A dummy hotel reservation is simply a hotel booking
specifically used for the purpose of getting a visa. The booking is created
depending on your travel dates and once you know the outcome of your visa application,
the hotel reservation dates can be changed or the booking can be cancelled if
your visa gets rejected.
Why
Do You Need Dummy Hotel Bookings for Visa Applications?
There are several answers to this question.
The main reason for the need for dummy hotel bookings
for visa applications: On most embassy website, you will find a list of
requirements that you need for your visa application. On each of these
requirement lists, you will find a few requirements that are the same for
almost all countries:
• A hotel
booking or reservation for your entire intended stay
• A flight
reservation with return flight
It is not exactly clear why the embassies require this
information, because on the same page you will usually find a sentence stating,
“It is advised against purchasing any tickets before the visa application has
been approved.” It can be argued that this might be an outdated requirement,
dating from the time when visa agents would book and hold the ticket for you
until you confirmed that you wanted it. The other argument is that the embassy
and visa officer do need to know your intended travel dates so they can approve
your visa accordingly. No matter what the reason behind this requirement
though, it is still mandatory and still a requirement you need to oblige to.
The embassies want proof of a reservation of both your
flights and hotels, but they do not want you to actually pay for anything yet
(in case your application is rejected).
As per the Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of The European
Parliament and of The Council of 13 July 2009, establishing a Community Code on
Visas known as “Visa Code”, Proof of Accommodation is a rule of the visa
application procedure that each Schengen country ought to apply to their
foreign visa seekers.
A dummy hotel reservation is simply a hotel booking
specifically used for the purpose of getting a visa. The added advantage of
getting a dummy hotel reservation is you do not pay for the hotel up front, so
you will not lose any money if your visa gets rejected. There is just a basic
service charge to the travel agent who does everything for you.
It seems straightforward enough, but the problems is;
where can you get dummy hotel bookings for visa applications? Before creating
Schengen visa flight reservation, we were wondering the exact same. Many hotel
booking websites will allow you to book a room without paying for it first, but
this does not apply to all, and in addition, there is the added stress of
having to remember to cancel a bunch of different reservations. This is
particularly stressful for applications like the Schengen Visa, where you will
have to show a big itinerary of booked hotels for long trips in different
cities.
To make a hotel booking
without paying the price you could use the services of Schengen Visa
Itinerary. We also offer Flight Reservation
and affordable Travel Insurance
to complete your visa requirements.