I am in communication with a woman offering an apartment rental in Murren Switzerland for June 21-24. They have a legit website, contact info, etc. I have emailed the hotel next door to her place to ask if they know or have heard about her (and can vouch for her).
She is wanting payment at the beginning of May for the property. What is the best way to pay someone internationally? We will also have this issue in Rome with a private tour guide. This person has PayPal I believe.
Thank you
First, be v-e-r-y careful with any international pre-payment made directly to the payee -- there are countless people who have been badly scammed with that (usually though airbnb but not always). I would proceed with great skepticism and extreme caution. You won't have any recourse if it's a scam.
That said, I have sent prepayment a couple times (only after completely vetting the place and recipient). I used "Wise" (formerly TransferWise) and it worked out well.
Wise (formerly TransferWise)
I would never use Paypal for this. Be v-e-r-y skeptical and careful. Good luck.
Transferwise is an affordable money transfer site. I've used it for an apartment deposit, and to pay a parking ticket in Austria. If you are sure the apartment is legit this is a good way to go. There are not protections if there's a problem - that would be between you and the apartment owner, it's like you are simply handing her cash. It seems from conversations I've had that money transfers are a common way for Europeans to pay for things like this, and the service I mentioned has the lowest fees I've found.
Paypal works fine for those who have it, too.
There are enough Mürren apartments listed on AirBnB, VRBO, TripAdvisor, etc. that I choose to use those, and pay with credit card, rather than book directly with the owner, no matter how “legit” the website looks. Especially if they want a direct deposit into their bank. I know that is common practice in some areas (particularly the Dolomites, from my experience) and not necessarily a red flag, but it offers no protection. And it is inconvenient.
Airbnb hosts don’t receive payment until after you have been there for 24 hours, so if you show up and there’s a problem you contact Airbnb and they help you find another place. At the very least they would refund your money. I feel more comfortable with Airbnb than some other platforms.
I was warned by someone to be aware that Wise is now using a third-party for all transfers over 2,000€. As a former banker, she did not like the information requested by the third party.
I’ve successfully used Wise in the past and would for small amounts. I use MoneyCorp when sending funds, while Currencies Direct is another service.
I've rented many apartments, some directly from personal websites, and used a bank transfer for a deposit, or payment in full at a discount. Where did you find the apartment listing? There are thousands of legitimate rentals which do not use the services of the big boys or girls.
Not sure why the hotel next door should vouch for her.
I think I would be cautious and find an apartment in another way.
You have worked hard for your money, and you don't want to lose it....or worse, get there and find no apartment.
This is 2022. If you are in the hospitality business and you don't accept credit cards, you don't belong in business. Something isn't right. How did you find the apartment in the first place? Credit cards are a way of life and it is a cost of doing business no matter how small your business. As many have said, Murren, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen are filled with rental opportunities. Go use Booking.com. The same with the tour guide in Rome. There is no shortage of tour guides in Rome. PS. Anyone can have a legit "looking" website. Buyer Beware!!!
I just wanted to follow up to this thread with a brief report.
After quite a bit of back and forth communication thru email, and WhatsApp (online texting), I ended up transferring our 3 night payment of 1055 Swiss francs to our hosts, Bruno and Rugila. We kept in contact via WhatsApp. Bruno gave me some good tips on driving through Switzerland, how to get to the condo, restaurant suggestions, etc. He met us at the cable car station in Murren and walked us to the unit. After explaining everything about the condo in detail he left and returned to Bern.
I have to say, the condo we rented was BY FAR the best lodging experience we had the entire trip! For starters it had a large balcony with a table and chairs with a MILLION DOLLAR VIEW that was absolutely breathtaking. 3 bedrooms, kitchen, bath, and living room with dining table and sectional. The entire unit was spotless and neat as a pin. TV with local channels and Netflix was a nice bonus. Overall we couldn't have been happier with the stay. And for $350/a night for 6 people it was among the best value of the trip. It was risky of course, but I am so happy we did it.
If anyone wants the contact info and details about the place, please feel free to contact me. I have photos and Bruno and Rugila's contact info as well.
Oh, one more thing. We ended up using WISE dot com to make the money transfer. It takes some set up with both parties banks, but it's very fast and has very inexpensive transfer fees. Highly recommended.
~ Bart
Good to see it worked out for you. Due diligence is a better friend than credit cards, Airbnb and Booking.com.
Yes, I’m quite happy everything worked out. It turns out the chalet/ apartment building was attached to the hotel thru a secret passageway on the ground floor. At the end of our stay we locked up and turned our key into the front desk of the hotel. They obviously knew Müngers, so they could reassure me when I emailed them asking if the rental was legit. I do think that Europeans are more comfortable with person to person rental situations, but there is risk involved.
On a related note, the Airbnb property in Paris (that we paid twice as much) ended up being really filthy, and nothing like what the photos described. It was downright fraudulent. They failed to mention that one of the bedrooms was in the basement, very humid and musty smelling. So it’s not like you’re guaranteed a great stay even with the big boys.
Bart, I am glad to hear that the apartment and money transfer worked in favor for each of you. (I am equally disappointed for your Paris trip.)
As we are looking into another visit to Switzerland next summer, I would appreciate if you would share with me, the details of the particular place you found (and loved) in Murren.
Thank you,
Judi
Properties in Paris, in general, aren't as nice as anywhere else, at least for how much they cost. Filthy sucks and I'd certainly include it in your review. Significantly smaller, less convenient and not generally nice seems to be normal for Paris Airbnb's. I've stayed in a couple in Paris. I'd say I was satisfied but not overjoyed.
Some Airbnb's around France (Arles, Chamonix, Antibes, Strasbourg, etc.) were really nice and well located. Others were fine but nothing to write home about. Some I wouldn't return to.
I've stopped using Booking.com completely. After years of using a variety of methods to find lodging, I concluded my absolute worst lodging experiences were made with Booking.com. One thing that was consistent for me was searching for lodging "near" something. Then realizing Booking.com changed the dates from your search dates. I'd arrive somewhere expecting a booking and be told I was booked yesterday. I thought it was just me being dumb until a friend had an identical experience. We did a few mock bookings on the site and found it was, indeed, changing the date from what we originally requested. If you're not careful, you'll end up poorer and still without lodging.
