Hotel Prepayment
A hotel in Greece that we would like to make a reservation with only accepts cash. Since we will only be staying in the hotel for one night, they want us to prepay the entire amount beforehand by transferring the funds to their bank account. This seems a bit suspicious to me. Thoughts?
Kevin
Wheaton, IL USA 3/17/07
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It is not uncommon for hotels and especially B&Bs to request first night deposit. When they do not take credit cards, it can be a pain since the fees for international bank drafts or transfers can be expensive. And cash only for smaller places is not uncommon either. Do it or find another place.
find another hotel which takes cc.
I've done this a lot in Italy. It's pretty common there. As noted by the others who responded, the wire transfer fees add to the cost of the accommodation (my bank charges $25 per transaction). If you pay in advance, make sure you take documentation of the payment with you.
sometimes I have offered to send and sent a US 20 to show good faith to Small B&B's ( with exchange rates guess that is 40 US now --how sad) I now have German friend who will send euro checks for me (friends are good)another option ether option with no fees
Some places accept payments through PayPal. I used this at a B&B in Pisa two years ago.
I'd check out Venere website and find somewhere else. On this site you can reserve a room and pay on check out.