FREEDOM VS.

SECURITY

29 ~- Sunday, May 10, 1987 ~ North Shore News

Reservation pros, cons

TO RESERVE? Or not to reserve. Now, that’s a question that pops up a lot more often than the classic ‘‘to be or ---.”’

Many travellers refuse to take one step out of their front doors without a pre-paid, signed-in- blood reservation for every night of their trip.

These people have a firm belief that without their precious piece of paper they will surely end up on some foreign park bench covered over with newspapers they can’t even read.

by Barbara _ McCreadie

For myself, I despise reserva- tions, A reservation is a contract — an obligation to be exactly where you've paid the rent. How do I know that by the time I have to be there that I want to be there?

What if I’m having a lot more fun -

somewhere else?

Reserved rooms are expensive. Invariably, a traveller can find a far cheaper hotel for himself. The reason is quite simple — reserva- tions are made by travel agents who must be able to confirm bookings through some central of- fice. Only expensive hotels can af- ford this luxury.

A travel agent must earn a liv- ing. No small Mom-and-Pop hotel, no matter how charming, can af- ford to pay agents’ commissions.

An agent, too, must be careful about the standards of the hotels he uses. By dealing with hotel chains he can be quite sure that the client is in for no surprises. The “‘unreserved’’ traveller may get quite a few.

Now that I’ve criticized reserva- tions I must backtrack a bit and admit that I do make certain ex- ceptions:

* 1 always reserve for the first and last nights of a trip, especially when long flights are on the agen- da. My sleep on these two nights is far too important to worry about economy. I prefer to spend the last night of a vacation in. the im- mediate vicinity of the airport — going home is a big enough shock without missing my plane.

* Only a fool heads for a city during a carnival or exposition without a reservation. Ever try to find a hotel in Calgary during Stampede or in Rio at Mardi Gras?

* At certain times of the year, resorts are bursting at the seams. | would not head for Maui in January without a reservation.

* When our kids were small, we

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FAREWELL TRANSATLANTIC SAILINGS 1987

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reserved. It’s one thing for two adults to go shopping for a hotel but quite another to be dragging three little kids.

ss +

Now, let’s assume that you and your companion have arrived in some foreign city without a city booking. How do you find a place to stay?

First, check at the information desk at the airport or station. Many have hotel booking services. They will match you up with a hotel that fits your budget and confirm by telephone. Often, you pay the room rent there and they give ) you a receipt to hand the desk

Airports are always located some distance out of town. The airport hotels, if there are any, are sure to be expensive so you should get into the centre of the city.

{In European cities, hotels generally abound near the railway Station. We've found it easiest to leave one of us minding the bags at the station while the other goes looking for a hotel. It rever hurts to ask an employee at the station for advice.

The worst person in the world to ask is a cab driver. 1 must admit that [ once got a good hotel rec- ommendation from a cabby, but would you iike to hear about some of the others? Probably not. One of the worst came prefixed with

the words, ‘‘My cousin has a nice hotel * and migawd, what a dump it was.

Another source of accommoda- tion is the local tourist office. They may not make bookings for you, but they certainly have a list of available rooms and a telephone. Government publications may or may not be helpful. Normally, they must list every available hotel, from the Bedbug Arms on up. Bet- ter have a look at the place before you spend your money.

If you have found a good hotel in one city, ask the management about “‘sister’’ hotels in your next stop. If the manager, says, ‘‘When

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