You’re in Europe and are all set to embark on your Eurailing trip. You’ve armed yourself with a good guidebook, packed your haversack with all the essentials for your Europe vacation and have got yourself a railpass. Now you need to give a thought to accommodation and lodging. Here are some tips on making hotel reservations:

• Use a good guidebook and read the hotel listings.
• Call ahead to reserve a room.
• A hotelier will usually request your credit-card number as a deposit when you book your reservation. You can be billed for one night if you don't show up. Some hotels will hold a room without a deposit if you promise to arrive early.
• Try to email or fax your long-distance reservations. European hoteliers prefer reservation requests by email.
• In your emailed or faxed request, always list these items: your dates (with date and expected time of arrival, number of nights you'll stay, and date of departure); your room needs (number of people, the facilities you require); and your budget concerns (of course, a trade-off with facilities).
• Once they've offered you a room, accept the reservation and send your credit-card number as a deposit.