Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reservation

Plane Ticket Reservation

yoyo_nyc — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:05:16 -0800

Best way to reserve an international flight? What is the best way to reserve an international flight? I want to do a reservation in advance that I might actually cancel. I saw that plane tickets that are reimbursable are quite expensive.

Any suggestions?

Making hostel reservations is what this question is about.

theiconoclast31 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:54:21 -0800

I'm going to Europe in December/January. How do I make hostel reservations? I'll be traveling with one friend for about a week, and then by myself for another week and a half. My ideal hostel is warm, safe, and my stuff won't get stolen. We're not too afraid of roughing it, but we're going in the winter. So how (much) should we plan?

When should we book? My dad says that hostels might get filled now, but we'd like to wait until we're on the road (for the sake of flexibility).
For the backpacking MeFites, how did you plan your trip? What do you wish you had done differently?
What are some good forums or websites with hostel reviews and travel tips? I've already read the threads regarding travel guides.
What are some alternatives to hostels and hotels?

Answers need not be specific to Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland, but that's where I'll be going. Thanks!

Cancel a reservation on uhaul.com?

amusem — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:19:15 -0800

Is it possible to cancel a uhaul truck reservation on the uhaul website? It does not seem to be possible. I ask because the wait to cancel over the phone is interminable. Thank you.

Legalfilter: I need advice if we should sue or not!

freddymetz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:59:02 -0800

Legalfilter: I need advice if we should sue or not! We booked a hotel online, received our booking/reservation confirmation and arrived at the hotel in DC.
They then told us that we didnt have a reservation and they were sold out.

We then called the central office and the woman there could only give us a generic excuse to do with the credit card (but if we have received the confirmation, they have received the money..right?).
What i suspect, is that they made a mistake and dont feel they can admit it and now blame it on a generic credit card error.

They also said that they cancelled the booking an hour after we booked it but we received NO information of the cancellation what so ever.

We drove 300 miles to get to the hotel where we had a reserved room and they just left us standing there in the middle of the night.
I dont think this is acceptable behaviour from a top class hotel, so what do you guys think?

If you need any more information, feel free to ask!

Book 'em Danno

Iteki — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:18:01 -0800

Suggest an offline booking system, no wait... Suggest a one-click WAMP solution, no wait... Flash and flat files mebbe? Scroll right down to skip the rambling details and answer the short version of this question.

Situation:
I have 25 computers each handed out for up to an hour twice per am and twice per pm.
I have 500 users competing for these resources on a first come first served basis.
I am required to know who was using what computer when for legal purposes.

Present solution::
At present the doors open and people come and queue for a "ticket", we hand them the ticket for their computer and then choose their name from a dropdown in this excel file(screendump).
This was fine when there was 50 of them, but the list is getting a little nuts now, and we sometimes get a ticket back in less than an hour and so pass it out again, so there is a lot of farting around in the file basically. The only actual problem with this system (apart from it being insane!) is that it takes too much time.

Suggested solution?
We are looking at various long-term solutions, but in the meantime I need a better short-term one than the one we patched together above. I like the aspect of the physical tickets as people don't forget they have booked, and also it gives me a physical notification that they are done at their machine when they hand it back (I am not, nor want to be, deskbound). Giving each person a user-id and password is probably what the long-term solution will be, and installing some sort of internet-café/library software, but that's outside my perogative. I also like the aspect of having the userlist as I learn each persons name, and I also would like to use that to tie to some other aspects of the users account, for example "needs help" or whatever.

What I ideally want is to have a user-database with a few fields, and then drop it into a similar setup as we have, but where I can just start typing their name to get the list (as opposed to having to click in excel), and where I can see a clear visual representation of the entire fleet of puters and their status. I rekon I can do this myself easily as a web-based solution, but I absolutly cannot have this online, the userbase is confidential, and yet myself and my colleauge both need to be able to access it from our own computers at work. We have a common folder on the server where the excel file presently sits. Is that something I can do with xampp or easyphp or wamp5 or what? WITSuite looks like the smallest all-in-one solution, but is it safe to run like this and can it be run in the way I am describing?

I am also open to the thought of doing it in Flash as a standalone, and am also happy for suggestions of actual software to deal with this in a simple way, I don't want the bells and whistles that I have seen on some cafe/library/resourse management progs.

EXTREMELY SHORT VERSION
What is the smallest, best, lightest, oneclickiest version of a local WAMP solution that I can keep offline and run from a shared folder on our server for a simple ajax based site. Xampp, easyphp, WITSuite?

