(Booking) is a system of online hotel booking all over the world. It is one of the most popular booking systems among Internet services for self-searching and booking accommodation in hotels, in the database of which there are more than 200 thousand different accommodation facilities, ranging from hotels, guest houses and hostels to villas and apartments (apartments).
It is also worth noting such an important advantage of Booking as the worldwide fame of the system, which inspires confidence and gives guarantees when booking. That is why most consulates / visa centers accept bookings from this system for applying for Sheng visas.
In this step-by-step guide, we will take a closer look at how to book a hotel room through the online hotel booking systems - Booking.com.
For the convenience of using the Booking system, we recommend registering on the website. This can be done in two clicks in the upper panel of the site.
Why is this needed? For easy management of all reservations.
All reservations will be displayed in your personal account - current, canceled and used. Also, through your personal account, you can easily manage your reservations - cancel, change, view, print.
In this article, step by step, we will make a hotel reservation using the example of a seven-night stay in the capital of France - Paris, in November, with the accommodation of two people in one room.
So let's go
Step 1. Search parameters
The first thing we need to do is go to the official website of the Booking company.
On the main page of the Booking.com website, in the upper left corner (yellow block), enter the search parameters:
Place of desired stay (city, region, district or hotel name);
- Dates of arrival;
- Number of guests;
- Purpose of the trip (optional).
Step 2. List of possible options
Step 3. Minimize the number of proposed hotels
In order to shorten the list of hotels and simplify the search, we use the block in the left column of the site "Select by criteria".
For our example, the following criteria are relevant: - price (from 3600 rubles to 7200 rubles per night) and - city district (city center). We mark these parameters.
The system builds the list again, already with the search parameters we need. Please note that the list has been greatly reduced.
It is important to consider the following here!
There are two types of booking on the site :
1. With free cancellation. That is, you can cancel your reservation at any time before a certain date without any commissions. The date until which you can cancel the reservation for free is set by the hotel itself, for someone it is the day before the date of arrival, and for someone the free cancellation is possible no later than thirty days before the date of arrival.
Such rooms are usually more expensive than non-refundable rooms.
Recently, Booking has an innovation! On the one hand, it is harmless, but on the other, it can become an unpleasant surprise, in the form of losing a small amount of money when canceling a free reservation. What is the innovation?!
When making a reservation with free cancellation, you need to be careful, almost at the very bottom of the page, in the "Good to know" section, there may be the following note "Booking.com accepts payment from you for this reservation on behalf of the property, but asks you to have with you cash in case of additional costs on site. " What does this mean? Soon, the amount of the reservation will be withdrawn from your card, in case of cancellation of the reservation, the entire amount will be returned to you. At first glance, nothing like that, the usual Booking guarantee, BUT! You will be charged and returned to you the amount in the currency of the hotel's location, and if your card is not the currency in which you need to pay for the hotel, then the bank will also write off the money for the conversion during such operations. Example: a ruble card, booked a hotel in Italy, respectively, they will write off and return in euros, and in addition to this, the bank converts the currency and you will lose part of the funds. Or, the card is euro, and we book in Poland, then the conversion from euro to zloty will go and we also lose money. The amounts are small, but nevertheless, it is better to be ready for this in advance!
2. Rooms, payment (in whole or in part) for which is charged almost immediately after booking and in case of cancellation of the booking it is not refundable. Such numbers are cheaper. We almost always book just such rooms, because we know exactly when and where we will go.
You should not be afraid of prepayment, the Booking system is proven and reliable. The amount withdrawn from a bank ruble card may turn out to be slightly higher than that indicated on the site, but this is no longer Booking's fault, but the bank whose card you use, it is he who converts the ruble into the currency of the host country.
To avoid mistakes and choose the right type of booking, carefully read the special conditions column located in the inner tab of each hotel.
Step 5. Book a room
We chose a hotel, click to book.
In the column for the number of numbers, select the desired one. In our example, one double room.
In the booking column - click to book.
The system automatically translates to the second step of the booking, where we enter the data of guests in English or the language of the hotel's country.
Names and surnames are entered in the same way as in a passport.
Here it is very important to consider the following!
The name of the main guest, in the upper column, will be the name of the person for whom the personal account is registered. If there is no personal account, the name of the main payer is entered manually.
In the columns below, we fill in the email address and confirm it. Important! Since, the confirmation of the booking will be sent to the email address indicated during the booking.
Further, in the column name and surname of the guest, you must indicate everyone who will stay at the hotel (if necessary, we duplicate the main guest of the payer). Failure to do so may result in visa refusals as hotel reservations will not be confirmed.
If there is only one column for entering guests, enter all guests separated by commas.
Below there is a “Tell me about special requests” field.
We recommend filling in English.
In this field, you can enter the parking lot, preferred floor, view from the window, etc. Please note that these are just your wishes and they are not obligatory for the hotel to fulfill. Everything is at their discretion.
Important! If you need an official confirmation of your reservation from the hotel to obtain a visa (a prerequisite for some countries of the Schengen Agreement), then in the same window you need to write a request. An example of a letter requesting confirmation of your reservation is available.
Official confirmation of reservations, hotels are usually sent if a prepayment is made for the room.
