Finding alburques already booked???

[Cariad]

Looking ahead we are finding, as we head out very soon, many of suggested alburques etc are already booked. We were under the impression that you could book the day of but checking ahead that does not appear to be case. Anyone else finding/found this?? Booked for st Jean. Orisson. Ronchevalles. Zuburi. Etc etc but having difficulty looking forward to june onwards.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Looking ahead we are finding, as we head out very soon, many of suggested alburques etc are already booked. We were under the impression that you could book the day of but checking ahead that does not appear to be case. Anyone else finding/found this?? Booked for st Jean. Orisson. Ronchevalles. Zuburi. Etc etc but having difficulty looking forward to june onwards.

The booking sites, like Hotels.com or Booking.com only have access to a portion of the available rooms. In other words, if a lodging (hotel, casa rural, listed alburgue, etc) has 100 beds available, the reservation sites might only have access to 30 beds. That means that 70 beds are available for same day check in, or can be accessed only through the lodging itself.

I ran into this for a reservation I wanted at Hostal Suso for October this year, which is in Santiago de Compostela. Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity, Booking.com all showed no availability. So I emailed the property requesting a reservation, and I now have the room I wanted reserved.

So, if you know what date you need a room, and you can't make a reservation from those Booking.com-type sites, you can contact the property directly through their website, email, or by phone and likely secure a reservation.

 

[SFletcher]

Municipal Albergues don't take reservations. Places that do take reservations and are on Booking.com won't release all of their beds onto the site. You are covered for the first few days, that will give you a chance to see if it is very busy when you are walking. If it is busy then contact the albergues directly to check if they have places.

 

[Cariad]

Municipal Albergues don't take reservations. Places that do take reservations and are on Booking.com won't release all of their beds onto the site. You are covered for the first few days, that will give you a chance to see if it is very busy when you are walking. If it is busy then contact the albergues directly to check if they have places.

That’s a relief. Yes I’ve emailed a few still waiting but have had few no replies. But good info thank you.

 

[Cariad]

The booking sites, like Hotels.com or Booking.com only have access to a portion of the available rooms. In other words, if a lodging (hotel, casa rural, listed alburgue, etc) has 100 beds available, the reservation sites might only have access to 30 beds. That means that 70 beds are available for same day check in, or can be accessed only through the lodging itself.

I ran into this for a reservation I wanted at Hostal Suso for October this year, which is in Santiago de Compostela. Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity, Booking.com all showed no availability. So I emailed the property requesting a reservation, and I now have the room I wanted reserved.

So, if you know what date you need a room, and you can't make a reservation from those Booking.com-type sites, you can contact the property directly through their website, email, or by phone and likely secure a reservation.

Agree, have contacted a few but no was one reply whilst waiting for another. We’ll keep on top of it. Good to know ! Thank you

 

[JohnMcM]

Looking ahead we are finding, as we head out very soon, many of suggested alburques etc are already booked. We were under the impression that you could book the day of but checking ahead that does not appear to be case. Anyone else finding/found this?? Booked for st Jean. Orisson. Ronchevalles. Zuburi. Etc etc but having difficulty looking forward to june onwards.

Hello Caraid,

Rest assured the albergues you see that are booked are private albergues. The municipal albergues do not take bookings.

Buen (bed finding) Camino


Edit: Oops, just saw SFletcher's post, apologies if I came across as forceful.

 

[Cariad]

Hello Caraid,

Rest assured the albergues you see that are booked are private albergues. The municipal albergues do not take bookings.

Buen (bed finding) Camino


Edit: Oops, just saw SFletcher's post, apologies if I came across as forceful.

Not at all. Thanks for info.

 

[tpmchugh]

Looking ahead we are finding, as we head out very soon, many of suggested alburques etc are already booked. We were under the impression that you could book the day of but checking ahead that does not appear to be case. Anyone else finding/found this?? Booked for st Jean. Orisson. Ronchevalles. Zuburi. Etc etc but having difficulty looking forward to june onwards.

Many albergues, like hotels only allow a certain amount of reservations and keep some for walk ins. Try using onlypilgrims.com You will pay €1 or 2 extra but as far as I know, you are dealing directly with the albergue rather than a booking site. Or do as I do. Start walking between 6:30 and 7. Walk for 5 to six hours and stop mid stage. Never failed for me although on a couple of occasions, I had to sit outside and wait for opening time. Depending on terrain, that schedule got me around 20 km on average. Some days more some days about 10 to 12 when I felt like a rest

 

[Deleted member 73526]

Alburque
1. Person who unthinkingly turns on the main lights to visit the lavatory in the middle of the night
2. Head to toe covering to preserve one's modesty in communal facilities
3. South Valley, New Mexico (Not quite Albuquerque)

Sorry. A simple typo sets off my imagination ...

As others have said, if you call an albergue directly you will often find that they can help you, even if there is no "inventory" online.