Booking hotels in Switzerland with options to pay later
A traveler is looking for advice on hotel bookings in Switzerland, expressing concerns about non-refundable charges from hotel websites and possible issues with third-party bookings. They want to know the best way to secure reservations without upfront costs while ensuring flexibility for cancellations.
- Most hotels in Switzerland will only require a credit card to hold your reservation without charging until check-in, allowing for cancellations up to several days before arrival.
- Use filters like 'book now, pay later' on booking sites to find deals that align with your needs for flexibility.
- It's wise to contact the hotel directly a few weeks before your stay to confirm your booking and avoid overbooking issues.
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I generally prefer to go the the hotel’s website to make a reservation, but I find that they will place a 50% charge on my credit card that is non-refundable. When I go through a 3rd party website such as Booking.com, they don’t charge my credit card until a couple weeks before I sign-in, and their Terms & Conditions don’t match those of the hotel. I also have a concern with hotels being fully booked, I could experience a problem with my reservation at check-in when going through a 3rd party website.
Does anyone have a recommendation?
Thanks,
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I have booked six or seven Swiss hotels on their websites and only one, in St. Moritz, asked for a deposit.
The others all requested a credit card to guarantee the reservation, but I can cancel up until a few days before. Payment won’t be taken until we arrive.
Even though I gave my card details no money has been taken.
I agree totally with DebH. Just this past week I have reserved four different hotels in Switzerland for September. All asked for a credit card to hold the reservation; non took any money. I was told the card would only be charged at check-out. All reservations can be cancelled up until some number of days before travel, somewhere between 7 and 10 days. The only places where I have ever pre-paid are private appartments; one in Zermatt and one in Murren. Have a wonderful trip.
There is a “book now, pay later” and a “pay at the hotel” filter available at https://www.agoda.com. The first filter returns a lot of hotels. The second very few, that’s too big of a risk for the hotels I guess. “Book now, pay later” means you’ll pay nothing until a few days before arrival. There are hotels combining this with free cancellation until one day before arrival. If you also have a cancellation policy in your travel insurance, this combo should be pretty safe.
I travelled 4 weeks during Sep 2023 in Europe, 10 days in Switzerland. Many were hotels, they needed my credit card details to secure bookings, but did not debit my account. I had about 8-10 days prior to check in date to cancel without any cost. I also got booking vouchers from these hotels which l used for Visa application. Only 2 hotels l had to cancel before cut off dates as l got better deals in Air BnB.
Hi Big Dad,
You can find links to the best hotels in various Swiss destinations here: https://www.myswissalps.com/accommodation/hotels/. Most booking engine require credit card to secure reservation but will not charge you instantly.
Regards,
Anna
We have used Booking.com extensively for European travel, mostly recently France and Switzerland. We’ve never had an issue with property being overbooked. For foreign travel I always contact the hotel about a month before leaving, then again the week before leaving, either directly to the hotel with my booking confirmation info, or with Booking.com’s “contact property” capability. Sometimes Booking.com has a better cancellation policy than the hotel website, sometimes not. The rates aren’t always the same (you might have to check currency conversion). Booking.com may not have all the room options available. I always check both sites before booking. Airbnb and Vrbo often require some payment up front, while Booking.com may not require payment up front for the same property, so we prefer Booking.com for apartments. Pay attention to refund/cancellation policies no matter where you book.
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