In case of free cancellation of the reservation and your request for an official confirmation, the hotel may charge some of the money from the card as a prepayment. Usually the amount is 30% of the cost of the entire stay. Don't worry - that's okay, they need guarantees too.
Filled in special requests, click continue
Step 6. Booking confirmation
We were taken to the last step, "Booking Confirmation".
At this step, we carefully check all the data once again - the dates of arrival, the number of nights of stay, the amount to be paid.
If everything is correct, we fill in information about ourselves: enter the address (for some bookings, the address is not needed) and the phone number
We enter the bank card details to guarantee the reservation. Not all reservations require a card, there are those in which you can place a reservation without a card. If the reservation does not require entering the card details, then we will not need this step.
After entering the bank card details, click "Book this room for ..."
Pay attention! The site accepts only three types of cards for payment: Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Everything. Congratulations! Your booking has been successfully completed.
Confirmation of your reservation will be sent to the email address you specified when booking and will be displayed in your personal account on the website.
Subsequently, at any time you can go to the mail, or to your personal account and print the reservation.
The printed hotel reservation fully meets the requirements of most consulates (visa centers).
Cheap flights →
In this note as detailed as possible describes the process of obtaining documents confirming residence from hotels, which are necessary for submission to the consulate when applying for a Schengen visa.
Sometimes they are also called the word "voucher" (although this is not entirely true, a voucher is a receipt, a surety). And the document for the consulate is called “confirmation of accommodation”. But you can also call it a voucher ...
Proof of residence is required when obtaining a Schengen visa on every day the planned period of stay in the territory of the Schengen countries.
No options or exceptions.
If we are talking about obtaining a multiple entry visa, then the documents must confirm residence for each day of stay in the first travel on this visa.
Confirmation of residence can also be an invitation (from friends, relatives or organizations), and some other documents, but here the process of working with the personnel of hotels (and other objects) is considered in detail, upon receipt of documents confirming residence from them.
I also note right away that there is no such thing as an "invitation from a hotel (hotel)".
The hotel cannot make you an invitation (your friends or relatives can). But the hotel can confirm that your stay is secured (paid).
This document received from the hotel (or several, depending on the travel plan), and will be for the consulate a document confirming your accommodation during the trip.
General points when requesting documents confirming residence
Obtaining documents confirming residence is the most troublesome (but also the most interesting) moment in the entire process of preparing documents for obtaining a visa.
In the process, you will have to communicate by e-mail, skype, and sometimes by phone (they can call from the Baltic states, they called me somehow) with the staff of the hotels where you plan to stay during the trip.
Sometimes the staff will have to explain what you want from them, or provide the hotel with some additional data necessary to draw up the required document.
As a general point, there is no need to be shy, afraid, or worried. The hotel staff is always ready to meet you halfway, and will try to help in every way. After all, the client is (almost) always right.
Whether problems and questions will arise when obtaining these documents will largely depend on the hotel that you have chosen to stay during your trip.
Working with hotels in matters related to obtaining documents confirming residence - is always individual.
No two hotels are alike in this matter. As lucky as you get. If something went wrong, just cancel your reservation at this hotel, and look for another one who will understand you, or whose terms will suit you better.
In large or chain hotels, as a rule, there are no problems with issuing documents confirming residence. Most likely, their staff has already encountered such a problem (i.e. you are not the first one who needs proof of residence in order to obtain a visa).
And if the staff did not come across this issue, then often this moment is spelled out in their job descriptions, and the employee can always look into them to find out what he needs to issue such a document to you.
On the other hand, it is more difficult to negotiate the terms of payment (provision of payment guarantees) with large hotels, because, as it is written in their instructions, it will be so (the staff cannot violate the instructions, they have no freedom of maneuver).
In medium and small hotels, a request to provide documents confirming accommodation in this hotel for submission to the consulate, most likely, will cause a stir among the staff, and a lot of additional questions.
It may very well be that the staff of a small hotel (and this, often, the owner of the hotel and his family members), simply never faced such a request, and has no idea what it is about. In this case, they will have to explain in detail what you specifically need from them.
But with small hotels it is a nice thing to negotiate the terms of payment, or its guarantees. They are easier to meet halfway (for example, they write that "payment is guaranteed"), without demanding anything from you, and without putting you any additional conditions. This is valuable.
How and when to ask the hotel for proof of residence
You can book hotels for vacations at least six months before the trip, or even earlier (for example, I book hotels for vacations in August, in November of the previous year).
It is necessary to request documents confirming residence before applying for a visa. The process of obtaining confirmation itself takes from one day to one week (this is the worst case).
But usually it takes one to two days. It depends on the efficiency of the hotel staff. Documents are requested (and received) by email.
As the vacation approaches (when you are sure that your plans have not changed, and you will go on vacation as planned), before applying for a visa, contact the hotel and write to them at english language, a request for them to send you a confirmation of your accommodation and payment (payment guarantees) for a hotel room, on the letterhead of the hotel.
The hotel's email address will be indicated on the room booking confirmation sent by the electronic booking system. Or, the hotel can be contacted directly through the booking engine website. Both options are equivalent.
On the letterhead, this is to indicate the "coordinates" of the hotel, in the sense - address, phone number and other contact information. If there is no letterhead in the hotel (this is usually the trouble with small hotels), then let them print all this information separately.
