When to call for reservations

[Nanc]

I plan to see what things look like as i go in Septemebrr/ October on CF, but as i read posts, logistical questions come up.
Recent threads talk about assessing weather, distance, comfort level and calling ahead that morning to make a reservation at an albergue
If the albergue open one -ish and i would assume those running it are either working or at lunch prior, WHEN do you call?
If i call, and i have minimal spanish, do i use a prelearned reservation request and hope i understand a "si" or "no"answer?

If an email is listed is that more likelyu to be picked up than a phone call? Do they call you back?

And are you prepaying to get that luxury of a later arrival? Do they take your word or a card? It seems like booking.com doesnt have all available rooms so a call maybe required to get a room

 

[SYates]

All good reasons not to reserve then ;-) As for time to call in the mornings is most likely the best time as they clean the albergue then. Running an albergue on the CF is a full time job btw. As for language, you could always ask somebody with better Spanish to call for you.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Kanga]

I've just come back from the CF and I did not need to book. I also walked it in September last year and I did not need to book ahead then, either. The only thing I do to ensure a bed is to stop walking by 2 pm, at the latest, each day. I don't walk before it is light so that means I only walk for about 5 or 6 hours (7 am start) - which I think is plenty.

 

[PeterD1951]

We booked a few beds when we knew we were doing a long (for us) day, but mostly just took pot luck. I rang at lunchtime to make sure space was available where we wanted to stop, and there was only one occasion when space was not available. We tried to avoid stage ends. If we were going to be late (after 3pm), I used Booking.com so they had credit card details and could rely on getting paid even if we didn't turn up. I always used my best Spanish, which was obviously dreadful as the hospitalero always answered in English!
Certainly, before Sarria, getting a bed was no problem at all (we returned on June 22nd). Apart from Burgos, Leon and Santiago, where we booked hotels for 2 nights, we probably pre booked about 6 albergues or hostels.
Buen Camino

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If you book only one day in advance, you will maintain maximum flexibility to accommodate your physical state. The hospitaleros will usually be willing to call for you the evening before after you have considered how far you want to walk the next day. Credit cards are rarely taken except through booking.com. Most albergues are not on booking.com, but it is a great site for most of the private accommodations. It is the fastest way to see what is available the next day. Do not expect call-backs! Hospitaleros are too busy to follow up on recorded messages even if they take them. With minimal French in France, I have tried to get the person on the other end of line to stick to "yes" or "no." It rarely happens! If you ask "what time is it?" the answer is often how to build a watch...

 

[dougfitz]

I plan to see what things look like as i go in Septemebrr/ October on CF, but as i read posts, logistical questions come up.
Recent threads talk about assessing weather, distance, comfort level and calling ahead that morning to make a reservation at an albergue
If the albergue open one -ish and i would assume those running it are either working or at lunch prior, WHEN do you call?
If i call, and i have minimal spanish, do i use a prelearned reservation request and hope i understand a "si" or "no"answer?

If an email is listed is that more likelyu to be picked up than a phone call? Do they call you back?

And are you prepaying to get that luxury of a later arrival? Do they take your word or a card? It seems like booking.com doesnt have all available rooms so a call maybe required to get a room

Remember that no-one has yet walked in September 2016 to see what it is like, and the threads about the crowding generated by some of us who left in early May from SJPP may not be particularly relevant, and in any case those travelling later in the month like @Kanga would suggest that the problem did not last for very long. However, should you decide that you want to book ahead, then there are a couple of things to consider:

a. many of the albergues that do accept a booking will be associated with a bar or cafe, so there will be people around across the day. When booking for the next day, I would ring in the evening. If I was booking for the coming evening, I would do that normally at the first stop that I made for coffee, although there were a couple of times when I made the call in the early afternoon. I rarely booked more than a couple of days ahead, and then mainly using booking.com.
b. the only place that I emailed was the albergue at Orrison. Sometimes they responded from the same email address that I sent the request to in the first place, and some of their email came from a completely different address, and it went into my junk folder. It was a complete debacle. I admire those who manage to find their way through the convoluted system that seems to be in place. I couldn't.
c. I never was given the option of leaving a message, but equally I wouldn't have expected anyone to call back either.
d. Only one place wanted a pre-payment, but it was for the standard price advertised on gronze.com. Booking.com requires a credit card in most cases, and in many cases will charge your card if you are a no-show. I understand that charge goes to the place you booked. A few places using booking.com noted that there wouldn't be a charge for a no-show, but otherwise it is a standard condition to charge.
e. If a property on booking.com was coming up full, I never bothered ringing them as well, so whether they are holding rooms that don't appear on booking.com wasn't evident to me. However, there were a couple of albergues that did allow booking but were not using booking.com that would would only commit a proportion of the beds, with the others available for people arriving without a booking.
f. I had Google Translate on my phone, and stored a couple of stock phrases if the person answering the phone had no English.

