Is a 'quad' room a room that 4 people share or is it two rooms?
Unless otherwise noted, a quad room means quad occupancy. In other words, it would be one room that four people share. However, certain properties, such as apartments, are listed as having 2 (or more) bedrooms available for quad occupancy. In the description of each property it will be noted if there is more than one bedroom. If you are reserving a stay in a B & B or guesthouse, you are only reserving 1 room at a time, regardless of how many people are in your party.

What bed types are available?
When you submit a request form for the property you want to book, you will choose from a pull-down menu of options available at that specific property. We classify the bed types as following:
single/twin - standard individual bed, sleeps only 1 person
double/full - also called a "French double," it is about halfway between a single and a queen bed at 140 cm wide; sleeps two people but if you require lots of space you may find it a bit tight
queen - standard American queen-sized bed, sleeps 2 people comfortably and is 160 cm wide

Will my linens and towels be changed every day?
No. As in most budget accommodations, linens and towels will only be changed during longer stays, usually after every 3-4 days. This practice helps keep the cost of the accommodation down and is more ecological. If you specifically request the owner of your B&B / guesthouse to change the linens or towels more frequently, they may be able to, but that will be exclusively up to their discretion.

Is tax included?
Sales tax (VAT) is already included in all our prices, when applicable.  A few Italian cities have a tourist tax that averages to about 2 euro per person, per night, that is paid separately.  Visit our blog for details about which cities it applies to and how much is charged.  

Are there any extra fees in addition to the rates listed on the website?
The rates listed on the site are all-inclusive of cleaning fees and any other "extras".  If there are supplements for late checkins, it will be displayed prominently in the property detail page and in the confirmation letter.

Do you require a security deposit in apartment rentals?
We do not require a damage deposit. We keep your credit card number on file and reserve the right to charge it or give the number to the property owner if damages are found. We suggest to all guests and owners that a thorough inventory of the apartment be conducted at check-in to avoid being held responsible for something that was previously damaged.

How can I get a receipt?
Receipts are issued by the owner of the property at the time that you pay your balance. These are normally generic receipts and not fiscal receipts, as most rentals are done privately by the owner and not an establishment that has a tax id number. If you require a fiscal receipt for the deposit charged to your credit card, and are a european resident, we can issue one upon request.

What other services do you offer?
In some cities we provide a taxi service through a third party. We also offer our own cancellation insurance direct through us. For tours and concierge services, we recommend Context Travel at www.contexttravel.com who do some quality stuff in most of the same cities that we operate.

What if I arrive and don't like the place I've reserved?
If you have purchased our cancellation insurance you are entitled to leave without any penalty (and a full refund of your deposit), and if you so desire we can help you find alternative (although we can't guarantee one to you). If you haven't purchased the insurance, we can help you find an alternative, based on availability, but you will be charged the cancellation fee and your deposit will not be refunded. If there are problems with the property however, we can try to arbitrate a discount on your behalf.

How can I find out more info?
There are many non-biased forums such as Tripadvisor, Rick Steve's Graffiti Wall and Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree. We recommend you do thorough searches and inquire with us for any clarification/explanation you desire of guest's comments.

How can I find out about the neighborhood?
There are many non-biased forums such as Tripadvisor, Rick Steve's Graffiti Wall and Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree. We recommend you do thorough searches and inquire with us for any clarification/explanation you desire.

What is the difference between a B & B / guesthouse / room and apartment?
A B & B in Europe is not necessary what one imagines an American or British B & B to be. The concept is that guests in a B & B will be staying in someone's home. Since most residents in Europe don't have free standing homes, but rather live in apartment buildings, a B & B is normally a converted apartment where guests sometimes have use of the kitchen or other common areas. Many B & B's however, do not have owners living on the premises, which is detailed in each property. In any case, we consider a B & B to be a guestroom where breakfast is provided, either in the form of a voucher at a nearby cafe/bar or a breakfast made by the hosts. And if there is no breakfast we call the property a guestroom or guesthouse. In a guestroom or guesthouse a person rents a room or rooms out of their primary residents. You will be sharing the flat with them, but will have a room that is private. Sometimes use of the kitchen is allowed and often there are common areas.

Do children get charged as an adult?
This varies from property to property. If you are traveling with children, we suggest you contact us in advance for more information. Normally children up to 3 years old that do not occupy a normal bed are free. After three years old they are charged as adults. Some properties have cribs available either for free or a small additional charge.

Can you provide a crib for our baby?
Some of the properties can provide a crib for free; some can provide a crib but ask an additional fee; others do not have a crib they can provide at all. If you need to know before confirming a reservation at a specific property, please inquire with us before booking.

When is check in / check out time?
This also varies from property to property. As a general rule, rooms/apartments are not cleaned and available for check-in until around 3pm if there were previous guests that left that morning. Check out time can range between 10am and 12 noon. It is normal at a property where there is a host that upon request guests can store bags either in the case of an early check in or a late check out. However, in a private apartment this is usually not possible.

How do I reserve more than one room?
To reserve more than one room for the same dates, you need to submit a separate form for each room desired. The easiest way for us to understand that the requests must be made together is if you write your name and then (part 1) and (part 2). Keep in mind that the availability you see in the pop-up calendar is based on there being at least one room, so for reservations of multiple rooms we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the availability pop-ups. If you are reserving one room at a time in more than one city, or a series of rooms in one city, you can take advantage of the "search availability" feature, wherein you can select multiple properties and request them all at the same time.

Is it safe to submit my credit card details on-line?
We feel it's safer than any other way to use your card. In many traditional shops when you use your credit card you leave a paper trail of the number that would be very easy to find and use. With cross-pollinate your card details go directly into our ssl encrypted back office using the most up to date security technology available. All the reservation pages are located on a secure server which blocks all access to that material while in transit. Only until we have a confirmed reservation do we charge the necessary deposits. If we are not able to confirm your requests, your details are completely deleted from our system.

What if I don't hear from you after having submitted a reservation form?
We advise everyone to contact us by e-mail or phone if you do not hear from us. Many times we get messages returned to us that could not be delivered. We go to great lengths to personally respond to the hundreds of e-mail messages we receive, so if you don't hear from us, assume there was a problem in the transmission.

If a room is not indicated as "sold-out" on the availability pop-up is my reservation request guaranteed to be confirmed?
Not necessarily. The owners of all the properties update their own availability. Sometimes it happens that they fill up and before they get a chance to log on to the site and update the availability, a request will be made. Or sometimes we'll receive many requests at once that all fall on the same dates and some will not be able to to be accommodated. However, we cannot hold rooms/apartments temporarily upon an e-mail request until you submit a form. The most efficient way to determine if there is space or not is to request a reservation. If there is space, it will be immediately confirmed for you.

If there is no space available what will happen to my request and credit card details?
If we are not able to confirm your reservation request we will contact you with an alternative. In the event that we can not find a suitable alternative, or you do not wish to accept the alternative, we will delete the request and your credit card details.

What about cancellations and changes?
Our full cancellation/change policy is located on every reservation form as well as in the link under terms and conditions.

Can I reserve and check availability over the phone?
No. We operate exclusively on-line and cannot process phone orders.

Do any of the properties have a curfew?
None of the properties we work with have curfews. You will receive a set of keys for the building, the apartment, and (in the case of a B&B) your room so that you can come and go as you please.