Cash for payment

[stephanie]

Bree, I stayed at a B&B once that encouraged cash payment.
We booked 5 nights, paid one night cc deposit so they had it on file. When we showed up, he took us to our room, gave us a folder with our invoice in it, and said "The remainder is due by checkout. We're small, so it really helps us if you could pay any part in cash. There's an ATM next door." The ATM next door was about a 5 minute walk, but on the way into town.
DH and I discussed as we withdrew the cash. I thought it was quite gutsy of him to ask, but DH knew more about cc fees, etc. at the time so he went along with it. I was a little ticked, because we were in Europe and got much better exchange rates on our cc than ATM, plus international withdrawal fees, but it didn't change our minds about the quality of the stay, and we'd go back.
If it had been in the U.S. and we knew about the preference in advance so we could withdraw at our bank, I probably wouldn't have minded. But once he asked, we couldn't say no.
Here's another one--I recently visited a small B&B that only takes cash. No idea if she reports it or not, but she thought it was absurd for a small biz to take cc. No checks either..

Bree, I stayed at a B&B once that encouraged cash payment.
We booked 5 nights, paid one night cc deposit so they had it on file. When we showed up, he took us to our room, gave us a folder with our invoice in it, and said "The remainder is due by checkout. We're small, so it really helps us if you could pay any part in cash. There's an ATM next door." The ATM next door was about a 5 minute walk, but on the way into town.
DH and I discussed as we withdrew the cash. I thought it was quite gutsy of him to ask, but DH knew more about cc fees, etc. at the time so he went along with it. I was a little ticked, because we were in Europe and got much better exchange rates on our cc than ATM, plus international withdrawal fees, but it didn't change our minds about the quality of the stay, and we'd go back.
If it had been in the U.S. and we knew about the preference in advance so we could withdraw at our bank, I probably wouldn't have minded. But once he asked, we couldn't say no.
Here's another one--I recently visited a small B&B that only takes cash. No idea if she reports it or not, but she thought it was absurd for a small biz to take cc. No checks either.

Overseas you can get back the VAT (extra tax) if you have it all on your credit card, it is a SUPER easy transaction, versus copying all the rcpts and sending them all in and the forms. You DO get a better xchange rate using your cc. But certian countries you pay up to 18% fee to use the credit card at a hotel/B&B. I have not been lately, but this is how it was a couple years ago.
.

Wait, the customer pays 18% or the B&B? I've never been charged a fee for my cc overseas, and I'm like you--put everything on it and pay in full. I keep my receipts, too, but like having my spending all tracked online.
I also link my accts to Mint.com, which makes fun pie charts to show you what you spent $ on and help you budget. Great tool and I like it better than Quicken for personal use. Sorry for the plug!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives.

 

[Cathy]

We have no way of accepting credit cards except for PayPal. We would like to set up a credit card system but cannot, not an easy task here for foreigners but we are trying to look into other means.
We ask for 50% on PayPal and the rest in cash on arrival at check in. If they arrive and ask to pay the rest on credit card we explain that we have to send them a PayPal invoice again and they usually come up with the cash.
We have had too many problems with the ones that do not pay the 50% in advance as there is no commitment which usually ends in a no show. So far, this system is working ok for us, it is far from perfect but 100% better than no commitment. This is not always the case, but peace of mind is wonderful, and money in the "bank" is even better. For those that book last minute and do not pay we do tell them that we will not hold the room if they are late and we will not be sitting here to wait at the property for them either.
Being able to take a credit card would be the best, looking forward to that and then we will for certain be saying, no credit card no room.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Here is the website re the VAT or GST
The European Union, Japan and some South American countries assess VAT at a rate of 15-25 percent. The GST, or Goods and Services Tax, is a 7 percent tax charged on most goods and services sold or provided in Canada; it is similar to VAT.
What VAT expenses can be recovered?
Business travel costs (car rentals, hotel accommodation, meals, gas expenses, telephone expenses), business operating costs (jet fuel, maintenance costs), marketing/advertising services, and trade show/conference expenses are the most typical business expense categories that qualify for a VAT refund.
from JBJ a fee was incurred at 18% in Costa Rica and we have no way to be refunded the fee there. They told us - online at booking at all lodgings it was a credit card SURCHARGE. Very hefty and when we were required to pay with cc upon booking, it sure added up.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