Keeping track of my equipment.

hapticactionnetwork — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:12:09 -0800

Simple (free?) system/software for equipment reservations and checking out? I had trouble searching for this, I'm not exactly sure how to.

I work for a small non-profit, and we have a bunch of equipment we check out to people on a regular basis (cameras, tripods, etc.). I'm looking for a way that people can reserve dates and times that they need equipment, and easily check to see if other people have reserved equipment, who has stuff checked out, etc.

More info, if it helps: we all use macs, and we're all networked. If there's some kind of online web thing that does this, that would be awesome. Any suggestions would be super appreciated.

Hiring on the res?

Skwirl — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:29:37 -0800

How do I advertise my open job positions within the Native American community? I work for an American Indian/Alaskan Native non-profit in Oregon and we're hiring for several full-time volunteer with living stipend positions through AmeriCorps. I'm in charge of the recruitment campaign and my grandiose marketing plans fell through when I was sidelined for a week with an unexpected illness. I'm hitting up all the regular recruitment resources, but I feel like I should put a greater effort into recruiting within the tribal community and on reservations.

What are the best channels to go through to reach the Native American audience? I'm so-so new and we're an urban agency, so I'm not particularly familiar with the Oregon tribes and reservations yet. How should I go about advertising these positions in tribal newspapers and at tribal colleges? Are there other resources that I should seek out? Bonus points for efficiency, since the application date is mere weeks away. Are there any sensitivities that I should be aware of?

Please help me change/cancel my NWA reservation without paying service fees.

charlesroper — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 15:47:54 -0800

I bought a non-refundable plane ticket on Sunday night from Northwest Airlines. It's now Tuesday afternoon and I need to make a change to my reservation. I know I can easily do this by paying their $100 service fee, but I'm trying to avoid this. Any help is appreciated. Can I cancel my reservation and get a credit that I can use to re-book this flight?

I read their "Customer's First" policy and it states that full refunds are available until midnight on the day after a reservation has been made. Anyone have experience with NWA agents bending this policy to include more than one day?

My flight is not until mid-November so it's not like it's a last minute booking.

Where can I find concice definitions of the legal status of "Native American"/"First Nation" "reservations" in the Americas.

MonkeySaltedNuts — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 19:25:16 -0800

Where can I find concise definitions of the legal status of "Native American"/"First Nation" "reservations" in the Americas. In the Americas, Indian tribes (a.k.a. "First Nation", "Native American") have sometimes been granted an "semi-independant nation status" and a bit of land to sit in - a "reservation". E.g. US tribal reservations are mostly self-governing and self-policing, however the US can send in FBI agents if there is crime connecting the inside to the outside.

Which countries in the Americas (both North and South) have physical (or social) "reservations" that have legal rights?

I would like to know how close the Cannada system is to the US, but more importantly I would like to know the status in Mexico and every place south.

Help us prepare for the fanciest dinner of our lives.

croutonsupafreak — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 16:55:56 -0800

Help us prepare for the fanciest dinner of our lives. My boyfriend and I have reservations next week at one of the classiest restaurants in Portland, Genoa, where we'll be having a seven-course prix fixe meal. We're not rich, we just both love food and thought it would be a great way to mark a special occasion.

I grilled reservations guy on the phone for advice when I scheduled our dinner. Will they accomodate our special dietary needs? He says yes. What should we wear? He says business casual or nicer.

But there's a lot more I'm not sure about. How long should we expect our meal to take? Should we try not to finish everything on our plates, just to make sure there's room in our bellies for the rest of the courses? Or do seven-course meals come with smaller serving sizes? Do the same rules of tipping apply when you're spending $200-plus for dinner as when you're spending $20 (15-20%)? Are doggie bags completely taboo? Are there other etiquette considerations we should prepare for before we arrive?

There's also question of wine. The restaurant's web site lists Italian , American and French wines, with bottles ranging in price from around $21 all the way up to $400, and I am nervous about accidentally tripling our bill by ordering the wrong thing. We both love red wines, but are certainly not experts on vinology. Can anyone suggest an affordable bottle off this list?

Any other tips for enjoying the evening and feeling comfortable instead of outclassed?

Shopping Surprises

Smart Dalek — Wed, 10 Dec 2003 06:16:15 -0800

While chasing down a $16 dollar copy of $30 Film School, I learned Half.com
has been doing business with Reservation Rewards.

In spite of ignoring the offer to join the service, I may still end up becoming
an "instant member", as shoppers on buy.com and other sites have.

Anyone else discover any suprises while shopping for the holidays?