Hi fossil41,

Yes, it still happens, but there is a "tourist information" booth or desk that may either be inside the train station or outside a little bit. They will give you information, guidance, and suggestions for your hotel, and then make the reservations for you.

Whenever my plans change in the middle of a trip, I use them.

They are also the folks who run the websites for each town, i.e. www.gstaad.ch, www.zermatt.ch, www.gapa.de, etc.

s

In the main Paris train stations, the tourist information desks still book hotel rooms for people arriving.

They may not always be directly in the station, but somewhere near the main transport hubs or where people are arriving in town. But, depending on the place and the time of year, they may be mobbed and accommodation may be short: I've certainly been in the VVV at the Central Station in Amsterdam and overhearing new arrivals being told the only accommodation was in Haarlem.

I've certainly used the TIOs in Scotland when on a driving tour - arrive in a place, go to the TIO and use them for info and booking of accommodation in the next place you intend to visit, as much as for finding somewhere at the place you've arrived.

Thank you very much for your help
Just to know there is that option is
good to know.

There is a big, crowded one at Waverly station in Edinburgh, so it obviously works well for some people.

I have used the one in the station at York, and it worked well for me. And like Patrick I have used the TIO's in the Highlands with perfect satisfaction (well, maybe except in Inverness, but even that was fine),

On rare occasion I'll use these facilities but find that more and more it's the less desirable places that are represented. Most good accommodation have gone to having their own websites. Better to look online, I use Trip Advisor a lot, and call ahead as you go for better places for probably the same money.

Yes nearly every major train station in Europe has such a booking facility - sometimes in the Tourist Office but other times just a private-run Hotel Booking desk.

During off-season I use the ones in Italian stations and have often gotten 35 euro rooms close to the train station itself - in peak season the cost is much more so then I would book something in advance.

Many Swiss stations have hotel board listing it seems all accommodations in town with green and red lights to indicate availability and a free phone with which to call the place.

MmePerdu,

It's not either-or. In all the tourist info offices I've been in, all the local hotels were represented.

Sometimes folks aren't travelling with a laptop and/or don't want to hunt for an internet cafe or a connection, so going to the TI is fast and easy.

One time I arrived in Montreux without reservations and wanted a room at my favorite 4-star there. I went to the TI, and, even though the hotel was offically sold out, the hotel had had a cancellation that afternoon and they got me in.

s

Of course what I said, s, is not absolute but it is a trend. Many places have a computer to use if fewer all the time and this recent trip I had a tablet with me, handy and light and found wifi opportunities almost everywhere. Yes, you can rely on tourist offices and TIC's. But there is a trend away from them in my experience. Lots of options and more all the time, not fewer.

MmePerdu,

I wonder where you've been travelling. The TI offices are going strong where I've been in Switzerland and in Germany. There is great cooperation between the hotels and TIs.

s

PalenQ. You mention Italian stations and that's where
I head in March/April. I have Rome ,Naples and Catania
book but nothing after so would stations like Siracusa
and Agrigento stations have the accommodation desk

Swandav, I haven't been either place you mention in years, so I defer to your experience.

Yes, there are such places - but they are open limited hours and often limited days (don;t try on Sunday).

And obviously the best lodgings will go to people who research and reserve in advance - what will be left will be either less desirable or perhaps very simple places that are not available online.

I've had great luck with them in UK, NL and Belgium. I once got a 4+ star hotel in Antwerp at the central TIC by speaking my tiny bit of Flemish with the guy in there. I haven't stayed in such a nice hotel ever again (insane included breakfast, and a telephone in my marble bathroom--for $80 a night). Also found a nice place in old city Prague using the one in the airport there. I returned to the same place later on my own, I liked it so much.

I like to have a room reserved for the first night, or if I'm going to stay put in one place, but in countries where they have good TICs, I'll use them happily en route.

Fossil, not in Siracusa and Agrigento I think, small stations. Book ahead.