‘If you don’t want to arrive in a foreign country only to find that the hotel room you’ve paid for has been offered to someone else, just stick with dependable travel agents. A respectable company signs certain agreements with the hotels; the terms of these agreements are both strict and clear, so any chance of leaving a traveler not properly accommodated is canceled out,’ Director of Zima Leto Travel Agency Olga Gulyar said to UrBC.

It has been reported that the number of charter flights to Egypt might be reduced beginning from November 20, 2007 due to increased number of Russian tourists in Egypt who haven’t been able to check in the rooms they paid for. Apparently, Egyptian hotel-keepers practice overbooking.

‘These cutbacks are quite artificial: they are targeted at having less people go to a country proverbial for the cheapness of its hotel services and therefore very popular with travelers. Cutbacks are most often practiced in winter and summer seasons, but I don’t believe things are that bad in Egypt,’ Ms Gulyar added.