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5 Ways to Get a Hotel Reservation for Visa Application (3 Free and 2 Paid)

Updated: September 8, 2023

Hotel reservation for visa application

A hotel reservation is an essential document for tourist visas. It serves as proof of accommodation for the visa application. A hotel reservation for visa can be obtained from any booking website, with or without paying the full price.

Embassies and consulates often refer to a hotel reservation as:

  • Proof of accommodation
  • Hotel booking
  • Hotel itinerary
  • Hotel voucher
  • Lodging

All these terms basically mean the same thing, hotel reservation.

In this article, you will learn everything about hotel reservation for visa and how to obtain one for your visa application. 

Table of Contents

  • What is a hotel reservation for visa?
  • Why do embassies ask for a hotel itinerary?
    • Itinerary
    • Affordability
    • Authenticity
  • How to get hotel reservation for visa?
    • 01. Pay-At-The-Hotel Booking [Free option]
    • 02. Partial Deposit Hotel Booking [Free and Paid option]
    • 03. Fully Refundable Hotel Booking [Free option]
    • 04. Non-Refundable Hotel Booking [Paid option]
    • 05. Dummy Hotel Booking [Paid option]
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
    • Do embassies check hotel reservation?
    • Do you need hotel reservation for Schengen visa?
    • Can I use Booking.com for Schengen visa?
    • Is hotel booking required for US visa?
    • Can I use a fake hotel reservation for visa?
  • Conclusion
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What is a hotel reservation for visa?

A hotel reservation for visa is a booking made at a hotel in your name that can be submitted as proof of accommodation for visa application. This reservation can be paid or unpaid and must be verifiable if necessary. 

Your hotel booking must be active during the entire period of the visa process. In the event of verification by the embassy, the hotel must be able to confirm that there is an active booking in their system. The embassy may refuse your visa if they cannot validate your hotel reservation. 

***

Why do embassies ask for a hotel itinerary?

Embassies and consulates ask for hotel reservations primarily to understand your itinerary. Embassies can also assess your intentions for the trip from your hotel reservations.

Itinerary

Hotel bookings enable the consulates to understand your itinerary, places you plan to visit and the number of days you plan to stay in the country. Using this information, they can assess the purpose and intention of your trip. 

Affordability

Embassies can also assess the affordability of the trip based on your proof of accommodation. If your hotel accommodation does not correlate with your financial capacity, it raises questions. 

Authenticity

Hotel reservations can give away any abnormalities in your visa application. A genuine traveler would do the research and book their hotels. The booking would look natural and convincing. 

Hotel bookings in unpopular areas can alert visa officers to take a closer look at the purpose and intention of your trip. 

***

How to get hotel reservation for visa?

You can get hotel accommodation for visa from any hotel booking website. Some websites allow you to get free hotel bookings and some fully refundable ones. Below, I will walk you through 5 ways to get a hotel reservation. 

01. Pay-At-The-Hotel Booking [Free option]

Pay at the hotel booking on Booking.com
Pay at the hotel booking on Booking.com

Some booking sites allow you to book a hotel without requiring any prepayment. Such bookings are referred to as pay-at-the-hotel or pay-when-you-stay bookings. These bookings do not require any payment or credit card information. 

You can get a completely free hotel reservation for visa using this option.

Recommended websites:

  • Booking.com | Free cancellation: No prepayment needed
  • Expedia | Fully refundable: Reserve now, pay later
  • Agoda | Free cancellation: Pay at the hotel
  • Orbitz | Fully refundable: Reserve now, pay later
  • Trip.com | Free cancellation: Pay at hotel

Pros:

  • This option is completely free of charge and does not require a credit or debit card.

Cons:

  • Even though these bookings are free, you must still make sure to cancel them.  

NOTE
Not all bookings without prepayment are cancellable. Read the description carefully when making a hotel booking for visa application. The booking description must say “free cancellation” along with “no prepayment”, “pay at the hotel” or “pay when you stay”. 

—

02. Partial Deposit Hotel Booking [Free and Paid option]

Refundable deposit booking on Hostelworld
Refundable deposit booking on Hostelworld

Some booking sites let you book a hotel or hostel by paying a small deposit upfront. You pay about 15-20% of the booking as a deposit. The deposit can be refundable to non-refundable.

