Hotel booking

[tigerfeet]

Yesterday I tried to book a hotel in Calais that I like to use on my way back to the UK. I got in touch with them direct and they said they were full on the date I required. While looking for another hotel on one of the late booking sites I found the hotel I just mentioned , I checked availability and was able to book a room.

How do hotels work , do they promise rooms to late booking sites ?

[Kitty]

Perhaps they had a last minute cancellation?  That happened to me on Brittany Ferries once, for example.

[Baz]

This is very common practise. The hotel booking companies are allocated a certain number of rooms and they are only released back to the hotel if they are not booked at the last minute. It is always a good idea if you try to book direct with a hotel and there are no rooms available to use a search engine to look at the hotel booking companies.

Baz

[lizzy h]

I use these types for bookings, they may have not updated there availability , if you get a booking from somewhere else ie your own website or by phone , you are meant to go and update or delete that room, or like the last poster said if it was more than one room you allocate rooms to the booking companies,

[BJSLIV]

You may find it worthwhile to check with the hotel that you really have got a room for the night. Its not unknown for a late booking agency to accept bookings for a hotel which  already full.....

[tigerfeet]

Thanks BJ , I will take a sleeping bag , just in case [:D]

and thanks to all the other poster`s