We have no way of accepting credit cards except for PayPal. We would like to set up a credit card system but cannot, not an easy task here for foreigners but we are trying to look into other means.
We ask for 50% on PayPal and the rest in cash on arrival at check in. If they arrive and ask to pay the rest on credit card we explain that we have to send them a PayPal invoice again and they usually come up with the cash.
We have had too many problems with the ones that do not pay the 50% in advance as there is no commitment which usually ends in a no show. So far, this system is working ok for us, it is far from perfect but 100% better than no commitment. This is not always the case, but peace of mind is wonderful, and money in the "bank" is even better. For those that book last minute and do not pay we do tell them that we will not hold the room if they are late and we will not be sitting here to wait at the property for them either.
Being able to take a credit card would be the best, looking forward to that and then we will for certain be saying, no credit card no room..

We have no way of accepting credit cards except for PayPal. We would like to set up a credit card system but cannot, not an easy task here for foreigners but we are trying to look into other means.
We ask for 50% on PayPal and the rest in cash on arrival at check in. If they arrive and ask to pay the rest on credit card we explain that we have to send them a PayPal invoice again and they usually come up with the cash.
We have had too many problems with the ones that do not pay the 50% in advance as there is no commitment which usually ends in a no show. So far, this system is working ok for us, it is far from perfect but 100% better than no commitment. This is not always the case, but peace of mind is wonderful, and money in the "bank" is even better. For those that book last minute and do not pay we do tell them that we will not hold the room if they are late and we will not be sitting here to wait at the property for them either.
Being able to take a credit card would be the best, looking forward to that and then we will for certain be saying, no credit card no room.

A few times when I have stayed in Mexico they had a Canadian bank account and the transactions were all done up here. Have you looked into that?
Just like once a fishing charter - payable to a Miami Bank account. It had all that on the website.

 

[YellowSocks]

I have no credit cards. We use our debit card as "credit"... that way it stays in the checking account a few extra days. I use the card for everything so I have a record online that I can download into Quicken.
Last weekend I had a guest who wanted to pay her balance with a check. Fine by me. She said she was trying to get out of debt, and couldn't believe we have no credit cards, that eveything comes straight out of the checking. I told her if we don't have the money, we don't go. Once we finally got out of debt we've been very leery of getting back in again.
We have a line of credit if we truly get an emergency, and I've used store cards to get the discount by signing up, but then we let them go.
=)
Kk..

I don't carry my cc with me, either. I have a debit card only. My dh has to travel 65 miles one way to get to work, so we have one cc that he carries in case he breaks down or needs something on the road. He rarely uses it.
I went to get gas the other day and my debit card wouldn't swipe. The place has a "no type in" policy. So I had to leave my drivers license at the gas station to go across town to the ATM to remove money so that I could pay for my gas. I almost wished I'd had a cc at that moment...but the debt isn't worth the trouble.
.

I don't carry my cc with me, either. I have a debit card only. My dh has to travel 65 miles one way to get to work, so we have one cc that he carries in case he breaks down or needs something on the road. He rarely uses it.
I went to get gas the other day and my debit card wouldn't swipe. The place has a "no type in" policy. So I had to leave my drivers license at the gas station to go across town to the ATM to remove money so that I could pay for my gas. I almost wished I'd had a cc at that moment...but the debt isn't worth the trouble.

You are assuming someone who uses a credit card is in debt? Bad assumption.
.

I don't carry my cc with me, either. I have a debit card only. My dh has to travel 65 miles one way to get to work, so we have one cc that he carries in case he breaks down or needs something on the road. He rarely uses it.
I went to get gas the other day and my debit card wouldn't swipe. The place has a "no type in" policy. So I had to leave my drivers license at the gas station to go across town to the ATM to remove money so that I could pay for my gas. I almost wished I'd had a cc at that moment...but the debt isn't worth the trouble.

You are assuming someone who uses a credit card is in debt? Bad assumption.

I don't she's assuming that. I think she's like me... used to have them, doesn't any more, because they want to avoid the debt. In our case we're practically scared of debt (well, dh definitely is, I'm just generally leery of it). As nice as a cc would be, it's not worth the trouble [that we used to be in and are glad that we're out of.]
To me, that doesn't mean everyone with a cc is in debt.
=)
Kk.