The request also indicates that this confirmation is needed for submission to the consulate in order to obtain a Schengen visa. (See below for a sample request.)
Also, immediately ask that the confirmation text be written in English (preferably) language, and that it containssurnames and first names of all guests, dates of booking and the amount of prepayment, or to be noted that payment for the stay is guaranteed.
In case the hotel was paid immediately upon booking, then the situation is even simpler. You just need to ask the hotel administration to send a document that confirms the fact that you have paid for your stay at this hotel (a sample request text is also given below).
Upon receipt of a request for the hotel to provide documents confirming the accommodation, the reaction of the hotels will be different each time (depending on the country and the size of the hotel).
The staff of hotels where they have an idea of what is at stake, in response to such a request, will immediately (literally within an hour) clarify with you whether you really agree to make a prepayment (if it has not been made earlier), and will provide you with details for execution payment.
Or he will ask for permission to write off money as payment from your card (they have a card number, you indicate it when making a reservation).
If necessary (depending on the country and the internal regulations of the hotel), the staff will request additional information necessary to draw up the requested document.
As a rule, there are no problems with large hotels. After making the payment, the documents confirming the accommodation will be in your hands in 1-2 hours (by the end of the day - the maximum) and you just have to print them.
But in small hotels, guest houses, apartments, the owners often did not even hear of any requirements (this is my personal opinion, made by me on the basis of communication with the staff of such hotels on this topic).
Therefore, a request to provide documents may cause them a lot of questions. In this case, you will be required to explain to them what (and in what form) you want from them.
It is sometimes difficult, but quite possible. In the end, they are interested in your arrival, therefore, they try and meet halfway.
FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: AS WITH SMALL HOTELS
In response to my request for confirmation of residence, the owner of a small hotel near Wroclaw, Poland, simply wrote in response:
“Dzień Dobry! Potwierdzam rezerwację. Z poważaniem, Ariel "
("Good afternoon! Confirming booking. Best regards, Ariel")
Well, that was her idea of what proof of residence looks like. It took her a very long time to explain what I got from her specifically, it is necessary, moreover, to explain, literally on the fingers (since she did not speak English, and in Polish I am weak).
I ended up spitting and made it myself for it the required confirmation (which I myself also made especially for this case, as a gift to the hotel), and sent it there.
There the hostess printed it out, stamped the hotel and signed it, scanned it and sent it back to me. After that, I swore to stay in small hotels, in case I need confirmation of residence from them.
If you do not need any documents from small hotels, then feel free to stay in them, I do it myself. It is both cheaper (as a rule) and more enjoyable.
But with large hotels, this has never happened. They ask for the information they need to draw up the document, ask to make a payment, and send the document the next (or the same) day after the payment has gone through.
But, I repeat, this moment is strictly individual from country to country and from hotel to hotel. There is no single system here, and each case is unique - as soon as you get there.
Based on the above, it is advisable not to postpone the request for confirmation of accommodation at the hotel (or hotels) until the last day, but to do it a week or two before the planned sending of documents to the consulate.
HOW TO DIFFER A BIG HOTEL FROM A SMALL
There are two criteria: the total number of rooms in the hotel (you can often see it on the website of the reservation system), and the mode of operation of the reception.
If the check-in at the hotel works around the clock, and the number of rooms in the hotel is 50-60 or more, then problems with obtaining a booking confirmation can not be expected - this is a large hotel, and its staff is ready for such situations.
If the number of rooms in a hotel is from 20-30 to 50-60 - this is an average hotel, there should not be any special problems with obtaining documents from it (but this already "shouldn't seem to be").
But if there are only 5-15 rooms in the hotel of your choice, and the registration desk in it is open only during the day, then you can expect everything there (problems with obtaining confirmation of residence, I mean).
The same applies to apartments (flats) and guest houses. Their owners, as a rule, have no idea what it is about when they are asked for documents confirming their residence.
They will have to explain in detail what you want from them. Sometimes it can be easier to do everything yourself (as described in the example above) and just send them the document for approval.
In what language to make a request for the provision of documents confirming residence
A request to the hotel for obtaining documents confirming accommodation must be made either in English or in the language of the country in which the hotel is located.
In general, if you need documents from the hotel, it is better to immediately (even at the stage of planning your trip) choose a hotel whose staff speaks English.
The languages spoken by the hotel staff can be found on the website of the reservation system (decent systems provide such information, among other things).
Since I speak English more or less distinctly, I always choose hotels for accommodation in which the staff also speaks English (it’s easier to live there, although there is someone to ask if something happens).
In principle, if the hotel is large enough, or networked, then, as a rule, the staff there speaks English at some acceptable level (even in such "collective farms" as Romania or Albania).
In small hotels (in any country), you may well face a situation when the hotel staff speaks only the language of their country. (This, by the way, was the case with the owner of the hotel in Poland, for whom I myself made a confirmation of residence).
Therefore, when choosing a hotel, pay attention to what languages the staff of the establishment speaks. Whenever possible, choose hotels where English is used (unless, of course, you speak French, German, or another language - accordingly, those hotels where this language is used). So it will be more convenient for you, unambiguously.
