Your hotel
reservation for a Schengen visa is an important document.
Consider the following benefits of hotel reservation when applying for a visa:
1. Hotel Reservation States Your Travel
Plans and Show Your Level of Preparedness for the Trip
The Embassy of Spain, France, or any other Schengen
country has to know your travel plans. Your proof of accommodation is a way to
show the embassy where you will stay upon arrival in the country.
There are currently 26 of those Schengen countries,
including:
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
and Germany.
Others are Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
The only other option you have is to get an invitation
letter from the person you intend to stay with. So, if a family or friend has
invited you over, you do not need proof of accommodation. Since this relative
or friend will accommodate you.
The same thing applies if you are traveling for
business or a conference. Your business partner or inviting company can send
you an invitation letter too. The letter should address where you will stay in
the country.
The letter may state the conference venue. And it
should state if your registration fees cover the cost of accommodation. But you
must get a valid hotel reservation for a Schengen visa if the registration fee
does not. In this case, you should have both your invitation letter and your
hotel booking.
You need proof of accommodation if applying for a
student visa as well. This is important
when you have an admission but the school is yet to make provision for your
stay. That is a hostel room.
The booking should cover your first 30 days in the
Schengen country. This is enough to assure the embassy that you have sorted out
your accommodation. Until when the school hostel is open.
Another way to state your travel plan is through your
Schengen visa flight reservation. The Schengen flight
reservation booking is a document. It shows your arrival and
departure from the Schengen country.
This is a temporary booking but it bears a six-character
PNR. Or passenger name record locator.
And it shows the airline(s) that will complete the journey.
The third document that explains your travel plans is
a tour voucher. Tour booking is a document that shows the tourist sites you
plan to visit in the Schengen country.
2. Valid Hotel Reservation Helps You Earn
More Score during Visa Application
Your hotel reservation for a Schengen visa gets you
more score on your visa application. The embassy will confirm if your
reservation is valid. And you earn a score once a hotel can confirm your
booking.
In the case where the hotel is unable to confirm this
reservation, you lose some points.
The importance of hotel reservations for a Schengen
visa is monumental. The more reason why consular officers ask questions on it
during a visa interview.
They ask about the name of your hotel, the address,
the check-in date, and the check-out date. These are common Schengen visa
interview questions.
While only a few Schengen embassies in Nigeria
interview visa applicants. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are among those
that interview before granting a visa.
Whichever Schengen country’s visa you need, you must
get a valid hotel reservation to get it.
Note: Third-party reservation is not acceptable for
visa application. Bookings from websites like Schengen Visa Itinerary
are acceptable for hotel reservations for a Schengen Visa.
3. Valid Hotel Reservation Can Reduce Your
Cost of Travel
There are high travel seasons all around the world.
Paris, Salzburg, and Berlin are some of the most visited places in Schengen.
And the influx is higher during Easter and Christmas.
Guess what happens during these periods? Increase in nightly rates of hotel
apartments. And an increase in the fare of flight tickets.
This is why we recommend that you have a
valid hotel booking.
You should have it anytime from six to three months
before your eventual travel date. You can get the best deals before the
high-travel season and save some money. Since you pay hotel fees upon arrival.