What is a Difference between Booking or Reservation and Can You Make a Hotel Reservation Without Paying?

Booking Vs. Reservation

It is important for you to know that there is a difference between “booking” and “reservation”.

•        A “booking” is an arrangement you make, such as a hotel room or a flight ticket and you pay 100% upfront for it.

•        A “reservation” is the arrangement you make, such as a hotel room or a flight ticket without you paying in advance but having it blocked from anyone else being able to book it. Once your Visa is approved, you can fully make your payment.

It is not necessary for you to submit hotel booking for Visa and pay for your room in advance because, in the unfortunate event of Visa rejection, you risk losing your money.

Therefore, you are allowed to submit proof that you reserved a room in a hotel without the need of paying upfront for the booking.

The same rule is valid for your flight itinerary for Visa: according to the Visa application procedure, you can submit flight reservations instead of flight bookings without you paying in advance for them.

Nevertheless, the difference between “booking” and “reservation” is more important when it comes to your flight tickets (because just a few airlines allow you to make a flight reservation that you do not need to pay for). But most hotels will not ask you to pay in advance for your room or will offer you a refundable option (unless you do not find a non-refundable offer on one of the websites that offer hotel reservation services).

Even though you have to provide the details of your credit card as a guarantee when reserving a hotel room, no charge will be made to your credit card.

Your card number is held against a cancellation that can violate the hotel’s cancellation policy.

 Therefore, it will not be difficult for you to find accommodation in the city or cities within the Schengen Area you plan to travel to without you paying in advance.

Please note that you need to submit the hotel bookings or reservations for each city you plan to visit in order to get your Visa.

For example, if you’re going to visit three different cities within the Schengen Region (no matter if they are in the same country or in different countries) you must submit three hotel reservations.

Important: If you need help and do not want to make the reservations for the entire trip to Europe yourself you can also book your Flight Itinerary and Hotel Itinerary through Schengen Visa Itinerary for one flat rate for up to 30 days of travel (we also include your Schengen Travel Insurance in your package).

If you are interested in our flight, hotel and insurance package, please contact us and we would be more than happy to help. We ensure a 24 hours’ delivery for all of our services.