How many proofs of residence are needed
Do I need to provide proof of residence for each participant in the trip, or is one document sufficient?
It is enough to get from the hotel one thing proof of residence. The main thing is that it listsallparticipants in the upcoming trip (including even the smallest children).
One paper is enough(one document) from each hotel along the route of the trip.
The main thing is that all participants in the trip are listed (indicated).
For each participant in the trip, in addition to his last name and first name, the confirmation must indicate (at least) the number of his passport, and citizenship - i.e. data allowing the consulate to uniquely identify this person.
Also, the confirmation must indicate the dates of the planned stay, information about payment (or payment guarantees), and must be stamped by the hotel and signed by the manager. Payment receipt is optional. If it is attached, it will be good. No - no problem, it will go like that.
Request to the hotel to obtain documents confirming accommodation in it
This section provides an approximate sample of a request to a hotel to receive documents confirming accommodation in it. Let me remind you that the request must be made in English, or in the national language of the country where the hotel is located.
In Baltic hotels, you can try to write in Russian. They answer, however, in English (they don't have a Russian keyboard), but they answer.
Contents of the request for documents confirming residence
The text of the request for documents confirming accommodation, sent by you to the hotel, should be something like the one below (in English - just a little lower).
If the hotel is booked but not paid for:
"Good day!
I have booked a room at your hotel through the booking system "Booking.com", booking number 123456, dates of stay from… to….
I ask you to send me a confirmation of accomodation in your hotel, which I need to obtain a Schengen visa.
In the confirmation, please indicate the names and numbers of the guests' passports [here you need to give a list of the names of the participants in the trip with the numbers of foreign passports], dates of stay, as well as data on payment for the number (payment guarantees).
If necessary, I am ready to make an advance payment, or provide you with payment guarantees. Please fill out the document on the letterhead of your hotel.
Respectfully yours, Imyarek. "
If the hotel room was paid for immediately(when booking), it's still easier. You just need to ask the administration for documents confirming the fact of payment for the hotel for such and such dates, and for such and such (full name) residents.
An example request text will be as follows:
"Good day!
I have booked and paid for a room in your hotel through the booking system "Booking.com", booking number 123456, dates of stay from… to….
I ask you to send me a document confirming the fact of payment for a room in your hotel(confirmation of accomodation)which I need to get a Schengen visa.
In the confirmation, please indicate the names and numbers of the guests' passports [here you need to give a list of the names of the participants in the trip with the numbers of foreign passports], dates of stay, as well as data on the payment of the hotel.
I ask you to draw up the document on the letterhead of your hotel, and attach a receipt for payment (if possible).
Respectfully yours, Imyarek. "
You send this request to the hotel's e-mail address, and wait for the reaction of its employees. They will answer you without fail, but what they will answer is impossible to predict in advance.
A sample text of the request in English is given below.
The text of the request for documents confirming hotel accommodation, in English
If you do not speak English, then just copy the text of the request for confirmation of residence located below and send it to the address of the hotels along the route you are traveling, preliminarily correcting the data on their own:
IF THE HOTEL HAS NOT BEEN PAID WHEN BOOKING
Here the situation is a little more complicated: we should (preferably) persuade the hotel not to pay right away (suddenly they will not be issued a visa), but “push” it into making a decision to “freeze” the funds on our account, without actually writing them off.
In this case, the hotel will write in the confirmation "Payment guaranteed", which will suit both us and the consulate. And the calculation will be already in place, upon arrival.
Hotels sometimes do this (for some reason they often like to get paid in cash), but not always and not all. Nevertheless, you can try.
To understand what is being said below, first just read the text using the google translator (just click on the link, the translation of the text below will immediately open in a new window), there you can fix it right away"For yourself" and from there copy and paste into your letter.
Good afternoon! I booked a room at your hotel through "Booking.com" (No. 000.000.000), arrival 25.05.2018, departure 10.06.2018.
I need to get a confirmation of the hotel stay (confirmation of accomodation). This document is necessary for me to apply to the consulate of Latvia for obtaining a Schengen visa.
I am ready to prepay up to 100%, if necessary, or guarantee payment to you.
If this is acceptable, you can simply to hold the required amount on my bank card, if it is suitable as a guarantee of payment.
Confirmation of accommodation must contain at least the following information for consulate: arrival and departure dates, guest names, as well as payment details (or about a payment guarantee).
Please make this confirmation in English and on the letterhead of your hotel, if possible.
Information about guests: Guest number 1: Ivan Ivanov. Country: Russia, city: Orenburg. Passport 00No0000000
Guest number 2: Tatiana Ivanova. Country: Russia, city: Orenburg. Passport 00No0000000
If you need more details, write to me and I will give you all the necessary information.
Thank you very much in advance.
With best wishes, Ivan Ivanov.
Well, if the option with a payment guarantee does not work (the hotel will inform you about this), then well ... you will have to pay for your accommodation. But at least we tried. Then we just pay and wait for the document confirming the payment.
IF THE HOTEL HAS BEEN PAID IN ADVANCE
If the hotel was already paid for by you at the booking stage, then the situation is simplified utterly. We do not need to look for payment options, negotiate prepayment conditions and actions in case of booking cancellation, etc.
