Booking European reservations with deposit

wow. so they want cash, with no way to track it at all? i think i'd tell them thanks but no thanks. it's not expensive or difficult to set up an account with paypal.

I would choose another agriturismo. The one we recently stayed in took a credit card as a deposit, and we paid cash for the entire visit when we were there. We spent 3 weeks in Italy in September we stayed in 8 places Not one place required cash up front. We did pay cash once we got there.

cash when you get there is understandable. but i don't think i'd be sending 100 euro or so to someone in another country trusting in them to do the right thing. there are some relatives of the nigerian finance minister that would like to speak with you if you insist!

I'm distraught and disappointed in these posts. I feel quite comfortable I've chosen a good place to stay - it's registered with agritourisimo and I want to send a deposit. I've been emailing them for months - this is the website: www.agrimonia.it
Maybe I'm a sap and too gullible?? I am really disappointed though - I thought travelers would be more helpful and less skeptical?

Have you talked to your bank about a wire transfer? Tried Western Union? Xoom.com? I'm sure you've already done this, but have you asked the agritourismo what method other people have used? Don't get angry with the people here. You have to remember that what we have to share is our experiences. And many of us have seen way too many housing scams where cash only is involved.

Susan, I havve sent money by wire transfer to our accommodations in Europe and never had a problem. It is a common practice in Europe, especially with the small, family-run places. If you trust the agriturismo and the organization behind them, and that is the only way to secure the reservation, you shouldn't let that deter you. Be aware, however, that wire transfers are expensive. I just sent money to Spain yesterday for an apartment. The transfer cost me $45 in addition to the deposit I sent. For that reason I try to find some way around it when a property owner wants a cash deposit.

Agree with the bank transfer. I've done two of them to Italy recently through my Ally bank money market and it's a $20 fee. I just do the math and send the equivalent in USD and the recipient's bank converts it to Euros. It's worked out fine both ways. Both of the places I've sent money to, one for a tour and one for a B&B are both very highly-rated places. Just because they don't accept CCs doesn't mean they're not worth the effort. If you feel you've found the right place and you trust the reviews you've read and get a good feeling talking to the management, go with it. I wouldn't sweat it at all. But, I would consider taking out travel insurance.

I have found with some countries that it is better to have your bank do the wire transfer in the local currency (Euros). Some foreign banks charge way more than current exchange rates. You still have to pay your local bank fee

Thanks for the transfer idea - I'll look into it -- and thanks for the additional comments -- I'm feeling much better about my choice:)
susan

They should provide you with the bank name, account number and SWIFT code for the wire transfer. And do shop around for the bank fees. My bank (Chase) charged $45 as I mentioned, but that included the conversion fee to send it in euros. I'm sure there must be other banks that charge less; I just didn't have the time to look into it.

"I thought travelers would be more helpful and less skeptical?" Being a traveler and being skeptical go somewhat hand in hand. People are just trying to warn as to a potential red flag. I mean, would you mail cash to anyone in the US? Have you found any favorable reviews on this place? That would help me have some peace of mind.

Requesting a deposit on a rental is pretty standard, but insisting on cash is not. I agree with James, that while asking for cash to be sent through the mail doesn't neccessarily mean the business is shady or suspect, it does seem sort of incompetent. Sending cash through the mail is always risky. What if your cash gets lost in transit? You'd be out that money, whereas if you paid by credit card, it might be a hassle to straighten out any problems that occur, but at least it would be possible. I don't know much about wire transfers, but that sounds like the best solution. I would never send cash through the mail, especially to strangers in a foriegn country.

Where does it say they asked for cash in the mail? I don't think that is what Susan meant. Or maybe she misunderstood. Mailing cash would indeed be weird. Sending money by bank transfer is not weird, it is routine as others have pointed out.

no they did not ask for cash they merely asked if it was possible to send the deposit in their own currency which I understood to mean a money order, check, or bank transfer etc.

