I have been trying for days to do a search on Venice hotels and Venice and general. All I get is the message that there is nothing there, but I know better! Am I the only one experiencing this trouble?

Hi Marty <BR> <BR>No you're not the only one having problems. The site has been really dicey for days. Hope Fodor's is working on it.

Searches don't work; replies cannot be posted, and new inquires get trashed. <BR>As usual, any response is slower than Christmas. In other words, business as usual at Fodors' Forums. <BR>I wonder if upper management at Fodors ever stopped to think that a web site that resembles a technical disaster also makes the company look backward, if not stupid?? Granted it is free to us, and it has managed to attract an articulate and erudite following. But have you noticed lately that the regulars aren't posting too much? Bet they can't get through!!

<BR>I have more problems with Fodors than any other site I try to use lately. I have been getting messages that Fodors is having "Technical problems" and can't even access it. When I can, the site has posting problems or numerous other problems. I think Fodors has been around look enough or them to figure out how to give us a usable travel site. I love the invaluable information on this site but lately it is not worth bothering with for all the problems! I sure hope Fodors finally gets their "technical problems" resolved so they can handle the amount of posts they get.

Yes, I keep frustrating myself thinking I won't bother to answer any requests because I will probably have to retype it three or four times, each time waiting for it to post and then having it disappear or reappear under a totally different topic. But I like this site so much, I keep coming back and trying anyway. Bet this one won't post!

OK, so I lose that bet!

Don't feel badly your not alone!

Hi Marty, <BR>Just thought I should tell you that if you want reservations in Venice you have to go for the bucks. Do you have any Amex points they help. I now have three reservations and it will cost an arm and a leg but Venice is worth it. I will skimp on something else. You want to be near St. Marks square and the grand canal, so, special. I wouln't go to Italy without revistiting Venice. If your able to dig deep into your pocket try the Starwood Hotels. Best of Luck, Dawn

Thanks, Dawn: I have already booked. I couldn't wait for the search to start working any longer, so I booked. I used Cheap Sleeps and looked a websites, so I feel pretty confident. I don't have particularly deep pockets, plus I am planning for another couple and their teenager. I booked very near St. Mark's for three of our days, and when we return from Venice, we are on the canal. <BR>This is our second trip to Venice in about 3 years, so I knew where I wanted to be; I just wanted some other points of view!

Return from FLORENCE. Sorry my message made no sense!

I am having major problems with this site. Every time that I post a message it disappears. Then when it does appear there is only my title with no additional text to follow. This is extremely frustrating!!!

Hi all you thankless travelers. Fodors is not a paysite. Its a community site and a great one at that. The fact that you are facing trouble accessing the site and information, may be due to the popularity of the site and that so many people want to get on. I depise the fact that you folk think that the Internet is one big free lunch. It is not. If you don't believe me, why don't you try to set up your own community site and see how well you fare. Have any of you bothered writing to the site administrator before you go on blaming the upper management....

When all else fails, why not try a little courtesy and patience? This web site has had its share of problems, no doubt caused by its popularity. If you think this site has problems, you should have been here before they changed the format a couple years ago. Let's say "thank you" to Fodor's, people. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

Right now it is 11:15 EDT April 2 and the various posting come flying up on my screen quickly. I hope the problems are resolved. I don't recall this kind of speed on Fodors in a long time. Maybe the troubles were taking place while revisions were in progress. Like on a highway, construction of new lanes can slow the existing traffic for a while.

Don't you just love Al? Such a gentleman and such intelligent postings. Al, you're a breath of fresh air...

Thank you to all for the comments above. We appreciate how many of you rely on the valuable information in these forums, and are constantly working on improving the performance. <BR> <BR>As many of you have commented we were experiencing technical problems last week. But last night we upgraded our webservers and now you should see improvements both in performance and speed throughout the site. <BR> <BR>Let me reiterate that we do care about this website and are working as fast as we can to keep up with the demand. <BR> <BR>Regards, <BR>Aisling Brennan <BR>Senior Website Producer <BR>Fodors.com

Thank you Fordors the connection to the Forum has been 100% better today - so obviously the revamp is working.

How embarrassing that I posted this message that got so much response and spelled Am "I'm"! Well, I WAS pretty discouraged, but everything is working great now. Thanks Fodors for providing the site and triple thanks to all the people who make it work for each other AND for Fodors. (I still hate that I didn't get any help from the search before I had to book my rooms in Florence and Italy. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and trust Cheap Sleeps!)

Ditto, ditto, ditto. Very frustrating at the moment.