We just need to request documents confirming the fact of payment for the hotel. BUT it should be not just a check of payment, but a full-fledged paper, which lists the data of all persons performing the trip (what was mentioned above).
But the check itself is just not very necessary. The signature of the manager and the stamp of the hotel on his letterhead is enough.
In this case, you can use approximately the following variant of contacting the hotel, which is given below.
Optima Hotel, Krakow, Poland:
Hotel "Aura", Prague, Czech Republic:
NOTE:
Carefully study the document you received from the hotel. Check the dates of stay indicated there, as well as the first and last names of the guests (the spelling must match the one written in the passport) and other information specified in the document.
If something is written incorrectly (it happens), then immediately write to the hotel and ask to correct the mistake, they do it without any problems.
Prepayment of the hotel upon receipt of confirmation of residence
In order to receive documents confirming accommodation from the hotel, in most cases you will have to prepay the accommodation. In some cases, this is required by the consulates, in others it is the requirements of the hotel.
If the prepayment is due to the requirements of the consulate (as, for example, with the Poles), it must be done without fail (otherwise, the consulate will not accept these documents as proof of residence).
If the consulate does not require the obligatory full (100%) prepayment of the hotel, then its amount depends entirely on your agreement with the hotel. Hotels, unfortunately, have learned from bitter experience (when tourists book rooms for a visa, and then immediately cancel them).
Therefore, some hotels (not all - this is individual), insist that upon issuance of documents confirming accommodation, the tariff will be changed to non-refundable, and that in case of cancellation of the reservation, the entire payment for accommodation will be withheld in full, or part of it (as a rule , in the amount of one night stay).
The amount of the required prepayment, as well as the conditions for its return in case of cancellation of the reservation, is a thing strictly individual for each hotel.
Pay attention to the terms of the prepayment and the terms of the refund if you cancel your booking. At this point you need to pay attention BEFORE execution of the payment.
In general, as noted above, everything here is strictly individual. Each hotel decides for itself what conditions you set. Agree with them (such conditions), or not, this is completely your decision.
FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Payment in full and without the possibility of refund, I was required only once (hotel chain "Optima", Poland). In principle, almost all Polish hotels will require you only 100% prepayment when it comes to providing documents for the consulate (to obtain a visa).
But the conditions for a refund in case of booking cancellation - here the requirements differ from hotel to hotel.
Acceptable conditions I (personally) consider this when in case of cancellation of your reservation, the hotel claims to withhold payment for one day of stay. This is normal practice.
Better conditions can be found, though. Here the little ones, the so-called "Family" hotels (where the owner of the hotel often sits at the reception himself).
In this case, he, of course, is not bound by any internal instructions for the staff (unlike the staff of large hotels), and is free to make decisions regarding payment options and conditions for its return.
However, as I noted above, the solution to this issue is yours. If you are not satisfied with the terms, cancel your booking and look for another hotel that will offer more acceptable terms of cancellation in case of need. If you are 100% sure of the trip - pay, and do not even think.
I would like to note that there are “specialists” who book hotels only to obtain a visa, and after receiving it, they immediately cancel the reservation. Don't do that. In any case, until the moment you cross the border (i.e. enter the Schengen area). Then you can.
It will not be a completely fair game, but there are such options, and they can (and sometimes, it happens, and should) be used if necessary. But with caution.
Methods for obtaining documents confirming accommodation from the hotel
Residence documents can be obtained any in a way convenient for you and for the hotel. In most cases, this will be a file in the format of a picture, or a * .pdf document, which you must print with good quality and attach to the set of documents sent to the consulate.
But different situations are possible here. For example, in the above-mentioned Optima hotel chain, I was happily informed that they could send the required document to me. only(!) by fax and nothing else. (XXI century in the yard ...)
Moreover, all my persuasions did not lead to anything, and I still had to look for a fax to receive this document.
Do I need to receive confirmation of residence by fax
Here I will digress on the topic of receiving documents confirming hotel accommodation by fax.
There is an opinion (described on some tourist sites) that consulates allegedly "love" (and almost demand) confirmation of accommodation from hotels received by fax, since it is difficult to forge them in this case.
In none from openly published official documents, as well as on the websites of consulates (and I have reviewed a lot of them) there is no such requirement anywhere (I have not met).
Perhaps 10-15 years ago, when copying technology was not so developed, and when only a few people (hotel employees) were able to make documents in * .pdf format, inserting both the hotel seal and the manager's signature into them, then this was also relevant ...
But now, when a decent enough camera is built into any smartphone, and a scanner is easier to find than a fax ... receiving documents by fax is nonsense.
I really know (based on personal experience) that of all the confirmations of residence I received from hotels for obtaining a visa, only one was sent to me using a fax machine.
The rest were sent to me via e-mail in the form of documents in * .pdf format, or in the form of pictures. And they all set up a consulate.
In what form to submit documents from hotels confirming accommodation to the consulate
In the consulate, documents confirming residence must be submitted exactly in the form in which you received them from the hotel. You will receive most of the confirmations in * .jpeg * .jpg or * .bmp format, or in * .pdf format.
After receiving confirmation, print it in good quality (this is a prerequisite), in the number of copies according to the number of submitted visa applications: one participant of the trip - one set of documents, and attach these papers to to each package of documents.
