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LIVE from the Camino First few days

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Quinranda

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Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (2016)
Hi all. I'm currently in Zubiri. We've had spectacular weather crossing the Pyrenees (I brought extra layers based on weather reports from 2 weeks ago- seems like it's done a 360!). I wanted to reiterate what others have said recently: I'd suggest booking at least thru Pamplona. While beds were available in SJPP the night we were there, every place since has been full. Quite a few people I met couldn't find a place last night in Zubiri. Also... If you do book in Zubiri, most places are asking you to confirm the day before. Someone I met lost her reservation because she didn't. Hope this all helps.
 
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That’s crap that you have to inform them a day ahead of time and you typically don’t find out about that until after you have booked. If I don’t show up just charge me. Don’t want to have to worry about who I have to inform while hiking the day prior. It is what it is though. Just have to deal I guess
 
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My experience last year was that while you could book ahead no deposit was required. All they asked was a reconfirmation the day of arrival. After I arrived many of the hosts told me that while they had a “full house” in the morning 20% of the reservations were no shows. It’s a very difficult situation for these hosts as many deal in cash only. There’s no penalty for a no-show.

Their re-confirmation protocol is their method of dealing with fickle guests.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
That’s crap that you have to inform them a day ahead of time and you typically don’t find out about that until after you have booked. If I don’t show up just charge me. Don’t want to have to worry about who I have to inform while hiking the day prior. It is what it is though. Just have to deal I guess
And deprive someone else from using your bed!
 
And deprive someone else from using your bed!
Deprive? You mean the bed that I paid for. Who said I wasn’t showing up? I just don’t want to have to call and confirm something I’ve already booked.

If you want to do it like other trials where if you don’t show up by 7pm they give your bed away that’s fine to. As long as it’s known in advance.
 
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My experience last year was that while you could book ahead no deposit was required. All they asked was a reconfirmation the day of arrival. After I arrived many of the hosts told me that while they had a “full house” in the morning 20% of the reservations were no shows. It’s a very difficult situation for these hosts as many deal in cash only. There’s no penalty for a no-show.

Their re-confirmation protocol is their method of dealing with fickle guests.
Easy answers to that. Other hotels have it figured out. I’m all about accommodating as many folks as possible with as many travels styles as possible. But if I pay in advance and sign a contract with a hotel I should have my room reserved until a designated time. Simple as that. If I don’t show up by then charge me because I broke the contract. Same for basically any hotel throughout the world.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
My experience last year was that while you could book ahead no deposit was required. All they asked was a reconfirmation the day of arrival. After I arrived many of the hosts told me that while they had a “full house” in the morning 20% of the reservations were no shows. It’s a very difficult situation for these hosts as many deal in cash only. There’s no penalty for a no-show.

Their re-confirmation protocol is their method of dealing with fickle guests.
Indeed - their house - their rules.
 
My experience last year was that while you could book ahead no deposit was required. All they asked was a reconfirmation the day of arrival. After I arrived many of the hosts told me that while they had a “full house” in the morning 20% of the reservations were no shows. It’s a very difficult situation for these hosts as many deal in cash only. There’s no penalty for a no-show.

Their re-confirmation protocol is their method of dealing with fickle guests.
Yes. No payment was taken. They just ask if you reserve to follow up and let them know. Today I learned that the albergue owner was able to find my friend another space somewhere else. So it all worked out.
 
That’s crap that you have to inform them a day ahead of time and you typically don’t find out about that until after you have booked. If I don’t show up just charge me. Don’t want to have to worry about who I have to inform while hiking the day prior. It is what it is though. Just have to deal I guess
I've been warned about this, by the auberge, for my July booking - just set a phone reminder the day before.
 
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That’s crap that you have to inform them a day ahead of time and you typically don’t find out about that until after you have booked. If I don’t show up just charge me. Don’t want to have to worry about who I have to inform while hiking the day prior. It is what it is though. Just have to deal I guess
Putting yourself in other's shoes and being just a little considerate is not so hard as all that.
It's not only the owner you're inconveniencing, it's all the other pilgrims who get turned away because the albergue is saving you a bed - one that you are too lazy to confirm.
 
