season; do you think we'd be ok to not make hotel resv. in advance? Thinking about: Zurich, Lucern, Bern, Grindelwald, Montreux or Geneva. Thanks for your help.
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 10:24 AM
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If September is similar to June then I have traveled Switzerland a lot then and always winged it - no problem except once in Interlaken for Jungfrau Marathon where I had to scramble. Train stations used to at least have hotel boards with vacancies indicated and a free phone to call. Always worked for me.

That said you can probably get better deals via various discount sites than from hotels directly. Look for hotels with liberal cancellation policies like a day before.
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 12:47 PM
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There is absolutely no problem in June.
Good Geneva hotels may get fully booked if there is a important international conference. But there is nothing planned for June.
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 12:48 PM
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Thinking about: Zurich, Lucern, Bern, Grindelwald, Montreux or Geneva.>

Just a note about trains if going to most of those cities a Swiss Travel Pass will be golden and can use it on lake boats in lakes fronting many of them. Buses and city transports too. Probably know about trains from research but if not check www.sbb/ch - Swiss Railways official site; www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. If not going by train fine for cities though can't use in Grindelwald area.
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 12:51 PM
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And neckervd is a local Swiss - who knows of what he/she speaks - take it as gospel IMO.

neckervd -do train stations still have hotel boards or with the internet bookings has that gone by the wayside (presuming few folks turn up sans reservations these days)?
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 02:55 PM
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Thanks for your help!
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Old Dec 17th, 2017, 05:20 PM
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With all due deference to neckervd, I think it depends on the kinds of hotels you prefer. I traveled in Switzerland in May and June of 2013, and even though I booked well in advance, I had trouble finding hotels that suited my needs within my budget. I visited all of the places you mention, except that I stated in Wengen and Lauterbrunnen, not Grindelwald.
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Old Dec 18th, 2017, 12:51 AM
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We Swiss people move a lot in our country, but we usually just phone to the hotels the day before (or even later).
It can get difficult to get rooms if there are big events (like Basel World, Zurich Street Parade, Fetes de Geneve, international meetings, congresses or conferences, international ski racings, holidays in Switzerland or neighbouring countries.......).

I don't know which 3 and 4 star hotels kja booked in advance, but there is usually good availability in this price range.
I just made a check for Montreux tomorrow and found more than a dozen of hotels of this category with available rooms. Montreux has a famous Christmas market.

But that doesn't mean that one must wait until the last possible moment. Fastest way: book through engines like booking.com. If you have more time, load down the homepage of the town and the links to hotels you will find there.

If you want to get the best price, have a look at
https://www.trivago.ch/fr?sLanguageL...&iFilterTab=0&

and compare with the direct offer from the hotel
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Old Dec 18th, 2017, 01:28 PM
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Thank you all. Interestingly, I most often end up using booking.com but I'll look into trivago next time around. I've seen their ads, just forgot about them.
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Old Dec 18th, 2017, 02:41 PM
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trivago is owned by Expedia and some say they may favor that site. I know on TV ads Expedia is often listed amongst the cheaper sites on screen. But check as many sites as possible including hotel itself.
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Old Dec 18th, 2017, 04:13 PM
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I think this is a perfect strategy unless you actually mind only having the pick of what's left.
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Old Dec 19th, 2017, 01:43 AM
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.... and never forget that many hotels who are "fully booked" at the booking.com site will have rooms available if you contact them directly.
.... and if you want to bargain, it may be good to know that the commmission which has to be paid to booking by the hotelkeeper can vary between 10 and 20 per cent.
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Old Dec 19th, 2017, 03:17 AM
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If you fly into Zurich and leave from Geneva at the end of your trip, I'd book those nights in advance. If only for reason of convenience.

I'd also play around with dummy booking to understand where hotels are located in general in the respective city or area.

You don't say if you will be traveling by car or train. If by car, you can also save something or a lot if you stay a bit away from the major tourist hubs - unless you specifically plan to stay there, of course. Though with your itinerary, the train would be the/my obvious choice.
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Old Dec 19th, 2017, 03:52 AM
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More than once we have contacted a property directly because one of the booking services had no inventory left and we were able to reserve a room.
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Old Dec 19th, 2017, 09:20 AM
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What do you mean by that allegation? Have you ever actually used Trivago? I don't know what that even means, as in my searches, Expedia is often not even shown (until you click to see all possible prices of all the sites, not just the top 4), and it certainly is not always listed in the main box choice on the right. Are you claiming they fabricate prices of other sites to make them higher than Expedia? I'm sure they would be sued. Also, as I said, in my searched, Expedia is rarely one of the cheapest listings. What different does it make what shows on a TV ad, I would expect they might actually promote their own company in a TV ad as a mention, would be kind of dumb if they didn't.
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Old Dec 19th, 2017, 12:25 PM
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I yield to Christina -yes judging by TV ads only is not good but the fact that Expedia is nearly always listed amongst cheapest ones is not by chance.

But now I know their site is seemingly impartial?
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Old Dec 21st, 2017, 06:33 PM
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HI, I guess it depends on if you are willing to take whats left. When I travel to Europe/Switzerland, I really like to have lovely views, and easy access to the trains/ski lifts, and choice of rooms. Of course this involves $, but it is important to me. I go to the hotel sites for each village that I plan to visit, then I pick a few hotels that sound good to me, and I write them direct over the Internet for specifics/ not a middle man, I might also ask people on this site about the hotels or recommendations. I had great hotels last July, esp in Wengen, by simply doing the footwork/internet work, and also got some great meals with the half to full board meals included, that I think probably was less cost than going out in town. Sue
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