Schengen visa for all-inclusive tour without hotel details
I have booked an all inclusive (flights, hotel, excursions, food, etc.) tour for 8 days around Eastern Europe, starting from Munich (2 nights), then Prague (2 nights), Budapest (2 nights), Vienna (1 night) and Salzburg (1 night).
I have a confirmation from the tour operator of my flights (dates and times, etc.) and an itinerary with a list of hotels we will be staying at. Having looked through information required for Schengen visa, I noticed that it states that I must have confirmation booking from the hotel, with names and exact dates.
I called the tour operator and since the tour doesn't start until 1.5 months from now, they don't have specific details of hotel bookings as of yet and told me that confirmation booking from them - alongside the itinerary and list of hotels should be sufficient.
Is this right? or will my application be rejected? I noticed that in the itinerary they list a number or hotels for each city - am assuming depending on price, they will book and put us up in the cheapest.
I'm worried now because all I have is a confirmation from the tour operator that simply states that I am confirmed on the tour and no further details regarding hotels (not even addresses and contact details - just a list of hotel names).
Best Answer
So, here is the update on my situation - if anyone is in a similar situation.
I have spent the last 3 days talking to the tour operator and have finally managed to speak to a manager who is liaising with their accommodation bookings department for hotel confirmation. Last news I heard was that they managed to receive letters of confirmation for 5 out of the 6 hotels so they are just awaiting 1 more. They will also write a letter stating that travel will be provided for by the tour. Unfortunately, this is all over the phone and I have yet to receive any emails. Fingers crossed it arrives in the next few days.
I have spoken to a few people who have had no problems with Schengen visa because they made their own bookings (hotel and flight) and therefore received confirmation directly. Most of them have not paid for these bookings and did so purely for visa purposes and once in receipt of the visa, they made final and confirmed bookings.
I have now been told by a few people - though well meaning - that I should have just made my own online bookings (of hotels and flights) from free reservation sites that were for the same dates of the tour purely for visa purposes. Though this is in no way the right thing to do, it would have been much easier than chasing down tour operators and making numerous visits to the embassy. It is a shame that this is what some people have had to do purely because the embassy's inflexibility.
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Is hotel booking necessary for tourist visa?
It is not necessary for you to submit hotel booking for Visa and pay for your room in advance because, in the unfortunate event of Visa rejection, you risk losing your money. Therefore, you are allowed to submit proof that you reserved a room in a hotel without the need of paying upfront for the booking.Can I get Schengen Visa without invitation letter?
If you are planning to travel for a specific purpose to the Schengen area countries, you must make sure that you have an invitation letter. The letter will make it much easier for the Embassy to grant you the Schengen Visa.How do I book a dummy Hotel visa?
All you need to do is:Can I use dummy ticket for Schengen Visa?
Yes, Dummy flight tickets are officially accepted for Schengen visa application, however, some countries within Schengen zone where you are applying your visa, may require you to furnish actual flight confirmed reservation, so it is very important to select the right itinerary and right embassy at the same time.THE SCHENGEN ZONE TRAVEL EXPLAINED - DIGITAL NOMAD TV
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Answer 2
I would trust your tour operator on this: you're presumably not the first person on their tours who needs a Schengen visa.
The point of the accommodation requirement is to ensure that you have & can afford a place to stay. If you have a confirmed all-inclusive tour, with a shortlist of hotels that they will arrange for you to stay at, that fulfills the requirement nicely.
The worst case is that you apply, they process for a while, and then tell you you need more detail. By this time the tour operator should know exactly where you're going to stay, so you can submit that.
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