To enter many countries of the world, citizens of post-Soviet states will need a visa. The package of documents required for its registration includes confirmation of the place of residence abroad. If you do not have friends or relatives who will provide shelter during your stay abroad, you need to take care of hotel reservations in advance. There are various ways to book a hotel for a visa.
Hotel reservation for visa
The hotel booking confirmation for a visa is a certificate that must be attached to the package of documents for a visa. But in many cases, booking a room can be formalized, only for a visa.
Requirements for booking confirmation differ depending on the rules that are adopted in a particular country. For example, in order to obtain a visa to most Schengen states, it is necessary not only to book a room, but also to pay for it. If you cancel your reservation before traveling abroad, your visa may be revoked.
But some Mediterranean states (Greece, Italy, Spain), which are interested in the influx of tourists, accept booking documents without payment.
There are consular offices that allow you to submit booking confirmation from service websites, but some require a fax directly from the hotel.
You can clarify all the requirements for 2021 on the official websites of consulates and accredited visa centers.
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How to book a room
Novice travelers often wonder how to make hotel reservations for a visa.
First of all, you should go to the official website of the consulate of the country to which you are going to travel. It is important to find out exactly what type of booking confirmation is required from you, and, depending on this, plan your further actions.
If the consulate accepts booking documents from intermediary service firms, the situation is greatly simplified. In the Russian-speaking segment, there are many popular companies that will help you reserve a place of residence in any country in the world and will issue a voucher that will confirm this. You can choose a hotel of any price category and level of amenities.
If the consulate requires an original hotel voucher, then you will have to deal with the search for a place to stay and booking a room yourself.
You can find a hotel online. On the official websites of hotels there are sections for online booking.
Check out the conditions on which you can book a hotel yourself:
- features of different tariffs;
- whether prepayment is required;
- what payment systems can be used;
- is it possible to cancel the reservation free of charge;
- whether food and additional services are provided.
The booking form on the site includes columns in which the applicant's personal data are entered, contact information allowing him to be contacted, and the "Comments" section.
When ordering a room, leave a letter in the comments window for the manager with a request to fax you a voucher that confirms the booking.
If you are traveling abroad with your family or with friends, and the room is booked for everyone, then the voucher should contain not only your personal data, but also information about all your companions. The same conditions must be met if you are booking a hostel for a visa.
When entering personal data into the hotel booking database, check that they exactly match the information in your passport. Errors and discrepancies in personal information may result in the hotel's voucher not being accepted by the consulate.
Most often, hotel booking systems do not charge prepayment, and payment for accommodation is made on the spot. But if consular services require a paid booking, then you should inform the hotel staff in the "Comments" section and ask to write off the funds from your bank card for booking a room, and also indicate this in the booking voucher.
Usually hotels "freeze" a certain guarantee amount on your bank card, and after your arrival, the blocking is removed and you make the full payment. But in case of trip cancellation or if you want to change the hotel, “defrosting” the account can take a long time - up to 30 days. Therefore, for basic expenses while traveling, it is better to have a second bank card.
You can receive confirmation of your hotel reservation by fax. Consulates usually do not object to fax confirmation from the hotel if it comes on an official letterhead with company details and signatures of the responsible persons.
If contact with the hotel online is difficult (the staff does not respond to your request actively and promptly), then it is better to choose another hotel for booking.
Booking via Booking.com
The most popular online hotel booking system is Booking. On this site it is possible to find more than a million options for temporary residence in 227 countries of the world. You can book a hotel of any comfort category - from a small family guesthouse to a luxurious premium complex. Here you can also rent an apartment, a villa or a bed in a hostel.
The booking system at "Booking" is very convenient, has a Russian-language version and is available around the clock.
If the consulate of the country where you plan to obtain a visa allows Booking vouchers as confirmation, then you can book a hotel using this service. If you do not rule out the option of canceling your reservation, then choose a hotel that does not charge cancellation fees (marked "Free cancellation").
To save on living abroad, it is recommended to book your accommodation in advance. With early booking, you can take advantage of discounts, promotions and other great offers.
To use this service, please log into Booking.com. Registration on the site gives you the opportunity to see the accommodation options with discounts.
