This article is the next in a series about hotel reservation, we will talk about how to make hotel reservation for Schengen visa , along with additional documentation that will assist in making your visa application less challenging and less likely to make oversights.
For a Schengen visa, you must submit proof of accommodation as part of the documentation. This can be in the form of a hotel reservation, a sponsor letter, a rental agreement, or an invitation letter. This article will be about making hotel reservation for Schengen visa using the FlightGen App.
FlightGen allows you to make temporary flight and hotel reservations for Schengen visa in under 30 seconds.
- Instantly generate flight itinerary and hotel reservations for visa purposes.
- Choose your own flight, hotel reservation that you will mostly purchase if your visa is approved.
- Get your bookings in native currency (very important for Schengen visa applications)
- The lowest option, when compared to other sites that charge about $20 each booking (just $10 for unlimited flight and hotel itineraries).
- No additional cost is required to add co-applicants.
What is the difference between hotel booking & hotel reservation of Schengen visa processing ?
While a hotel booking requires full payment for confirmation, a hotel reservation does not necessarily require full payment. If you fail to visit after reserving a seat, it may be reallocated to another individual. Although both terms may be used interchangeably in spoken language.
In order to obtain a visa, the consulate requires you to provide evidence of fully paid hotel bookings. However, in many circumstances, you can demonstrate your ability to support yourself by presenting bank statements or showing an existing balance on your credit card. Once your visa is accepted, you can confidently proceed with making reservations and converting them into bookings.
The most important thing is to mention what you are submitting in your cover letter. For example, if you are submitting actual hotel bookings for your visa application, then you need to write that you are submitting “Fully paid hotel bookings for the duration of the trip” and if you are providing itinerary or a temporary. “Probable Hotel itinerary for the duration of stay from travel booking agent . The same will be converted to fully paid bookings once visa is approved.“
Can I make hotel reservation on hotel booking sites and use them for Schengen visa?
Yes. But not without difficulty. Most hotel sites have option called “pay at hotel” but there are two issues with this. Your hotel might not be available with this option and even if it is you might have to enter your credit card for your reservation and the hotel put a hold on the whole amount that is owed for the booking.
If this is a hotel that you don’t want to stay at, then it will take you over 60 days to get your money back from this booking. Here is an example of a customer who faced these issues.
Even booking.com confirms the same.
The best part about using the FlightGen App for our hotel bookings for visa is that we can choose the hotel and currency as we want.
What this allows us to do is choose a hotel and make a booking as if our visa is approved. And once my visa is approved I can make the actual booking for the same hotel.
4 Reasons to make Hotel Reservation for Schengen visa instead of Actual Bookings
Financial loss in the event of Schengen visa rejection
In the event of visa rejection or processing delay, a substantial financial loss would be incurred. For many visas, particularly Schengen visas, it is necessary to make hotel reservations for the full period of your visit.
As a minimum, you have the option to make real hotel reservations for one week and then utilize the FlightGen application to generate fictitious hotel bookings for the remaining duration.
A visa is granted solely for the duration of your hotel reservations
While the Schengen visa allows a maximum stay of 90 days, the visa itself will not be granted for the entire duration of 90 days. The duration of your visa validity is contingent upon the number of days you submit as evidence of accommodation. If you arrange hotel reservations for a duration of 10 days, your visa will only remain valid for the same 10-day period.
It is advisable to allocate an additional period of three days before and after your travel to enhance your flexibility during the trip.
Inflexibility in altering your travel arrangements
By prearranging all your hotel reservations, you are compelled to adhere to your initial itinerary. Suppose you alter your decision and desire to extend your stay in France by an additional 2 days? Unfortunately, you will be unable to do so as you have already made a payment for a hotel reservation in Amsterdam.
It is advisable for a traveler to initially reserve accommodations for a duration of 3 days and subsequently make reservations on a day-by-day basis.
Minimize your evidence of sustenance.
When embarking on international travel, it is necessary to produce evidence of financial capacity, such as bank statements, to demonstrate that you possess the funds to sustain yourself throughout the entirety of your journey. For instance, in order to obtain a Schengen visa, it is necessary to possess a minimum of 80 EUR every day for the duration of the stay.
However, if you prearrange all your hotel reservations, you may not be able to present them as evidence, which could result in your visa application being denied. It is more prudent to make provisional hotel reservations for visa purposes, and thereafter finalize your actual hotel reservations once you have obtained the visa.
Can I use dummy hotel reservation for visa ?
There are two scenarios when you can use dummy hotel reservation. If you have sufficient proof of sustenance like money in your bank accounts and credit cards and you have mentioned the same in your cover letter submitted for your Schengen visa application .
You can add the following line in your cover letter :
Adding hotel itinerary for the entire trip from the agent. The same will be confirmed once visa is approved.
