bank transfers

Usually they will give you a transit number, bank information and perhaps a swift code. Take that information to your bank and they will be able do the transfer for you easily. I haven't had that experience before with a hotel we have had to do it to secure long term rentals though.

The only time I prepaid for a room in Italy I used PayPal. You might try that. There was no fee for an exchange rate, as I recall.

I've done this a number of times because I usually take groups to Italy. As is stated above, ask the hotel for the appropriate information (such as the swift code, IBAN, name of the bank, account, and address--sometimes they want that) and be prepared for your bank not to know what to do with it, especially if it's a small bank. The hotel probably does this regularly. Be persistent that the information you're giving them (the bank) is correct (double check, of course).

I have done this a few times, and my bank charges what is in my opinion a hefty fee. I've never had any problem getting it done though and I live in a small town in Mississippi.

Greetings
The fees are very high for bank transfers, so make sure there is no other way to pay. I tend to be suspicious of places that only accept bank transfers since once your cash is in their hands, there's no recourse if something goes wrong or if your trip is cancelled etc.

I would do your research carefully to make sure that the hotel has a decent reputation. In all my travels, I've never dealt with a hotel that wouldn't book with a credit card.

Kate

If they don't accept PayPal as a means of payment I would take my business elsewhere.

Most hotel accept credit cards to reserve and then take cash.Id find another hotel.

A small hotel in a small village may not accept credit cards at all. THe only hotel in the village where my grandfather was born doesn't accept cards. They don't want to raise prices to cover the transaction costs. But they know me and will hold a room without a deposit.

My credit union charges $45 for an outgoing wire. which is pricey for a $100 or $200 dollar deposit.

You may want to try another place or see if you can talk them into keeping your credit card info as a deposit but promise to pay them in cash on arrival.

The process is fairly painless but it can be costly.

thanks to all for your helpful feedback!!

I ran into this problem when sending 10% deposits for apt. rentals in Spain earlier this summer. My bank wanted a high fee for international wire transfer, $50 per transaction. (More than the deposit in all cases). I was able to have the people I was renting from agree to go to a Western Union branch, turns out they are fairly populous at least in the big cities. Western Union charged $20 per transaction. Much easier to swallow.

One more possibility. I used American Express travelers checks in euros to secure a deposit. Though their exchange rate isn't great, as a card holder I didn't have to pay an additional fee. I needed to send 140 euros. I got three 50 euro checks. Whatever the cost above the atm exchange rate, it surely wasn't $50 or even the $20 mentioned below.

I have an account with www.xe.com/fx which I use to send money to relatives in the UK. I've also used it to pay the deposit at B&Bs in Europe that don't accept credit cards. A bank draft is issued in the currency of my choice from money taken from my checking account by electronic transfer. The draft is mailed (USPS) directly to the recipient of my choice. If I want to pay more, I can also do this as a wire transfer. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the official rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. For security reasons it takes some time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes smoothly and quickly after that.

In Germany at least, and I suspect elsewhere in Europe, payments are often made using an Überweisung - kind of a reverse check. The business sends you their bank account information and you put the information and the amount on a form (Überweisung), and give it to the bank. The bank then transfers the money from your account to that of the business. The business gets their money immediately, without waiting for a check to clear.

I think the hotel might be expecting to do business this normal way, not knowing that US banks don't do überweisungen.

However, in seven years of travel in Germany, I have never had to make a deposit on a room. They have always been at small family run places and we exchanged emails in German. Maybe they were more trusting of me.

Considering that ripping off American tourists is the national pastime in Italy, I be reluctant to send them any money. I would find a different place.