You have planned a three-week dream holiday, meticulously booking all your tour tickets, airplane tickets, car rentals, hotels, and restaurants in advance. You are ready to unwind, but before you
can say “Ready for paradise,” your email pings.
“Please confirm your hotel reservation.” Okay, sure. You reply “YES” to the email. Just a few hours later, ping! Another email: “Please re-confirm your hotel reservation.” Wait, what? Did I not just do this? The email insists, though. So, like an obedient traveler, you reply “YES” again, hoping this is the last of it. Spoiler alert: it is not.
It is the eve of your departure. Ping! Are you still planning to arrive tomorrow at the hotel? What time? Who are you travelling with? Seriously? Yes, I am still planning to arrive. “Please confirm.” Confirmed. Ping! “Thank you for confirming your confirmation.” At this point, you wonder if you are caught in some Kafkaesque loop where the only escape is to abandon all plans and live as a hermit in the woods.
And it is not just the hotels. Restaurants have joined the confirmation circus too. You make a reservation at The Fancy Bistro, and immediately get a text: Confirm your booking for 7 PM. Confirmed. A day later, another text: We noticed you confirmed your booking. Can you re-confirm? What is this, Inception? A dream within a dream within a reservation?
And do not even get us started on the pre-dining interrogations. Do you have any dietary restrictions? Allergies? Preferences? Are you bringing a pet? Will you need a high chair? Do you breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide? Yes, yes, and yes to all of the above. Can we just come and eat?
(As the Eagles sang, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”)
Hotels are especially notorious for this. They bombard you with so many messages that you half-expect them to ask if you can re-confirm your humanity next. Hi, just checking if you are still a human being planning to sleep in our establishment. Please confirm. They already have credit card details, so they can charge us to the moon if we do not show up.
And let us not forget the resorts where the butler service means you are never truly alone. These butlers initiate endless WhatsApp conversations, checking on your every need. It is charming at first—until you are back home and they are still messaging you. Hello, just checking if you enjoyed your stay. Would you like to book another visit? Leave me alone! I am trying to decompress from the vacation.
But wait, there is more! You think the ordeal ends after your meal or stay? Think again! The moment you step out of the restaurant, your phone buzzes: How was your meal? Buzz. Please rate your server. Buzz. Was the lighting to your liking? Buzz. How did you enjoy the journey from the table to the restroom? We noticed you took three bites of your steak before pausing. Was everything alright?
Even a bridge toll station is not immune. You drive through, the gate lifts, and you continue your merry way. Then, out of nowhere: How was your experience passing through our toll station? Did the barrier lift smoothly? Was the asphalt to your liking? Please give us feedback.
Just when you think you are all done, lying on your sofa back home, they start to invade your inbox. Newsletters from every hotel and restaurant you have ever visited—and sometimes it is impossible to unsubscribe. Somehow, they sneak past your spam filter like ninjas. I still get emails from a dentist in Sydney I visited a couple of years ago. But that is fine; now I am up to date with the latest techniques. But most of them I delete faster than you can say Bon Voyage.
It is a wonder anyone gets to relax these days with the constant need to confirm, re-confirm, and give feedback. The relentless stream of communication is enough to make you long for the days when a reservation was a simple matter of booking, showing up, and enjoying yourself. Until then, happy confirming!
Have you experienced the endless cycle of confirmations and feedback requests? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments below. We promise to confirm every comment!
✽ The vibrant blue faces photo, taken by us at Copenhagen Airport. Features the brilliant work of the Danish artist Jeppe Hein.