Do you use a travel agent? Call yourself and hope to talk to someone who knows your native tongue? Use the internet? <BR> <BR>As a followup, do you think I need hotel reservations in Italy (Rome, Venice, Amalfi Coast) in September? <BR> <BR>Thanks.

I've always had the best luck using faxes (in English). One to check availability, and a second with my credit card info to secure the reservation. <BR> <BR>If you have a fax machine, this is the best way to go.

get the phone numbers of the hotels. Call your local phone company to find out the sequence of numbers to dial BEFORE each of the phone numbers ie: country code, city code, etc. Call when it is afternoon THERE., like 1-3 PM or even 6-9 PM- that is the least busy time at any hotel. When they pick up the phone say "do you speak english" usually if they DON'T -somebody there will...so wait for them to look around and find someone who speaks english. If you are really smart-look up how to say "do you speak english" in THEIR language...always a plus! Most hotel desks employ at least one person who will "get by" in English. Ask them to send you a letter of confirmation and be sure to ask their name, and thank them! Dont be afraid and good luck! Call back at a diffenrent time of day and hope that a different person answers if all that doesn't work!

Many EUropean hotels have english speaking people taking reservations. email and fax works well too. i prefer emailing. generally they respond quickly.

It seems like every day more and more hotels, even the smallest, are getting on the internet, either with their own web page or as part of a general page about the city/area. This also means that more and more of them have email. <BR> <BR>On our last trip to Belgium and France (November 2000) I made all arrangements for hotel via email using both English and French. In some cases I used a translation program to convert my request in English to French and then emailed that request, while others were in English. If the web site was in English I used English, it it was only in French I converted. It was interesting when the replies came back that they were always in English, even to the ones that I sent in French. I guess they could tell that I had used a translation program and was not a fluent French speaker/reader/writer (which I am not, just very basic). <BR> <BR>Anyway, email has made the process of making reservations so much easier that I highly recommend it. You will even find that in most current guide books the hotel descriptions often include the email address in addition to street address and telephone number. The other nice thing about email is that the response you get back can serve as your confirmation notice.

Thanks, everyone. I'm going to try making reservations by email.

I just had a fabulous conversation this AM with an innkeeper in Chiusi. It began with "Parle inglese? Non parle italiano molto bene" whereupon she complimented my accent. I replied that I did very well only with those two sentences. (I've been listening to a Berlitz CD on my way to and from work. It's a short drive.) I made all our reservations via email. I've only faxed two things (3-week trip, we're covering a lot of ground). The phone follow up was because I was concerned that the only confirmation I'd received from one place was not directly from the hotel. It was a well-founded concern because the original hotel has been closed, which I only learned by speaking with this charming lady! But that is another story..... (with a happy ending)

one more thing, i personally don't like putting my credit card info in an email for security reasons. so usually to confirm my reservation, i fax my cc info and ask for a confirmation (by fax or email) that it was rec'd and processed.

Also, Karen Brown's guidebook to Spain had a sample letter requesting reservations in Spanish in the back of the book; her other books probably have the same feature. It was broken down into sections, so you can figure out which options you'd like to incorporate and then use them in a fax (which I did to a hotel in Ronda Spain and it worked great.)

I feel the urge to tell a story on myself that I still think is funny. <BR>I wanted to make a reservation at the Sallerhof outside of Salzburg. <BR>I sweated over crafting an email letter in German to ask about reservations. <BR>The reply came back in better English than most freshman college students write, with a reference to a web page that was also written in very good English.

That's funny Bob. I had a similar experience. I sent a letter to a Swiss hotel that I had taken a bit of time to write in German. When I spoke to someone on the phone later, the person spoke some English, but German did help a little with parts. When I got to the hotel, I started speaking German to the person behind the desk. It turned out she was a Canadian. Trying to use German in Switzerland was so frustrating because people would so readily speak to you in perfect English.

