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Please cancel bookings that are not needed

M

Margogram

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
May/June 2023
Hello travellers. I’m with a very large group of pilgrims who started the Frances Camino May 1. Each place we stay is fully booked. But both the albergues and pilgrims are frustrated by the number of bookings made and not cancelled if not needed. Beds are available at the end of the day but some pilgrims have had to keep walking further because bookings weren’t cancelled. If you aren’t using your booking, please cancel. Thanks!
 
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This is indeed a ridiculous situation. I think more places that take reservations will only do so if backed up by credit card. This is already happening to some extent, but doubtless will be expanded.

I've booked every day in advance for my upcoming, slow Camino and I notice that many places have been taking my credit card details to guarantee the reservation, with many on booking.com collecting the full pre-paid amount one or two days before my due stay. This does make sense for those accommodation suppliers that get by on taking reservations. Moreover, it still gives pilgrims the flexibility to cancel, albeit a couple of days in advance.
 
Unfortunately this is nothing new. In 2016 we ended up with the last two attic mattresses as everything else was booked. Then found half the floor below largely unoccupied when pilgrims didn't turn up and didn't cancel. People after us were unnecessarily turned away.
Selfish and rude behaviour.
 
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I'd like to say this post is unnecessary because surely the kind of people who are on this forum are not the kind of people to do something like that, but ......
Anyway, an important point. Not showing up hurts both your fellow pilgrims and the hotel owners' livelihoods. But I suspect that if they get burnt once too often, hotel owners will start to do something about it e.g. only hold the booking until 3 pm, insisting on credit card details etc etc., and good luck to them.
 
This just shows better the value of albergues that can't be reserved or pre-booked. One of the reasons why I love Camino - there are special services that only pilgrims can access, making finding a bed easier.

I do agree with all the opinions above that places that can be reserved are a bit at their own fault here, because they do not hold people financially accountable to show up for their reservations. Humans are selfish by nature and people tend to forget easily responsibilities that have no financial or personal consequences (still the main bad guys are the people who book and don't show up, obviously).

If I ever do a day so long that I might arrive in the evening and walking another town/village is not an option, then I have used booking.com to have a place to stay for certain. Uncertainty about a place to sleep is not something I want to have on my mind while walking several hours through beautiful nature.
 
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The accommodation provider might get paid, but a pilgrim still misses out on a bed. I am staying at a hostel tomorrow that requires confirmation 2 days prior. Perhaps they should charge the card in advance?
 
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Roscoe said:
The accommodation provider might get paid, but a pilgrim still misses out on a bed. I am staying at a hostel tomorrow that requires confirmation 2 days prior. Perhaps they should charge the card in advance?
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I think it’s pretty clear to albergue owners that they have to keep taking reservations, but they now have to figure out how not to get messed with so often. I know that some small places are considering charging the card in advance, but it really puts a strain on them by adding one more bookkeeping task. Booking.com seems to provide a ready answer, if the albergue makes the reservation non-cancellable the day before. This puts the albergue owners right where booking wants them, IMHO. I think it would be understandable if albergue owners were to turn exclusively to booking, raise their prices to incorporate booking’s charge, and then start charging pilgrims who do not cancel 24 hours ahead of time. I have already come across one or two places like this, one on the Vasco and one somewhere else.

You’re right that that doesn’t help the pilgrim who walks in at 2 pm looking for a bed, but in some ways it should help with overall availability. It seems that it would certainly cut down on the number of empty beds writ large. More people will think twice about not showing up for a reserved bed if they have already paid for it!

Another change from “the way we were.”
 
Hello Margogram. As I am getting older and slower I have pre booked most of my accommodations, rearranging my stages I’ve had to cancel some bookings making sure to cancel the booking before I rebooked else where. Some albergue’s are making you pay 50% upfront and the rest on the day, some taking card information and some I’ve had to pay full upfront. Albergue owners need to survive, they have had it pretty hard the last few years.
 
I have no problem with the idea of albergues and hostals taking payment immediately on booking rather than on arrival. If I have made a reservation somewhere then I feel a personal obligation to turn up and take that bed. If I fail to meet my commitment then the hostal should not lose out. The fault is mine - not theirs. Making multiple reservations for the same night feels dishonest to me.
 
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Yes - I tend to think this post would possibly be more needed on a Facebook Camino webpage

And yes - the right thing to do is to not make double reservations and definitely to cancel any reservations you don't need as early as possible to allow the albergue host to offer a bed to another pilgrim in need. And the more pilgrims who don't cancel without proper notice - the less albergues will be willing to accept reservations and hold beds for those who do need to make reservations, especially for later arrivals.
 
Agreed. But - then it forces more albergues to deal with credit card fees and booking websites and their fees. And then they might need to turn around and raise prices.
 
jeanineonthecamino said:
Agreed. But - then it forces more albergues to deal with credit card fees and booking websites and their fees. And then they might need to turn around and raise prices.
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True! Personally I would accept that. In the current situation paying a euro or two more for a confirmed reservation is probably worthwhile. But I will still be carrying a bivvy bag this summer just in case the best laid plans gang agley...
 
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