When you cancel the booking, you will get a full refund of your deposit if it’s refundable.

Recommended websites:

  • HostelWorld | Payable at booking: 15% refundable deposit with free cancellation (*Free option)
  • Agoda | Freeze price: 12-15% non-refundable deposit to hold for 7 days (*Paid option)

Pros:

  • Even if you forget to cancel in time, the resulting loss from the booking would be small. 

Cons:

  • You must remember to cancel the hostel reservation within the cancellation period. Otherwise, your deposit will not be refunded.

—

03. Fully Refundable Hotel Booking [Free option]

Fully refundable hotels on Kayak
Fully refundable hotels on Kayak

Pretty much every hotel booking website offers fully refundable booking options these days. You would need a credit or debit card to book such hotels. In the event of cancellation, you will get a full refund of the money spent on the booking. 

Recommended websites:

  • Expedia | Fully refundable
  • Booking.com | Free cancellation
  • Agoda | Free cancellation
  • Orbitz | Fully refundable
  • Priceline | Flexible cancellation
  • Trip.com | Free cancellation

Recommended hotel search engines:

  • Kayak | Compares and finds the cheapest refundable hotels
  • Skyscanner | Compares and finds the cheapest refundable hotels

Pros:

  • Fully refundable hotel bookings are fully-paid and confirmed hotel bookings. There is no need to worry about the consulate verifying its authenticity.

Cons:

  • If you fail to cancel in time, your booking is deemed noncancellable and you cannot claim a refund. 
  • You must keep the credit or debit card used for the booking active to receive your refund.

—

04. Non-Refundable Hotel Booking [Paid option]

Non-refundable hotels on Orbitz
Non-refundable hotels on Orbitz

If you come across a good hotel deal that you cannot pass up, then you can consider booking a refundable hotel for your visa.

I suggest booking a non-refundable hotel only if you are one hundred percent certain that your visa application will be approved.

Recommended websites:

  • Expedia | Non-refundable
  • Booking.com | Non-refundable
  • Agoda | Non-refundable
  • Orbitz | Non-refundable
  • Priceline | Non-refundable
  • Trip.com | Non-refundable

Recommended search engines for non-refundable hotels:

  • Kayak | Compares and finds best deals on hotels (non-refundable)
  • Skyscanner | Compares and finds best deals on hotels (non-refundable)

Pros:

  • Non-refundable hotel bookings are fully-paid and confirmed hotel bookings. There is no need to worry about the consulate verifying its authenticity.
  • Booking a non-refundable hotel early on would get you a good deal on the hotel than booking it after your visa approval.

Cons:

  • In the event of visa refusal, you will risk losing the money spent on the non-refundable hotel booking.
  • Hotels, booking websites and embassies do not consider visa refusal as a valid reason for hotel booking cancellations and refund claims. 

—

05. Dummy Hotel Booking [Paid option]

dummyticket.com buy ticket
Dummy hotel booking from dummyticket.com

There are online travel agents offering proof of accommodation for visa purposes for a nominal fee. Using these agents, you can get a dummy hotel reservation for visa application valid for 2-3 weeks. 

These agents can book a hotel on your behalf and cancel after its validity period, which is usually 2-3 weeks. You will have to provide them with the city, travel dates and visa details. They will book the hotel for you and send the hotel confirmation letter by email.

Recommended agent:

  • Dummy Ticket | Price $20 USD | Hotel booking valid for 2-3 weeks

Pros:

  • You can conveniently get a dummy hotel booking for visa for a nominal fee. 
  • This type of dummy hotel reservation works for all visas including Schengen visas. 
  • There is no need to remember to cancel the booking as the agent cancels the booking after its validity, usually after 2-3 weeks. 

Cons:

  • After you receive your hotel booking, there won’t be a record of your booking on the agent’s website. The only way to verify the authenticity of the booking is to contact the hotel. 
  • Even though the agents promise a 2-3 week validity, there is no guarantee the bookings can stay valid that long. 

***

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do embassies check hotel reservation?

Yes, the embassies can check the hotel reservation if they need to. Your hotel booking for visa must be verifiable. You must book the hotels on a reliable booking website or directly from the hotel. This way, if the embassy contacts the hotel, they will be able to confirm your booking. 

Do you need hotel reservation for Schengen visa?

