Italy Hotels: Requesting specific rooms
 

Thanks to all of the good information that I have found here, I have requested specific rooms in the hotels that we have booked so far, and have received confirmation, in writing, for all but one of our special requests.

My question is this. I have read many trip reports suggesting that the room that the writer was promised was given to someone who arrived earlier. The hotel then offered an inferior room or accomodations at another hotel. For those of you following Travelgirl's family report, I am wondering if that is also what happened to them in Tuscany. Is it customary for hotels to give away a room that is promised to another party if someone who arrives earlier requests it? It seems to happen so often in trip reports that I am getting concerned.

Most hotels that I have dealt with have taken note of my request but have not confirmed a specific room. There is one establishment where I stay frequently that confirms and honors the confirmation of a specific room.

I think it depends on the hotel. We got the rooms we asked for at La Calcina in Venice & Villa Rosa in Positano. We were the last to check in for the day at the Villa Rosa, too.

I reconfirm my reservation & room request a few days before leaving.

In the case of our hotel in Venice, the Marconi, it is my understanding that there are only two rooms with a balcony facing the canal. They are next to each other. These are the two rooms we reserved and they confirmed in writing. I have read that it is just beautiful to arrive in Venice for the first time at night. I'd like to time our arrival for sunset, but should I be concerned that we might lose the rooms if we check in late?

It happened to me in Switzerland that I requested - and it was confirmed in writing that I would receive it - a room with a specific view. I was disappointed to find upon arrival that the rooms with that view were no longer available because "other people had reserved them way in advance".

Never mind that I had booked it about 10 months before that and had it in writing 4 different times!

LAWoman, I will definately reconfirm and let them know what time we are arriving. Since we don't travel until June i'll wait a bit. I've been enough of a pest trying to get those two rooms. I even sent them a picture of the room from someone's trip report! Obsessive compulsive planner extrordinairre, c'est moi.

Would arrive early in Venice and up your chances for the room. I love Venice but don't think arriving at sunset is a priority. There are a gazillion georgeous places to enjoy the sunset in Venice, once you've checked in.

Have seen pictures of the view rooms the Marconi has on the Canal and don't blame you for trying to land one. Just do your best to get it but be prepared to let it go if it doesn't go as planned. Otherwise you'll just make yourself miserable. That's what keep telling myself all the time, anyway!

Hi MMM,

You are paying extra for those canal view rooms at the Marconi.

They should be there for you when you arrive.

I'm not certain that arriving in Venice at Sunset is so important. If you are planning on coming in by boat at the foot of the Grand Canal, I think that you'll have the sun in your eyes.

((I))

If you are reserving a special class of room, or a special feature - that makes the room a higher price - then you should receive that room - and probably will unless something unusual happens. Or - if it's a small pension with only a few rooms.

But in a larger hotel with many rooms at the same price the chance of your getting a specific room are quite small unless the hotel is not very full.

Thanks for the input. I think we'll forget waiting for sunset to arrive in Venice and I will definitely call a week ahead and a day ahead to confirm our arrival time.
We also reserved a quadruple suite at the del Senato facing the Pantheon. Arriving in Rome early won't be a problem and I'll reconfirm with them, too.

I don't think any hotel in the world feels totally obliged to reserve a particular room -- am I wrong about that??

Just like an airline can reassign seats -- happens all the time -- a hotel can reassign rooms. I'm sure they will try to meet your request, but almost no hotel I can think of will guarantee a specific room.

Most try to, but a previous tennant may extend, or any number of other things could happen . . . .

I've worked in hotels/guest rooms ranging from 12 rooms to 500. In both I've had to assign rooms.

If you're paying for a certain class of room you should get it but almost always it's impossible to guarantee a specific room (unless the place is going to be really empty in an off-season time.)

If you think about it, people arrive on different days & if the hotel is near full a room assignment has to be worked out according to arrivals & departures. It's like a giant puzzle to have rooms for all the guests. If it works out that to accommodate your room request, the person who arrived in that room before you would have to be moved, most places aren't going to want to make that guest move.

Also, to some extent hotels have been known to overbook because there is a certain percentage of no shows or cancellations just like with the airlines. It's awful for people arriving after traveling all day only to be sent in a taxi to another place for one night & then moved back to the original.

It is funny that when I asked a Parisian hotel the day before I arrived if they could tell me which room I'd be in they weren't able to do so. But the Florence hotel I reserved two months prior to arrival and asked for a riverview room they were able to guarantee it.