We are in the process of booking an apartment for 4 nights in Rome. We found one through Homelidays (recommended in Rick's Rome guidebook), which is a rental property advertising service that eventually puts you in direct contact with property owners. The owner of the apartment we want to rent wants 30% up front, deposited directly into a bank account in Rome (in a different person's name - interesting); with the balance due at check-in. Has anyone heard of or engaged in this practise?
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
435 posts
I have not made a bank deposit for an apartment in Italy, however my Italian friend told me it is common practice in Italy to pay with bank transfers. I am an artist and I recently exhibited in Italy. The shipping company would not ship my work back until I made a bank transfer to their account. It worked, but I had to pay an additional $40 transfer fee, so beware of that.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
The owner of every apartment I've ever rented has wanted a deposit. It's just good business sense. They're not like a hotel, filling up your room with a walk-in if you don't show. If you decide to renege at the last minute, there's no way they can scramble to fill the week. Even hotels will charge you if you don't cancel far enough in advance. The fact it's being put in another person's name is irrelevant. More important is that you've checked the feedback comments about this place posted on the homelidays.com website...your best indication as to whether this is a good deal or no.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
If you search on "homelidays.com" using search box in upper right of this page, you can see what others have said.
Posted by
Tacoma, WA, USA
671 posts
The farm apartment I am staying at in the Dolomites is asking for a 100 Euro bank transfer. I actually asked to just send them the full amount (since it was only another 58 Euros). It's pretty common practice in Europe. My German grandpa usually wires his Christmas money for our family to my mom's account here.
Posted by
Wodonga, Australia
440 posts
Yes, it is a normal procedure. Your bank will do it for a fee, or you can manage the transfer yourself if you have Internet banking.
Posted by
Bel Air, MD, USA
261 posts
The apartments I rented in Rome and Florence took deposit via Paypal. I understand why they want a deposit. I tried to stay away from having to do the bank transfer, just for the hassle factor. Also with Paypal you get verification the the transfer was made and picked up. We used VRBO.com to find apartments. With this site, you also contact the owners directly. Also, considering that you are renting for 4 nights, you might ask for a discount. Bottom line, do what you feel comfortable with. If this doesn't feel right, why stress yourself, when other options are available.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
The person we're renting a Rome apartment from asked us to send her a personal check for $500 USD for her to hold as a deposit. She will hand it back to us, uncashed, when we arrive and hand her the 835 E that we'll be paying up front for the apartment. She's taking a risk that we won't do a stop payment on the check, but she knows our travel agent and so is willing to trust us a little more, I suppose.
You might ask if your people have another option, such as PayPal that would allow you to pay without incurring the large fee. Italy operates much more on a cash basis than we in US and CAN.