The main page contains a booking form. To reserve a room you need:
- Enter the name of the country and city where you want to find accommodation.
- Indicate the dates of entry-exit;
- Mark the purpose of the trip - travel or work.
- Indicate the type of room and the number of people, including children.
- Press the button "Check prices". You will be redirected to the next page, which will present various options for the location of hotels, their comfort and cost.
- For your convenience, you can use the "Select by criteria" filter. You can set the price range, availability, additional services, hotel rating, special booking conditions (for example, booking hotels without a credit card), food availability or no meals, proximity to attractions and other parameters.
- After choosing a hotel, go to its page. There you can see photos of rooms and infrastructure, information about available rooms and prices.
- If everything suits you, click the "I book" button. A confirmation page will open, where the fields with the personal data of guests and contact information (phone number, email) are filled in.
Information must be entered in English or the language of the hotel. It must exactly match the data in the passport, regardless of the chosen language.
If you wish, you can choose additional hotel services: transfer from the airport, taxi call and more. After completing all operations, click the "Continue" button.
- On the new page, fill in your address and credit card details.If the registration conditions provide for a paid reservation or prepayment, then the required amount will be "frozen" on the card.
- Click the "Complete booking" button.
After the end of the reservation, you will receive a confirmation of your reservation - a voucher from Booking - by e-mail, which you indicated as a contact, within 10-15 minutes.
Other hotel booking services
In addition to Booking, you can use other electronic booking systems. These include:
- ru.airbnb.com
- ostrovok.ru
- oktogo.ru
- budgetplace.com
- hotelscombined.com
- hotels.com
To find out where to book a hotel with the most affordable prices, use the aggregator sites roomguru.com, hotelscombined.com and trivago.com. They compare offers from different hotel booking agents and lay out the most budget-friendly versions.
But before booking, it is recommended to carefully read the terms and conditions on which the discounted prices are offered. These may include the inability to cancel your reservation or other options that you find inconvenient.
What documents will be needed
At the time of booking, you only need the information on your passport and your credit card number. No additional certificates and certificates are required.
To confirm your hotel reservation, you only need an electronic voucher from the reservation service or a fax from the hotel. But if a tourist was suspected of having made a fictitious booking of accommodation in the past, then he may be asked to show evidence that during his previous visits he stayed in those hotels, based on the vouchers of which he was issued a visa.
Consulates of different countries treat this issue with varying degrees of severity. The most picky consular departments of Germany and the Czech Republic.
Sample Hotel Booking Confirmation for Visa
A hotel voucher is an official form, which indicates the details and logo of the hotel or the booking system, information about the client (or clients, if there are several guests in the room), as well as information about the ordered room and other booking details. The types of forms are individual for each hotel.
Service sites send a voucher in PDF format, it must be printed. The customer receives the fax confirmation ready-made. These documents must be submitted to the consulate in the general package of certificates for obtaining a visa.
This is how the confirmation of hotel reservation for a visa looks like.
How to cancel a reservation
Many hotels allow free cancellation, but there are some restrictions. Usually, you can cancel a reservation for free 48-24 hours before the planned arrival date. If you don't, you will have to pay a fine.
The amount of the fine is usually the cost of one night's stay. Free cancellation dates are based on local hotel time.
Many tourists are interested in how to cancel a reservation on Booking. For the convenience of users, the company has provided a simple and convenient operation for this.
The confirmation email that you receive by e-mail contains links to change or cancel your reservation. Follow them to the hotel page on the "Booking" website, click the "Cancel booking" button and confirm that you really want to do this in the pop-up window. Cancellation of the reservation will take place within a few seconds.
If you accidentally deleted an email with the links you want, it doesn't matter. Go to the Booking home page and find the link “Online booking modification” at the bottom of the page.
Click on the link and enter your email address. You will receive a new confirmation email in which you will find a link to cancel your reservation.
Conclusion
To issue a visa, many consulates require the applicant to confirm the place of residence while traveling abroad. Hotel booking abroad is a simple procedure that can be done online. To do this, use the booking services or contact the hotel directly.
Both services and hotels send official confirmation of booking, which are accepted at the consulates.