Yes, you would need a hotel reservation for Schengen visa. Proof of accommodation is a mandatory document for the Schengen visa application. You can book pay-at-the-hotel or refundable hotels for your Schengen visa from websites such as Booking.com, Expedia or Orbitz. 

Can I use Booking.com for Schengen visa?

Yes, you can use Booking.com for Schengen visa. Hotels booked on Booking.com are accepted as proof of accommodation for Schengen visa application. If you prefer not to pay upfront, you can book any hotel with no prepayment or free cancellation option.

Is hotel booking required for US visa?

No, hotel bookings are not required for US visa. US embassies discontinued asking for hotel bookings and flight tickets. You do not need to book any hotel for US visa. In your DS-160, you can simply mention the name and address of the hotel you plan to stay in the US. But you do not need to book that hotel for the visa. 

Can I use a fake hotel reservation for visa?

Embassies can verify the authenticity of your hotel reservations. Using fake hotel reservations can land you in trouble. You can get your visa refused or a permanent ban due to falsified documents.

***

Conclusion

A hotel reservation is an essential document for tourist visa applications. You can obtain a hotel reservation from any hotel booking website. Most hotel booking websites offer hotel bookings without any prepayment. Booking hotels without any prepayment is the most sensible way to get a hotel booking for your visa. In the event of visa refusal, you will not lose money spent on the hotel.

WRITTEN BY THIRUMAL MOTATI

Thirumal Motati

Thirumal Motati is an expert in tourist visa matters. He has been traveling the world on tourist visas for more than a decade. With his expertise, he has obtained several tourist visas, including the most strenuous ones such as the US, UK, Canada, and Schengen, some of which were granted multiple times. He has also set foot inside US consulates on numerous occasions. Mr. Motati has uncovered the secrets to successful visa applications. His guidance has enabled countless individuals to obtain their visas and fulfill their travel dreams. His statements have been mentioned in publications like Yahoo, BBC, The Hindu, and Travel Zoo.

PLAN YOUR TRAVEL WITH VISA TRAVELER

I highly recommend using these websites to plan your trip. I use these websites myself to apply for my visas, book my flights and hotels and purchase my insurance.

01. Apply for your visa

You can get a verifiable flight itinerary for your visa application from DummyTicket. Flight itineraries from DummyTicket are valid for 2 weeks and work for all visa applications.

02. Book your fight

You can find the cheapest flight tickets using Skyscanner. Skyscanner includes all budget airlines and you are guaranteed to find the cheapest flight to your destination.

03. Book your hotel

You can book your hotel from Booking.com. Booking.com has pretty much every hotel, hostel and guesthouse from every destination.

04. Get your onward ticket

If traveling on a one-way ticket, you can get your proof of onward flight from Expedia. Expedia offers free cancellation on tickets booked within 24 hours. Or use OnwardTicket to get proof of onward ticket in just 2 minutes.

05. Purchase your insurance

You can purchase travel medical insurance for your trip from HeyMondo (for short trips + 5% discount for visa traveler readers), SafetyWing (for longer trips) or VisitorsCoverage (for US trips).

06. Get your travel SIM card

You can get an eSIM card instantly from Airalo. These eSIMs from Airalo are cheap and easy to set up. You can get connected and ready to go as soon as you land in your new destination. 

07. Get your zero-fee ATM card

You can manage money internationally in over 70 currencies using Wise. With a Wise card, you can store and withdraw cash in 40 currencies with zero ATM fees. 

Need more? Check out my travel resources page for the best websites to plan your trip.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER
We are not affiliated with immigration, embassies or governments of any country. The content in this article is for educational and general informational purposes only, and shall not be understood or construed as, visa, immigration or legal advice. Your use of information provided in this article is solely at your own risk and you expressly agree not to rely upon any information contained in this article as a substitute for professional visa or immigration advice. Under no circumstance shall be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions in this article or for any damage you may suffer in respect to any actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the information in this article. Please refer to our full disclaimer for further information.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please refer to our full disclosure for further information.

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Having Trouble Navigating Visas?

Hi! I'm Thirumal Motati. I've been traveling the world on tourist visas for more than a decade. I've obtained several tourist visas, including the most difficult ones such as the US, UK, Canada, and Schengen, some of which were granted multiple times.

I'm here to help you navigate the visas and travel the world.

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