The main thing is that the terms of payment comply with the requirements of the consulate (if these requirements are published), and the content of the document meets the requirements for it (see above), i.e. so that it contains all the necessary information about the residence.
On this, I will finish the note on the process of obtaining documents confirming accommodation from hotels, for submitting them to the consulate to obtain a Schengen visa.
I hope that the topic of obtaining documents from hotels has been fully disclosed by me. In any case, I told everything I knew. I believe that the information above is more than enough to guide you in obtaining confirmation of residence from the hotel, from how to request it, and ending with how it looks and what it is.
Dear readers, this article was written in January 2015, all information was current at the time of its publication. unfortunately, some services have changed the interface (checkmytrip.com), thereby complicating the process of printing tickets.
In this article, we'll talk about booking and printing unpaid tickets. It's no secret that travelers are required to return air tickets when applying for visas, sometimes they are asked about a return ticket right at the airport, etc.
Who needs an air ticket and why
To obtain a visa. One of the reasons for issuing fictitious reservations (air tickets, hotels, transfers, etc.) is the strict visa requirements of some countries that probably live in the Stone Age and insistently require all the necessary paperwork (air tickets, hotel reservations, transfers, etc.) .).
There are a number of travelers who prefer to catch cheap air tickets (last minute deals) with visas in hand, and as the coveted ticket appears at a fair price, they immediately buy it. Such travelers first receive a visa (of course, without paid tickets), and then they look for tickets.
For presentation at airports. Return air tickets may also be required from you when entering those countries that allow tourists to arrive in their country without a visa, Thailand as an example. When traveling to Thailand, the traveler may be required to have a return ticket even before the flight and, if it is not available, may not be put on the flight.
In addition to airline tickets, you can check the availability of insurance, hotel reservations, etc. Each country has its own requirements for tourists, you can find out in advance about the requirements of the country you are going to using the Timatik service, in detail about it here.
If a visa is refused. Free booking of air tickets is also convenient in those cases when you are not sure whether they will issue you a visa or not, and the correctness of filling out the documents does not play any role here. Especially if there were previously visa violations - overstay, unpaid fines and other violations you have already forgotten about. In such a situation, not many tourists want to sit with a paid air ticket in their hands, if there is no confidence in obtaining a visa, and booking without payment allows you to somehow calm your nerves.
It is especially important to have airline tickets when submitting documents to consulates of countries that often refuse to issue visas (USA, England, etc.).
How to book a plane ticket without paying
We will analyze in detail how to book a ticket without payment, in most cases it is booked for consulates and minimizing unnecessary questions at airports.
There are several important points you should be aware of when booking flights without paying:
- there is no guarantee that the flight reservation will be held for a long time. Sometimes airlines withdraw unpaid booked tickets, but this happens in cases where there is little time left before departure and there are people who want to purchase a booked but unpaid ticket;
- in most cases, you will be given a visa, but if you found a ticket at a good price and did not buy it, then closer to the date of your trip there may not be such prices, so if you see a good price for a ticket, then you should buy it.
So, let's proceed to the very booking of an air ticket without payment. There are a few simple steps here, by completing which you will have a real air ticket booking.
Flight search for booking without payment
To search for an air ticket in the direction you need, we go here, the search form and filters will help you find a ticket for the required dates, if you are doing this for the first time, then read the article about air ticket search, it will help you to save a lot when buying air tickets "Feature of air tickets search".
We select any offer and proceed to filling in the data on the agency / airline's website to which the airline ticket search engine will transfer us. As mentioned earlier, some airlines allow you to issue tickets via the Internet, and pay at their offices, thereby giving us time to go to the visa center with active ticket reservations, other airlines keep the reservation for a long time, which is in our favor. Booking conditions provided by airlines sometimes change, so be careful.
The main task of all these manipulations is to get the so-called PNR code (booking code). Recently, many online services for the sale of air tickets are trying not to show this data, but we will be trickier.
Having filled in the standard data for buying air tickets, we will have a reservation number - this is a short set of characters consisting of Latin letters and numbers, the reservation number should be remembered or written down.
Sometimes an email comes with a booking number, sometimes the ticket booking number is indicated right on the website page, this is not so important, we only need it once.
How to print flight reservations without payment
The next step is to print the flight booking without payment. We go to one of the sites for checking air tickets and calmly print out our air ticket reservation.
There are several websites for printing an airline ticket (viewtrip.com, virtuallythere.com, myairlines.ru, etc.). For example, I use the site checkmytrip.com, it has a simple interface and it always works fine.
In the form that opens, we enter the reservation number, the last name for which the ticket was booked and click on the button. Further, it will be possible to print or save the itinerary receipt.
Video on how to print an unpaid flight reservation
My friend (Anton Pushkarev), did short video clip, in which he talks in great detail about the printout of unpaid reservation. The video is three minutes long, be sure to watch it and like it if it helped you.
That's all, now you have a real (legal) airline ticket reservation, which can become your ticket if you pay for it on time.
Flight booking
Air tickets are booked every time they buy a plane ticket via the Internet, in most cases people do not even think about it.
In order to understand why air tickets are booked without our knowledge, you need to understand how most of the websites of air ticket booking aggregators work.
