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trouble with italian hotels booking direct? am i going mad?!!!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
hi
just want to 'vent' some frustration!
we have long been fans of booking idenpendantly with hotels directly etc........... for some reason we have always had trouble getting a response back from Italian hotels, dosn't seem to happen anywhere else! we are not a HUGE group (usually 8 -15 adults) who go away every year, we love italy and always want to go back, but it seems like sometimes they dont want the business/booking, we usually send them an email direct and this time round it literally took me 9 WEEKS to finalise the booking, initial response took 2 weeks, then the usual back and forth over how to pay the deposit!..... does anyone else suffer from this or is it just me going nuts?!! agggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh soooooooo annoying!!!!! Mad
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
cbowls30, Nope the all seem to be like that. That is why we use a local expert to do it for us and it costs the same as she takes her cut from the hotel. If you wanted Pila try Carole at Pilaski.co.uk she lives over there all winter so can sort anything out.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
cbowls30, I had similar difficulties a couple of years ago when trying to book somewhere in Courmayeur. I gave up trying in the end.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
Not had any problems so far, Perhaps nobody speaks English at the Hotel - do you know anyone who knows anyone who could translate your emails?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Luckily I have Italians in the family so are getting them to make some calls..... It's just so annoying, if I had a hotel i would want the bookings! Bizarre...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
cbowls30, I think it's just Italy! My son lives in Genoa and has recently moved flats. It's taken weeks and weeks and weeks and although he's still paying, they've not yet connected the phone line/broadband. people have been to the flat, said there's no problem, promised to sort it out within 72 hours but still - niente. Opening a bank account took ages too, and getting a mobile phone.......

I would phone them. If you don't speak enough Italian, get someone who does to phone them.

Or go somewhere which operates with Teutonic efficiency. wink
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
cbowls30,
Madeye-Smiley farlò la prossima settimana Madeye-Smiley
Best bet would be to just call the hotel and make the booking there and then, problem solved.


pam w wrote:
cbowls30, I think it's just Italy!

No it not. A few (4) weeks ago I called some UK suppliers as I want to buy a few thousand peaked caps.
Some of them didn't answer, some were asking stupid prices and some are still sending me emails with all the possible extras and other charges that I'll need to agree to before they will produce a sample. One told me what I wanted wasn't possible and another sent me a reply yesterday - with a list of his set up costs.
Oh, the 3,000 hats arrived from china last week - 10 days after my 1st call (in English)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
They might be closed right now. It's between the summer and winter seasons, so that might explain the delay. Or use an intermediary like bookings.com
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I recently got directed to bookings.com to reserve an Italian hotel in April...I started the search at http://www.lodging247.com/hotel-search/ which is a meta search that simultaneously searches booking.com and a bunch of other sites at the same time. Meta searches like this save time and money and are well worth bookmarking.
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Some place I tried in Italy like Alagna go through a central booking system rather than direct. I did find when trying to get apartments or any kind of self catering in Italy that they hardly ever get back to you. My wife speaks Italian very well after living there for several years so that's not the issue either.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
No problems with booking direct in the Dolomites last season and for this season. All hotels replied to emails. I usually write the email in English and then copy the request to Google translator, translate it into Italian and copy the translated text and add it to the email. If booking a hotel in the Dolomites you can also translate it into German which most of the locals seem to understand.

Paying the deposit to a hotel which does not take credit cards is I suspect a different ball game. Some hotels I have seen require deposit by bank transfer and final payment by cash or cheque. I doubt this means they will accept a cheque from a UK bank though although I may be wrong
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