I think that 3% or even $25 is reasonable. Last summer we lost $178 because we had to cancel 5 days before our reservations at the Villa Maria in Sorrento. Their rules are that you must cancal 7 days before. Many hotels in Capri, etc. want 30 day canellation. Right now I've been sending e-mails to the Bellevue Syrene in Sorrento, a hotel that doesn't state it's policy on its website and that continues to not answer my questions on this subject. The hotel owner at our Best Western hotel who telephoned the Villa Maria for us last summer simply couldn't believe their stringent policy!

The booking site said that as soon as the booking is made there's a 3% cancellation pentalty charged and if the booking is cancelled more than 3 days prior to arrival it's one night that will be charged.

For this hotel and probably other hotels that has a booking site within their own website, it would be better to book through email. Like Hotel Varenne said there is no 3% cancellation fee charged if the booking is made directly via email to the reception desk; it's only applicable if you do your own booking via their booking site. I still don't understand why through email there is no penalty charge however.

It's common that online booking (not email) is done through an outside service/contractor, and they charge for every transaction. If you book online, and then cancel, the hotel is going to lose money. Therefore a 3% or whatever charge is needed.

If you book a hotel directly, email or by phone, or whatever, then the cost to them is minimal if you cancel in time.

That's what I thought that the hotel is using an outside booking agency. What's the purpose of this if the guests can just send the hotel an email? Both options are on the same website, the hotel's.

I don't know about this particular hotel, so I'm just speaking in general terms.

A lot of people don't like to use email for booking a hotel. It's slow, as you can't get instant confirmation. It often requires sending credit card information through a non-secure email.

Most hotels don't have their own webmaster to run a website. They can answer email, but they have to contract other services to run booking sites (instant or not). And with most booking sites, they're also advertised and linked to other travel sites. So, they can get more business that way, as people don't have to find the hotel's own website.

Just look at it from the hotel's perspective. How am I going to get the most exposure for my hotel? If I just put up a small webpage with an email, I'm not going to get a lot of people to know about my hotel, let alone book it. So, I contract out to a booking service, where they put my hotel's information on their more-frequently visited site, and they can handle online reservation for me.

I'm going to have to pay for their service, which is fine. But that's until I get all these people booking a room, and then cancelling them 72 hours before arrival. My room was held for them for months so I can't rent them to other people. And I still have to pay the booking service for this reservation.

So, what to do? Put up a 3%/$25 cancellation fee so that only serious travellers will actually book it. Totally reasonable.

Venere.com doesn't charge a cancellation fee--useful to know.

Thanks for the helpful explanation. One funny thing about this particular hotel's booking site is that in the "Terms and Conditions" it says to send an email directly to the hotel if you want to cancel the reservation. And they provide a link to the hotel's email.

Cancellation fees are a given at nearly all hotels throughout Europe. Often there is wording on the confirmation email or letter when the reservation is made that indicates that after submitting a credit card for use, one night's stay will be charged if there is a cancellation. Usually it is dependent on how close to arrival you have cancelled. I was able to change/cancel dates 1 month prior and no charge was made at my Paris hotel.