venere.com - What are your thoughts?
 

What are your thoughts about venere.com? Have you used them, if so, was it a good way to book a hotel in the E.U. city you stayed in?

I read a few good reviews (not linked to the site reviews) and one bad review.

If you have experience with this booking site, please share! I am considering this site for my first Eurotrip in a couple of months!

Thanks,
Jay

I've used venere a couple of times and have been pleased with their service and the quality of the hotels we stayed in. They're a booking agent. There is no way they can guarantee that any hotel is going to treat your right or perhaps forgot to clean an area of the room you stay in. All they can do is listen to the feedback from people who stay in the hotels and decide whether or not they want to stay associated with them. This is true of any hotel booking site you might use.

We've used them several times as well. No problems. I'd highly recommend them.

I have had good experiences with Venere - we got a beautiful hotel in Munich. I have also reserved hotels with Venere that I later had to cancel, and no problems.

Hi Jay,

>I am considering this site for my first Eurotrip in a couple of months!<

Boy, I wish I could go to Europe every couple of months. :)

I've had good results with Venere. Used them about 4 times.

((I))

Great. These are things I was looking for. I was more concerned mainly about their service THEY provide. I realize they are not in direct connection to the respecive hotels.

I was just hoping that the one bad story I heard was an isolated case. The person said they were charged for the entire stay before arriving and then again upon checking out. They worded this in a way that made the booking site look as if they were at fault.

The prices I am looking at seem very good when compared to USA based booking sites and the hotels' actual web site.

you do know that there is a code you can use to get 4% off your stay. its not a lot but every euro helps. search this forum for "venere code" and you will find a recent posting.

If I remember correctly, Venere doesn't take a deposit itself. All of the payment is between the hotel and the visitor.

What I like most about venere.com is the flexibility it allows -- unlike expedia, travelocity, or orbitz, you can cancel without penalty, generally with just 72 hrs notice. I almost always book on venere first so I have a sure-thing locked in, and then, I will keep looking with the assurance that I have a great place to stay, whatever happens.

Venere discount promotional code anyone can use: A8FBZEH

Fishee--What you said about cancelations is NOT correct--it depends on the hotel's policy, not Venere. From the Venere FAQ:

"Please be informed that all bookings need to be cancelled in your user account within the valid cancellation timeframe in order to avoid penalties. After the cancellation deadline it is necessary to contact the property directly, since in this case only the property itself can decide whether or not to cancel a booking free of charge."

The cancellation policy of a particuliar place is given on its booking page.

When the FAQ (as you quote) states,

"Please be informed that all bookings need to be cancelled in your user account within the valid cancellation timeframe in order to avoid penalties,"

this implies that all bookings CAN be cancelled if you do so in the allotted time given. This is the standard cancellation feature that I was talking about -- usually on expedia and orbitz, there is no standard cancellation option at all.

If you exceed the cancellation timeframe allotted by Venere, they direct you to contact the hotel directly since it's now between you and the hotel.

Fishee--I stand corrected! Thanks for pointing out my oversight. :-)

However, people should be aware that the cancellation timeframe is NOT necessarily up to 3 days before. I booked Mas de Carassins in St. Remy a few days ago, and the last date I can cancel without penalty is April 18 (21 days before, not 3).

Venere is a good booking site. I have never had a problem with them, but be sure to look at the specifics! The terms are NOT the same for all hotels.

^Thta's a great heads up! I too was thinking that all the hotels were 3 day notice = no penalty.

Thx for clarification.

More reviews of this sites' services are more than welcome.

Any differeance to it sister site? As a US based traveler, is the sister site better? The prices are the same, but I was wondering if they were easier to comunicate with (sorry, I have to look up the sister sites name somewhere her at fodors in a thread, I don't have it off the top of my head)

~Jay

^Sorry about my typos ppl! It's been one of those weeks! :(

i've used venere on a number of occasions and have never had a problem. Although now i tend to use venere to get an idea on hotels that look good, and then google the hotel directly - booking directly via a hotel's website rather than venere normally saves me plenty of euros...

I've used Venere.com several times and have found it to be an excellent service, and very convenient. I've never had a problem.

We have used venere.com before, and find the site very user-friendly and efficient. Not had any problems with any of the bookings. I would use them again.

I have used venere often and it is very good especially when in a hurry.

However, if I am booking in advance I will contact the hotel / pension directly particularly if it is a small family run type one. This is because they pay a 10% commission to venere.com.

I've used venere as a check more often than not; check the Venere rate and then check the hotel's for the <b>exact same type room</b> and go with whichever is cheaper.

I like Venere and similar sites since you don;t have to pay upfront and can cancel.

The &quot;bad review&quot; you heard could have been avoided if the person involved had clarified the payment details <b>at check-in</b>.

The only problem I had is that I booked through Venere with the understanding that I would not be charged anything until I checked into the hotel. Anyway, the hotel charged me for one night on my credit card. I didn't worry about this too much until I had to cancel. Then it took me several months to get this charge reversed. Maybe when they say you won't be charged, they only mean that Venere won't charge, but the hotel might.