In fact, everything is very simple. When you are looking for a flight ticket, the aggregator sites provide a selection of many ticket and airline sites. After choosing an air ticket (by price, time, etc.), the aggregator site redirects you to the airline's website, but not everyone does this, some sites offer to purchase an air ticket directly on their website, this is what the agent ru website does.
It is at this moment that an air ticket is booked, which can go into a purchase or remain a booking. Thus, any ticket purchased online occurs at the stage of online booking, the only difference is in the time that this booking is held.
Where to book flights
There are several convenient ways to book and buy air tickets, about which I
- metasearch engines (air sales, skyscanner, etc.) - search for air tickets on many sites and provide you with a search result in a readable form (be sure to use the low price calendar and a subscription to a price cut);
- ticket sites (agent ru, euroavia ru, etc.) - you can make a reservation directly on their website without going to the airline's website;
- air ticket exchanges (turdom ru and others) - as a rule, you can buy tickets here at a very good price, but you need to catch them;
- airline sites - sometimes on such sites there may be very inconvenient navigation or the absence of the Russian language, so you need to know English.
Terms of booking tickets of different airlines
The timing of booking air tickets depends on the conditions of the airline, and not on the site on which you book your ticket. Various factors (time before departure, availability of free tickets for this flight, etc.) can influence the lifetime of your flight ticket reservation.
The approximate time that airlines hold reservations can be seen in this list:
- Qatar keeps the reservation up to 10 days;
- Aeroflot holds a reservation for no more than 2 days;
- Turkish Airlines holds reservations for up to 10 days;
- KLM holds a reservation for no more than 1 day;
- UIA holds reservations for up to 10 days;
- AlItalia holds a reservation for no more than 1 day;
- AirBaltic keep your reservation up to 3 days;
- SAS holds reservations for up to 2 days;
- AirBerlin holds reservations for up to 4 days;
- AirFrance holds reservations for up to 4 days;
- Lufthansa holds reservations for up to 2 days;
- EuropeAir holds reservations for up to 7 days.
A number of airlines allow you not to pay for your booked tickets if you book on their websites, but you can pay at their office. In any case, carefully read the "small print" text on the cancellation policy. For example, Lufthansa will charge you a cancellation fee for a guaranteed reservation.
How to check an air ticket
It is very easy to check an air ticket by booking number and last name, now I will tell you about it in more detail. As I said earlier, all tickets purchased via the Internet are somehow booked through one of the global booking systems, and thus each ticket (whether paid for or not) has a unique booking number.
Check flight ticket through global booking sites
I know several global booking systems used by airlines and all those who sell air tickets: Sirena, Galileo, Saber, Amadeus. Any tourist can contact these systems, but not directly, but through the corresponding information sites.
- Siren - www.myairlines.ru
- Saber -
Here you should take into account the following nuance, depending on the airline, the booking system with which this airline works (Sirena, Galileo, Saber, Amadeus) will also depend, so you should know on which website to check your ticket. Sometimes, information about the booking system is indicated on air tickets, but for greater confidence, you can enter the booking number and surname on all the sites presented.
Check the purchased ticket by number and surname
Large ticket agencies (for example, onetwotrip) provide their customers with a number of options (print an e-ticket, issue a refund, choose the type of food on board, etc.), including checking the purchased ticket by number and surname (by order or payment number and email address or mobile phone number).
In order to check the ticket purchased on onetwotrip by number and last name, you should indicate the ticket number on this page (namely the ticket number, not the booking number) and the last name that was indicated during registration.
When to book a plane ticket without payment
To book a plane ticket without payment, as I wrote above, is required in the following situations:
- booking air tickets for a visa - it is done in cases where the country of issue of the visa is very meticulous and there is no guarantee in issuing a visa;
- delayed purchase of an air ticket - if you have found a good price for an air ticket, but have not yet decided to go or not, then the booking helps out and you can think about your trip in a calm atmosphere;
- lack of money to buy an air ticket - you found a plane ticket at the best price, but at the moment there is not enough money to buy it (anything can happen in life, salary is delayed, payment by bank card does not go through, etc.), in this case make a reservation and pay a little later;
- there is a high probability of a visa refusal - you know exactly for what reasons you may be denied a visa and do not want to have a paid air ticket on hand.
Booking air tickets for a visa
To obtain a visa, in one sense or another, several ways are suitable to prove to consular officers that you have air tickets. Here are the most legal ones.
Return flights
The most reliable way to get your visa flight reservations is to buy return air tickets. You will have real air tickets (paid), suitable for obtaining a visa. With such air tickets, there should be no unnecessary questions from the consular staff to you.
After obtaining a visa, return air tickets can be returned with the loss of part of the money. It is not entirely clear why you need a visa then (you will probably travel by land, not by plane), but many make a reservation in this way - it is reliable and less nerves.
Flight booking without payment
A more risky and less predictable way of obtaining a visa is to take unpaid air ticket reservations to the consulate, there can be anything, from the automatic cancellation of the reservation by the airline, to the call of the consular officer to the airline.
Friends, it should be remembered that no fools work in consulates (at least, not more stupid than you and me) and they understand everything perfectly, and if they want to find a reason not to issue a visa, they will definitely find it. I highly do not recommend making an air ticket reservation in Photoshop - this is pure deception, it is better to make an unpaid reservation, which in itself is an official document.