Easy answers to that. Other hotels have it figured out. I’m all about accommodating as many folks as possible with as many travels styles as possible. But if I pay in advance and sign a contract with a hotel I should have my room reserved until a designated time. Simple as that. If I don’t show up by then charge me because I broke the contract. Same for basically any hotel throughout the world.
The owners of many small Camino albergues don't take prepayment. They don't even take credit card details when they confirm bookings. Many pilgrims from Spain and other parts of Europe don't even have credit cards. It is a question of trust and considerate and sensible behaviour not only between pilgrims but also between pilgrims and albergue owners and in both directions. And that's the easy answer throughout the Camino world. 😇
 
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Do forum members really find it acceptable to have the OP's statement met with the response 'that's crap'? I certainly don't and it doesn't seem to fit with my experience of people walking the Camino - whether for religious or other reasons. In my view such retorts are just rude and intimidating. Surprised that this has not been picked up by the mods or other members. Please can we avoid macho language please, it really has no place here. The forum has an ethos of being respectful and welcoming to each other, let's keep it that way.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
But if I pay in advance and sign a contract with a hotel I should have my room reserved until a designated time. Simple as that. If I don’t show up by then charge me because I broke the contract. Same for basically any hotel throughout the world.

As far as I know, no one has disagreed with you. The other posters here are talking about something different. They are talking about the MANY pilgrims who call ahead and reserve on the phone, are not charged for their room, and then just don’t show up. These owners do not have the means or the custom of charging ahead of time; they rely on honesty and trust. So if you want to be able to pay for your room ahead of time and then not show up, you might want to plan your trip to “basically any hotel throughout the world.”

If you walk a camino, you will see that this is a real issue and it makes life very difficult for the owners of small establishments. Over and over, I see owners who have turned people away relying on the word of the person who called a few days before. And then they wind up with empty beds. Some pilgrims just make reservations in three or four places at different distances so they can walk as long as they want. Others make a reservation in a private place, have their backpack delivered to the albergue and then go pick up the bag, tell the owner they’ve changed their plans, and move on to the public albergue in town that doesn’t take bag transfers.

I personally think it is surprising that these owners continue to take reservations without a guarantee, but I think the request to call ahead to confirm on the day of the reservation is so trivial and so reasonable, that I cannot fathom how it produced such an angry response!

Surprised that this has not been picked up by the mods or other members.
I also thought it was unnecessarily hostile, but since a word search reveals it has appeared in more than 200 threads, I left it up. I am surprised that such a tiny little issue, like being asked to call to confirm a reservation, has produced such a visceral and angry reaction.
 
As far as I know, no one has disagreed with you. The other posters here are talking about something different. They are talking about the MANY pilgrims who call ahead and reserve on the phone, are not charged for their room, and then just don’t show up. These owners do not have the means or the custom of charging ahead of time; they rely on honesty and trust. So if you want to be able to pay for your room ahead of time and then not show up, you might want to plan your trip to “basically any hotel throughout the world.”

If you walk a camino, you will see that this is a real issue and it makes life very difficult for the owners of small establishments. Over and over, I see owners who have turned people away relying on the word of the person who called a few days before. And then they wind up with empty beds. Some pilgrims just make reservations in three or four places at different distances so they can walk as long as they want. Others make a reservation in a private place, have their backpack delivered to the albergue and then go pick up the bag, tell the owner they’ve changed their plans, and move on to the public albergue in town that doesn’t take bag transfers.

I personally think it is surprising that these owners continue to take reservations without a guarantee, but I think the request to call ahead to confirm on the day of the reservation is so trivial and so reasonable, that I cannot fathom how it produced such an angry response!


I also thought it was unnecessarily hostile, but since a word search reveals it has appeared in more than 200 threads, I left it up. I am surprised that such a tiny little issue, like being asked to call to confirm a reservation, has produced such a visceral and angry reaction.
My husband was working as a hospitalero last fall in a Pueblo on the CF and said some pilgrims do make several reservations per day if they can do so without leaving a card and just don't show up. The alternative is not to take reservations. His albergue did not take reservations and did not have a phone in the facility and he was only full two nights last fall during a very busy time. A few nights he had no pilgrims during this busy time.
 
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When I was in Uterga a couple of days ago, a trio of very tired, limping pilgrims were turned away because the alberque was Completo.

This is a small place with not many options.

There were at least four empty bunks that night. Lost revenue for the wonderful owner, and unnecessary suffering for the people turned away.

If reconfirming the day before is what is required to prevent this, but I’m perfectly willing to do it. It takes just a moment of my time.
 
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I think I can add some additional understanding to the issue having been involved in the hotel business. It is very hard to handle credit cards. If you are a large establishment you may have a website equipped to handle credit cards. You may even have a specialized credit card terminal meant to deal with hotel reservations. The protocol is somewhat similar to buying gas at the pump. You have to authorize a greater amount in preparation for a charge that is yet unknown. So the establishment authorizes $100 when in fact you you only use 75. Then a credit is issued. Most hotels do the same not knowing what the final bill will be.

