Strange ? Or maybe not

KeshFM93

First time poster in travel , just wondering if this is normal , myself and my girlfriend are going to Portugal in the next couple of weeks and we received an e-mail from the hotel requesting :

Flight number
Means of transport to the hotel
Our Mobile phone number with (country code)
ETA


I just find this odd considering half of the accommodation is already paid for.

The flight number seems particularly strange to me anyway.

So has anyone experienced this before?

toadfly

Maybe they track flights so they know if your flight is delayed you will be late to get to them. They might not have someone on reception all the time?

KeshFM93

toadfly wrote: »

Maybe they track flights so they know if your flight is delayed you will be late to get to them. They might not have someone on reception all the time?

I was kind of thinking along the same lines , I just never experienced it before.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

spurious

I've had it from hotels, but usually where they run a complimentary transfer.

dennyk

I've had similar requests like that from a few hotels and B&Bs. Most likely they just want to have a way to get in touch with you if required and to be able to look into why you haven't shown up when they expected you (e.g. they can contact the airport to see if your flight is delayed or cancelled in case they can't reach you via phone). There's no security risk in giving them your flight number, so that shouldn't be an issue.

abarkie

Maybe checking if you are likely to arrive late

Alternatively looking to offer their favoured transfer to / from hotel / airport

Vila Petra in Albufiera do this

When I emailed them asking for prices for my requirements I have asked for a quote for a transfer

When I took the transfer, they did ask for the flight number as the taxi driver said he monitored the web for delayed arrivals, so he didnt need to set out early to the airport and miss any fares locally

The hotel also said that they were looking if they needed to offer a late meal if arriving after meal service had finished - which they did with room service on at least one occassion

Eponymous

I've had this from hotels before and it's generally to ensure they can have a room ready for you on arrival. If you're likely to be a late arrival it means they could allow a guest to stay on in that room (for a small fee, of course).

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

kerry4sam

I'd put it down to security (of which their are varying forms).

Some people book accommodation to secure a visa/prove to someone they are travelling. Accommodation booked through booking-site which can be charged on day of arrival.

Visa secured; people travel and arrive into Country, but the accommodation originally booked gets cancelled, but

Person/People now in the country; free to roam etc.

Having extra details like flight number etc can be used as a way to crack down on being "used" by those travelling for "non-touristic" reasons.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

KeshFM93

I know it's been over a year haven't been on boards much , and was looking at old messages

Just an update on what happened,

We both arrived in the airport , told the taxi man the place where we were staying , he asked at least other 5 taxi men where the place was ,

Two things crossed my mind at this stage , this place doesn't exist or the taxi man is trying to pull a fast one and bring us on an expensive tour of Portugal,

Anyway we got to the taxi to the approximate address , we still couldn't find the place we were staying , I rang my contact , he said he was held up , and that he would collect us in an hour ,

I'm thinking at this stage what am I after getting us into here , so I said to herself come on we'll look for somewhere to eat , walked down to the marina , had a sandwich and I had a couple of bottles of sagres to settle me,

In the meantime I get a call from the angry sounding agent , this got my back up straight away, I asked where the place was from me he told me it wasn't far , he wanted to collect us I told him we'd walk up , so we finished our food and drinks ,

Walked up to where the taxi originally dropped us off , I saw two cars pulled in side by side , one guy got out and walked towards us , he directed us over to an apartment block (two story) in a built up area so I wasn't too weary, he apologized for the confusion.

It turned out it was a small but clean apartment with access to the the pool beside the hotel/complex , that's why the taxi man hadn't a clue where we were going. And as we were being shown around the apartment I explained why I was wound up , the guy understood, and turned out to be a fairly sound .

He offered to bring us to the airport for half the price of the taxi for our return flight .

To some up , maybe I was paranoid maybe I wasn't , I still haven't decided , it's just when your in an unfamiliar country it's difficult to get an understanding of the people and you don't know what to expect.

Stratvs

Glad that it all worked out but I can see how it can happen, especially with bookings through such as Booking.com etc. We have several times booked on Booking.com and the apartment was advertised with a name on the apartment but was in a complex with a totally different name and often those with no full time receptions. In each case though the person renting the apartment gave clear directions and the name of the complex and met us at the entrance. We've also been asked for flight number and ETA and I took that to mean they could see if there was a delay and could plan accordingly. Although in each of those cases the apartment owner was in contact through WhatsApp and stayed in touch during the stay to check if all was ok.

I've also been asked for flight number by car hire at airport presumably again in case of delay then they can tell delays from no shows.

Of course I'd always agree to exercise caution on providing information and if in doubt ask why needed.

KeshFM93

Stratvs wrote: »

Glad that it all worked out but I can see how it can happen, especially with bookings through such as Booking.com etc. We have several times booked on Booking.com and the apartment was advertised with a name on the apartment but was in a complex with a totally different name and often those with no full time receptions. In each case though the person renting the apartment gave clear directions and the name of the complex and met us at the entrance. We've also been asked for flight number and ETA and I took that to mean they could see if there was a delay and could plan accordingly. Although in each of those cases the apartment owner was in contact through WhatsApp and stayed in touch during the stay to check if all was ok.

I've also been asked for flight number by car hire at airport presumably again in case of delay then they can tell delays from no shows.

Of course I'd always agree to exercise caution on providing information and if in doubt ask why needed.

It was all new to me at the time so maybe next time I wouldn't be so wound up , it was just a relief when the suitcases were in the room and we knew the holiday could start , we didn't go through booking.com we paid directly , which was another reason I was cautious , it turned out the agent was a policeman running a sideline , he had decent english and from the sound of things multiple clients ,

On a sidenote the Portuguese are some of the nicest genuine people I've ever met, We went to Alicante last year , and I'll just say it was a big mistake.