"priceline" for Rome / Florence hotels

Old Nov 10th, 2001, 02:14 PM
  #1  
Dennis
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"priceline" for Rome / Florence hotels

Is there such a thing as "priceline" for Rome and/or Florence hotels?
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 02:29 PM
  #2  
Betsy
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Try www.laterooms.com
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 02:37 PM
  #3  
Surlok
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Dennis,

I'm pasting an answer given by me to Mariarosa on another thread, with some booking services.

Besides the ones listed below, there's still Expedia's Travelscape.com, a pre paid booking system. The rates, though, didn't seem that attractive to me,. Anyway, check them out at:

http://www.expedia.com

Once on Expedia, look for Travelscape there.

Author: Mariarosa ([email protected])
Date: 11/09/2001, 09:05 pm

Message: I know many Fodorites use venere.com to research hotels and compare prices, but has anyone used it to actually book a room? The website says that they just forward requests to the appropriate hotel, and they provide a secure website (so elimintaes the need to fax credit card numbers), but are they reliable?
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Author: Surlok ([email protected])
Date: 11/09/2001, 10:14 pm

Message: Mariarosa,
I never got a hotel rate lower than Venere from any Italian hotel itself. I got, however, better rates using other booking systems occasionally. They are:
http://www.hotelscentral.com
http://www.placestostay.com
http://www.hotelnet.co.uk
http://www.BedandBreakfast.com

The Mozart in Rome, for example, can be booked for 160 dollars on HotelsCentral, and Venere rates are slightly higher. I once booked the De La Ville in Florence using PlacestoStay for about 30% less than Venere rates.
I just booked the Claris in Barcelona using hotelnet.co.uk for 50% less than the rates I got using other booking systems, Utell, for ex, or Travelocity, or even SLH.
Sometimes there are great Dollars & Sense or Weekeend rates at:
http://www.srs-worldhotels.com
But not all hotels can be booked through them, just a few in Italy. However, the rates are always better than the ones I got from the hotels themselves, despite what some Fodorites reported. My last attempt of booking made through Venere was aborted, because I preferred to use SRS World and the Dollars&Sense rates that included breakfast and taxes, for a slightly higher rate than Venere's for the Aldrovandi Palace Hotel in Rome, which didn't include them.
I have used all of the systems listed and had never a problem, not once.
Surlok
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 06:05 PM
  #4  
Patrick
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I'm one of those plan ahead people. On venere.com when I enter my dates for hotels in Sardinia and various cities in south Italy, it tells me that nothing is available for July and August. I think these sites are primarily for last minute deals. If you are planning ahead, it is best to deal with the hotels directly.
 
Old Nov 10th, 2001, 11:52 PM
  #5  
Karen
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I too have had no luck with most of the booking sites. They always say no rooms available for these dates. When you contact the hotel itself they seem to always have openings. I agree that for those of us that like to plan more than 6 months ahead, these sites don't seem to helpful to me. Does anyone know of one that does well with letting you book far in advance? I would love to have their site.
 
Old Nov 11th, 2001, 01:34 AM
  #6  
Archie
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1. A major aspect of how you book depends on when you travel--high season or low season. During low season sometimes the hotels directly quote great rates for a partifcular low period. IT's always worth checking them directly in every case. AND also, a direct booking with a hotel is a lot safer just because their cancelation/change polices are much more lenient.


2. If using any pre-paid sites BE CAREFUL and VERY SURE about your booking. Most, if not all, of these pre-paid sites are scary. Once you accept the booking they made for you and then if you cancel, you get charged the 1st night's amount. They also say there is no [quote] "cancellation charge", but they have what they call "handing charges" or other junk fees they charge you for that are not defined as a "cancelation charge" in their eyes, but in the end they get your money. One site, rather than refund any real money, gives you "Points" for your next booking within a year. Pretty ruthless, so be careful of whatever site you use. Always check their policies.

Also, I had a very bad experience with one site. They confirmed me at one rate for a Venice hotel. Their rate was much lower than what the hotel wrote to me and gave, so I reluctantly accepted the site's booking. But, 3 weeks later this site advised me that the rate went up,and either I TAKE IT OR SLEEP ON THE SIDEWALK (basically).
After pointless e-mails back and forth, they found a different hotel at USD$165 a night. I had to laugh, because I myself by this time had contacted directly that very same second choice hotel on my own. The hotel gave me a rate of $USD120. So, it never hurts to check with the hotels directly.

And finally, becareful of rates that are listed as "Rates for 2001" (or 2002). A yearly rate is a rip off because during the year are low seasons too, so don't pay the same high rate all year if you are traveling low season.
My two cents, but maybe it will save you lira.

Arhcie

 
Old Nov 13th, 2001, 11:53 AM
  #7  
Dennis
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Thanks for the help
 
Old Nov 14th, 2001, 02:43 PM
  #8  
xxx
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Hi,

I own a small hotel in Florence and am listed with Venere. Hotels that belong to Venere pay a several hundred dollar a year flat fee plus 10% commission of every reservation booked through the site. Because of this, many hotels (ourselves included) will block rooms during holiday and peak times to avoid paying this commission. At the end of the month it just gets too expensive for us. We offer the same rates on the site as we do to those contacting us directly--we do not mark up our rooms to cover the commission. During mid and low season we open our rooms and offer the lowest rates that we possibly can to keep the bills paid and eat the commission. My advice: during high season, contact the hotel directly. More than likely they will have rooms available. Venere recently removed email addresses, phone and fax numbers from each hotel's web page to try and prevent customers from contacting the hotels directly and therby allowing the hotels to try and avoid paying hte commssion. By navigating the site a bit, however, they do have a page with all phone fax numbers for each hotel--they don't make it obvious, so you'll have to look, but it's there.
 

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