In all cases everyone is loath to take a verbal credit card number, expiry date, and security code. This opens the host to the burden of securing the number from fraud. Some credit processors do not allow manual entry of numbers. If the card (with chip) is not available then sorry no transaction. This protects the card holder and host.

You can also imagine a host trying take numbers while overcoming language difficulties. These small Camino establishments just simply cannot take on all these extra burdens hence the verbal confirmation. The alternative is to give up the booking process to a third party like booking.com and pay the fees.
 
Putting yourself in other's shoes and being just a little considerate is not so hard as all that.
It's not only the owner you're inconveniencing, it's all the other pilgrims who get turned away because the albergue is saving you a bed - one that you are too lazy to confirm.
Wow. How am I being lazy in this again? I planned ahead and booked a room. I’ve already confirmed it when I paid for it. Where is the laziness in that? Please explain.

If I don’t make it I’ll call. If I don’t show up by a certain time the room is given away.

Let me give you the flip side. There was a couple on here (you. Can find the thread) who booked ahead and showed up to their room at a normal time. Because they didn’t confirm with the hotel again the day prior (didn’t have a phone that worked apparently) their room was given away to someone who did no planning and just showed up. The hotel owner eventually found them a place staying with one of his family members because the rest of the rooms were booked. They very easily could have been out a room they paid for already just because their phone didn’t work. That’s not right in my opinion.

Hotels can do what they want. It’s their business. I’m simply going to avoid places that I have to double confirm for. I’d rather put my phone away or maybe not carry a phone and simply show up to the hotel I booked months ago when I did my planning.
 
The owners of many small Camino albergues don't take prepayment. They don't even take credit card details when they confirm bookings. Many pilgrims from Spain and other parts of Europe don't even have credit cards. It is a question of trust and considerate and sensible behaviour not only between pilgrims but also between pilgrims and albergue owners and in both directions. And that's the easy answer throughout the Camino world. 😇
But many do. I can book places all the way to the end point, which I’m currently doing. Anyway this is not worth arguing over. My personal choice is to book in advance. My personal opinion is that a double confirmation is not required and inconvenient for me so I’ll avoid those places. Simple as that.

Look forward to debating you about the next topic since everything I post I seem to get a response from you on how you disagree
 
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Do forum members really find it acceptable to have the OP's statement met with the response 'that's crap'? I certainly don't and it doesn't seem to fit with my experience of people walking the Camino - whether for religious or other reasons. In my view such retorts are just rude and intimidating. Surprised that this has not been picked up by the mods or other members. Please can we avoid macho language please, it really has no place here. The forum has an ethos of being respectful and welcoming to each other, let's keep it that way.
It was talking about a policy that was crap. It wasn’t targeting any pilgrims on here or on the way or anything you can come up with to be offended by.
 
Look forward to debating you about the next topic since everything I post I seem to get a response from you on how you disagree
@Sandy1, I'm neither debating you nor am I disagreeing with you. I was just providing additional information about the situation. In fact, I thought that @Quinranda's info that "If you do book in Zubiri, most places are asking you to confirm the day before" was a particular useful piece of information. In the past, the majority of people did not call or email for a bed until the day before. If people call or email several days or even weeks before their arrival, as it appears to happen more frequently this year, it's good to know that they should confirm again the day before their arrival.

"Book" in this context means: Call or email or WhatsApp message without the use of credit card details. Just your name.
 
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@Sandy1, I'm neither debating you nor am I disagreeing with you. I was just providing additional information about the current situation. In fact, I thought that @Quinranda's info that "if you do book in Zubiri, most places are asking you to confirm the day before" was a particular useful piece of information. In the past, the majority of people did not call or email for a bed until the day before. If people call or email weeks before their arrival, as it appears to be done more frequently this year, it's good to know that they should confirm again the day before their arrival.
Don’t worry about it. I’m leaving the board.
 
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It was talking about a policy that was crap. It wasn’t targeting any pilgrims on here or on the way or anything you can come up with to be offended by.
I don’t know what part of this you cannot or will not understand. No one is talking about losing a room that you have paid for. If you pay in advance, you can show up whenever you want.

All of the discussion on this thread has been about a very common camino practice that involves a pilgrim calling or texting for a room, a pilgrim getting a reservation for a room or bed and leaving no deposit or cash of any kind. In those instances, it is very common for the owners to ask for the simple courtesy of confirming that you are in fact going to show up. They ask for a simple phone call of confirmation if you are going to arrive after a particular time, usually between 2 and 4.

Don’t worry about it. I’m leaving the board.
You can send Ivar a PM and he will take care of it for you.

I am going to have the last word on this and close the thread.
 
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