 

[Felipe]

Remember, only private albergues accept reservations (Roncesvalles is a case apart).
I walked last year, early October. After a problem in Portomarín, and because I was with my wife, I started to to make reservations. Many other pilgrims were deciding their albergue on the moment, and they had no problems at all.
I always called around 9-10 AM the same day, and never had an annoyed answer. I suppose that managing reservations is part ot the job description of owners and managers in private albergues.
I would not trust e-mail for the reservation; the cell phone is king. Some albergue webpages include an e-mail; that does not mean that it is checked regularly.
If you are considering arriving late, mention it. Anyway, if you are still in the Camino at 4 PM, call again to confirm you arrival. If you don't, you may have a bad surprise.
I guess that Spanish speaking pilgrims will be glad to help; people tend to be polite and helpful in the Camino.

 

[dougfitz]

Remember, only private albergues accept reservations (Roncesvalles is a case apart).

I think things are changing with this general rule, and the number of exceptions is growing. This year I found two albergues listed in gronze.com as municipal that accepted reservations, at San Bol and Trabadelo.

 

[Nanc]

Thanks for all your helpful replies
I'm glad to ask for help but wanted a feel for how/ what etc
Nanc

 

[Anemone del Camino]

If there are specific places you want to stay at book now. If not, book after your pm shower the night before. And if you see you will be off schedule at the place you really wanted to be in, just call 2 days before, or when you figure out your are not in synch.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

I've just come back from the CF and I did not need to book. I also walked it in September last year and I did not need to book ahead then, either. The only thing I do to ensure a bed is to stop walking by 2 pm, at the latest, each day. I don't walk before it is light so that means I only walk for about 5 or 6 hours (7 am start) - which I think is plenty.

Good advice.

 

[J Willhaus]

Nanc,
After a few days you will get a feel for how far you want to go. Towards the end we usually called ahead in the evening. I sometimes did it myself with my broken Spainish and usually when we arrived we had a great laugh together about the "Americanos" as usually the only part of the name the understood was Phillipe (my husband's name Spanish version).

In the beginning we only booked in St Jean and Orrison by email. We just took potluck and never had trouble. Toward the end there were greater numbers as school and work holidays began to happen. Our host at the albergue also called for us a few times.

 

[Ashley Weaver]

Hey Amigos -

As a hospitalero, I dread taking reservations months or even weeks out. Plans change especially with unforeseen events, both good and bad, on the Camino. And many times, pilgrims forget to cancel reservations. Considering that I only have 4 rooms available for guests, a no-call/no-show is a pretty unfortunate thing for me. However, I'm happy to hear from pilgrims calling a day or two before in O'Cebriero or Triacastela. I'm happy to reserve a room (without credit card) but often ask when I can anticipate their arrival or what town there are starting that day. As an aside, I know booking.com is super convenient, but at a 15% commission on a relatively small margin, it's pretty steep for your hosts (and why I don't use it). So if you can manage it, consider calling your host directly to book and put the extra Euros in your hosts' pockets. Just another perspective to consider. Buen Camino!

 

[Tia Valeria]

We called to make reservations each evening, when needed. Last year we needed to pre-book but phoned each evening to check everything was OK with next day's booking and give estimated arrival time. This saved us from disaster when one of our places was closed down and we were able to book the last available room elsewhere in the same town.
I suggest doing what feels most appropriate for you and please never forget to phone and cancel if you cannot get to a place - it is not fair to the owner, or to other pilgrims. We saw this happen on the Primitivo and one pilgrim was turned away while later another didn't show leaving the owner with a vacant room
We have 'reservations' (pun intended) about booking sites, but if owners want a deposit then it is often the only way to go, but direct booking is better when possible. Sadly 'no-shows' mean more places now do want/need a deposit and that will most likely become more common.