If you have successfully read this article to the end, then you know all the features when booking air tickets and now you can imagine exactly how it all works.
A frequent question is - can you book a ticket now and pay later? We answer - you can. But it is important to know a few subtleties that will help you find such tickets and get such a service for free.
There are usually two reasons for booking flights without paying:
- There was no bank card at hand or there were not enough funds, but I wanted to fix a ticket at a low price.
- Air tickets are needed to apply for a visa, but there is no one hundred percent certainty that the consulate will approve the application.
In these cases, there are two ways to book tickets without payment.
1. Booking on the airline's website
Many airlines are sympathetic to the need for deferred payment when booking. For example, the largest European carrier Lufthansa provides two days to pay for a reservation. Americans United are ready to hold your reservation for a whole week, and Korean Air - up to ten days! It is important to remember that the company can unilaterally reduce the time to pay for the reservation. They will immediately notify you of this by e-mail or phone, so please provide real data when booking. Be sure to study all the terms of deferred payment. Some airlines reserve the right to charge small fines if you refuse to pay for your reservation on time.
2. Booking on the website of ticket agencies
This option is the most common because the agency can provide a deferred payment service for tickets and for those airlines that themselves do not have such an opportunity. For experienced travelers, the agent.ru service is popular, where you can book tickets without payment for a period of 12 to 72 hours. The time directly depends on the departure date. When booking tickets for the coming days, do not hope that you will be given more than a day to pay. But if you search several months before departure, you can easily find booking options for several days.
Advice: if you need a paper copy to apply for a visa, then booking verification services will help.
To book an air ticket without payment, I use the website agent.ru. Most airlines require instant payment, but there are those who are willing to hold unpaid reservations for up to 10 days.
- Qatar - up to 10 days
- Aeroflot - up to 2 days
- Turkish Airlines - up to 10 days
- KLM - up to 24 hours
- UIA - up to 10 days
- AlItalia - up to 24 hours
- AirBaltic - up to 3 days
- SAS - up to 2 days
- AirBerlin - up to 4 days
- AirFrance - up to 4 days
- Lufthansa - up to 10 days
- EuropeAir - up to 7 days
This list indicates that the reservation is held up to a certain number of days. Therefore, after you have booked a ticket, pay attention to the counter, about it a little further ...
UPD dated October 19, 2018
Before, I always made a reservation without paying on the agent.ru website. I love this way, so I shared it with you. But lately you have been writing to me that agent.ru no longer shows the booking code for unpaid tickets. What are the alternatives?
- The website euroavia.ru offers for 300 rubles. book a ticket for a visa free of charge. They say they will keep your reservation for 7 days, but I read not very good reviews on the forums about them. They say, cheaters, they take money and immediately cancel the ticket. I am only telling you about the methods that exist, but I am not ready to vouch for them. Whether or not to book tickets in this way is your decision!
- Some airlines allow you to keep your reservation without payment for up to 10 days. For example, Qatar, Turkish Airlines and others. After you have entered the passenger data and proceeded to pay, there is an option to check the box “Pay later”.
Such a ticket can be printed for the embassy or border crossing, but I do not know exactly how long the actual reservation will be. If it is the active booking that is important, and not the presence of an unpaid ticket, then I recommend writing directly to the airline and specifying how long they are willing to wait.
- Some tour. agencies can make a reservation without payment. Call several agencies in your city and check what you did.
How to book a ticket without payment
We go to the agent.ru website and select the country / city and date we need. For example, we fly to Amsterdam on November 8 and return on November 17.
We choose the required airline, in my case it's AirFrance. Do not pay attention to the price, as you will not buy tickets.
We fill in the necessary data. In order to book a ticket without payment, you must first register on the website.
After you have entered your data and clicked the "Proceed to payment" button, the booking code will appear on the screen, and at the very bottom of the page a counter that notifies about the validity of the reservation.
How to print a ticket without payment
You can find and print your reservation on one of the following sites:
- checkmytrip
- viewtrip
- virtuallythere
- myairlines
Over the past few months, I've received a record number of emails asking me to help print a booking from checkmytrip. For many, the interface turned out to be incomprehensible, so I added photos with step-by-step instructions to the article.
I cannot find my reservation, what to do
- You have a 5-digit booking number, and the above sites find a reservation only by a 6-digit code. In this case, we need to go directly to the carrier's website and check our reservation there.
- Your reservation has expired. Pay attention to the counter!
- The program sometimes crashes, very rarely, but it happens. If your reservation is nowhere to be found, most likely the order did not go through and the procedure must be repeated.
- In the comments, several people said that they made a reservation with an airline that holds tickets without payment for up to 10 days, but agent.ru canceled them the next day. In this case, you need to write to agent.ru support and clarify the reasons for the cancellation.
Booking air tickets for a visa
If you book tickets to get the Schengen, you will need a reservation that lasts at least 7 days, or even 10, ideally. Tickets must be valid as long as possible while your documents are pending. This article lists only my experience and the experience of other travelers, which was successful (read the comments on the article!). But you should understand that I cannot give you a 100% guarantee, each case is unique. By booking a ticket without paying for a visa, the responsibility lies solely with you.
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