I do not understand the references to Las Vegas. It's not like they are asking for an envelope filled with unmarked bills. Sending money by wire transfer is, apart from the ridiculous bank fee, no different from writing them a check. Either way, the money goes from your bank account to theirs. With the wire transfer, they give you their bank account ##, and you put money into it. With a check, you give them YOUR bank account number, and they take it out. If you think about it, which is less fraud-prone? And if you give them your credit card number, there are all kids of ways it could go astray, as has oft been discussed here. But it rarely does. As for paying a deposit up front to book your vacations accommodations, that is the usual in the US as well, for lodging in the national parks, ski resorts, and owner-direct rentals. The same rules apply---make sure you trust the party you are giving money to, and read the cancellations policy carefully. In the national parks with which I am most familiar (Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Glacier NP), the much-desired inside-the-park hotels take reservations a year in advance, and they often sell out that day. You pay one night's lodging up front, so they have your money for a whole year before you even get there.

(. . .more....) So I don't find it at all odd or unusual when a place in a popular area (like Italy) asks for a deposit. As for cash versus credit card deposit, I actually prefer cash I have never had a problem with unauthorized charges on my CC (rapping on wood here), but read the horror stories on Tripadvisor about people who got double-charged, or who had a large "damage charge" put on their card after they departed. Shady operators take credit cards too. Sure, you have the option of challenging the charge, but it can take months to resolve. If you had paid cash for your lodging in the first place, that couldn't happen.

A lot of things are not getting mentioned here. First, for small establishments it is very expensive to be able to accept credit cards. a lot of small hotels & b&bs that are willing to accept credit card numbers as a guarantee still require cash upon arrival or checkout. To hold a place responsible for not accepting credit cards doesn't make sense. Just because it is the norm in the US doesn't mean it's the norm in Italy or anywhere else. Paypal is nice, but their fees are even worse. That leaves a bank transfer. Also, no one has mentinoed the reason why these places want deposits. I recently booked a room for next May at a very small B&B in Lecce. The owner asked for a bank transfer, so I wrote to a very recent TripAdvisor reviewer of the establishment to ask her about the place. She was Italian and explained that the owner had told them that they were experiencing too many people who would book a room by their word via email or phone and then never show up. So I sent him the bank transfer - for the entire stay no less (only 100 euros though) - and he told me he received it and all is fine. I think it's worth while to keep in mind that while we, the travelers, are trying to protect ourselves from dishonest establishments, honest establishments are trying to protect themselves from dishonest travelers. It works both ways.

Good points, Debra. For anyone who thinks that wire transfers are risky or shady, or that places that use this method are low-tech backwater places, have a look at this brand-new, lovely hotel in the Dolomites, Hotel Schmung on Alpe di Siusi: www.schmung.com Under "Rates and Information" it says, "Bookings are only confirmed once a EUR 300.00 deposit per room has been paid. Bank account at Raiffeisen Castelrotto bank." After that they give the SWIFT code and IBAN for their account (which I won't post here but are on the website). So to make a reservation at this place, you wire them the deposit instead of paying by credit card. We would have been happy to do that to stay there, but our plans changed and we dropped the Dolomites from our itinerary. Credit cards are not all that popular in Italy, especially in smaller places. Almost everywhere we went on our last trip we were asked to pay in cash, or were given a discount for doing so even if they took credit cards.

Susan - here's another traveler who has sent Euros, in the form of a bank wire, as a deposit for a small B&B in Italy. It don't believe it is that uncommon for the smaller places (especially in Italy) to not accept credit cards. The deposit was a small amount - 1 nights lodging - and it cost me about $30 to send the equivalent of $130 to them. I loved the B&B that we stayed it. Small B&B's here in the states have requested that I send them a check for a deposit because they don't take credit cards. If you lived in Europe they would probably accept your "Euro check" but since you don't have such an account, a wire would be your only way.