De Anna, <BR> <BR>I have never had problems sending faxes or e-mails in English. However, there may be problems at smaller, less urban properties that are not 3 or 4*. <BR> <BR>Karen Brown's website (www.karenbrown.com) recently added multi-language reservation forms. Click on the country selection, and you'll see that she has english/local language reservation forms (click on "Reservation Request Form") that can be printed and faxed (or copied and pasted into an e-mail). <BR> <BR>Good luck. <BR> <BR>john

De Anna, <BR> <BR>Travel agents will be no help except to book large hotels with commissions. Travel agents have no interest in booking other hotels unless it help them earn other business that pay commissions. <BR> <BR>My preference is internet, fax, and phone in that order. There are shortcoming with each. <BR> <BR>Internet is cheapest for those with flat or free usage charge. I tend to get "more" responses back from the hotels. Except for few helpful hotel, I do not expect to get no more than 2 max replies back, once to get availability, another one to either get clarifications or receipt of the CC number. My experience is that most hotel stop responding to emails sooner or later even though I thought I was getting closer to getting the info needed to book a room. <BR> <BR>Fax is next best, and only way I send my CC card number (since most hotels do not take cc number over the voice line, but INSIST on receiveing a written CC number,) unless the hotel has internet SSL encrypting capability, which most of them are not. The shortcoming of the FAX is that since it cost them money, I have never gotten back more than one reply in FAX. A typical FAX transaction has been: <BR>to hotel: Availability and price? <BR>fr hotel: yes, these rooms for so much <BR>to hotel: ok, here is my CC # <BR>fr hotel: &lt;nothing&gt; <BR>to hotel: did you get my cc #? <BR>fr hotel: &lt;nothing&gt; <BR>voice phone to hotel: yes we got your cc number, you are all set. <BR> <BR>Voice phone is my last resort. Even then, I end up using the FAX once since the hotels usually insist on written CC card number for reservation.

De Anna -- These days I use e-mail. I too am going to Italy in September and made reservations at all of my hotels through e-mail with no problems whatsoever (sometimes you may experience a delay of several days in receiving a reply & may need to make allowances for computer problems on their end; just try again if at first you don't succeed, etc.) I would HIGHLY recommend that you make reservations as soon as possible for travel to Italy in September. The places you're going are extremely popular and likely to get booked up far in advance.

One thing about e-mail is that in a short period of time you can have a reply and be able to tell if they were able to understand you English. Before e-mail and Fax I used to write the same reservation request in both English and <BR>in French and hope they understood. I then had to wait 2 weeks to get a reply. Last year I completed our booking for a trip to France in 4 days.

I recently made reservations for a hotel in Pordenone, Italy by email. Did the entire transaction that way, including requesting directions to the hotel from a nearby Air Force Base. Two days before I left, the woman even emailed me again to let me know there was construction near the hotel and gave me alternate directions. Her English was great and the process was simple.

I have had no trouble making reservations in France by email but found it more difficult in Italy at smaller hotels. I agree with callfirst. Call the hotel, ask if they speak English, and follow up with a fax.

<BR>De Anna-- <BR> <BR>To all of the above excellent suggestions for making reservations let me add my favorite which is a good reputable reservation service. <BR> <BR>My number 1 choice is Utell International---they have a vast choice of hotels in every price range and all over the world. <BR>I used to phone them which was always good but now I book online--I get and print the confirmation in seconds and then they e-mail me another confirmation...also in seconds. <BR> <BR>Same for cancellation--punch up your confirmation press the cncellation button and it is done--cancellation number and all. <BR> <BR>Also good is Best Western and <BR>SRS (Stiegenberger Reservatin Service) but SRS has fewer properties and mainly in larger cities. <BR> <BR>With all this available to you you not only dont have to speak a foreign language--you dont have to speak at all! <BR> <BR>AH

I'm in the process of reserving hotels for my October trip to Spain. Where available, I am emailing the hotel, otherwise I am faxing them. I am using the basic format out of the Rick Steves guidebook, all done in English. So far, I am having great luck, and the hotels are responding back in English. When requesting the reservation, I ask first for availablity and then I send my credit card information.

Try www.4venice.com