 

[YellowSocks]

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives..

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives.

We paid for our honeymoon (which we hadn't planned on taking) with the cash we got in our wedding cards.
=)
Kk.

 

[Penelope]

I have no credit cards. We use our debit card as "credit"... that way it stays in the checking account a few extra days. I use the card for everything so I have a record online that I can download into Quicken.
Last weekend I had a guest who wanted to pay her balance with a check. Fine by me. She said she was trying to get out of debt, and couldn't believe we have no credit cards, that eveything comes straight out of the checking. I told her if we don't have the money, we don't go. Once we finally got out of debt we've been very leery of getting back in again.
We have a line of credit if we truly get an emergency, and I've used store cards to get the discount by signing up, but then we let them go.
=)
Kk..

I don't carry my cc with me, either. I have a debit card only. My dh has to travel 65 miles one way to get to work, so we have one cc that he carries in case he breaks down or needs something on the road. He rarely uses it.
I went to get gas the other day and my debit card wouldn't swipe. The place has a "no type in" policy. So I had to leave my drivers license at the gas station to go across town to the ATM to remove money so that I could pay for my gas. I almost wished I'd had a cc at that moment...but the debt isn't worth the trouble.
.

I don't carry my cc with me, either. I have a debit card only. My dh has to travel 65 miles one way to get to work, so we have one cc that he carries in case he breaks down or needs something on the road. He rarely uses it.
I went to get gas the other day and my debit card wouldn't swipe. The place has a "no type in" policy. So I had to leave my drivers license at the gas station to go across town to the ATM to remove money so that I could pay for my gas. I almost wished I'd had a cc at that moment...but the debt isn't worth the trouble.

You are assuming someone who uses a credit card is in debt? Bad assumption.
.

"You are assuming someone who uses a credit card is in debt? Bad assumption"
Nope. Never said that, never assumed that.
I was talking about MY experience. I didn't want to have to have $40.00 hanging over my head on a cc when I could just have taken it right out of my checking acct. I don't make assumptions, ever, about other people's lives. I have enough on my plate keeping track of my own life.

 

[gillumhouse]

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives..

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives.

We paid for our honeymoon (which we hadn't planned on taking) with the cash we got in our wedding cards.
=)
Kk.
.

When my babysitter got married in NYC I went for the wedding - with 2 empty suitcases for her to fill for the flight back (I wore my clothes for the wedding and we all 3 came back that night). While she changed clothes, he and I ripped open wedding cards to get the cash to pay for their plane tickets back to Illinois.
I have guests coming this month for a football game - whole house for 3 nights - and they have indicated they plan to pay cash as they have been saving up for a year (from Alabama - Auburn fans). Yippee!!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives..

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives.

We paid for our honeymoon (which we hadn't planned on taking) with the cash we got in our wedding cards.
=)
Kk.
.

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives.

We paid for our honeymoon (which we hadn't planned on taking) with the cash we got in our wedding cards.
=)
Kk.

Yeah they pulled it out of an envelope, so I figured that was what it was.

 

[Penelope]

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans

 

[JBloggs]

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans.

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans

Why not put it in a savings account and earn some interest on it. It will be out of reach til you need it. You could show your kids (not sure what age they are but it is valuable for all ages) how to do banking, by letting them fill out deposit slips and taking them to the tellers. They could keep the register and actually see it grow that way instead of hiding it in a drawer. Have you tried that?
When my children were younger our local credit union had kids clubs and they got a free foster's freeze ice cream after 10 deposits. They were excited to save $. Each deposit they go another stamp in their book.

 

[Penelope]

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans.

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans

Why not put it in a savings account and earn some interest on it. It will be out of reach til you need it. You could show your kids (not sure what age they are but it is valuable for all ages) how to do banking, by letting them fill out deposit slips and taking them to the tellers. They could keep the register and actually see it grow that way instead of hiding it in a drawer. Have you tried that?
When my children were younger our local credit union had kids clubs and they got a free foster's freeze ice cream after 10 deposits. They were excited to save $. Each deposit they go another stamp in their book.
.

My dh and I saved for over a year so that we could have CASH for our vacation. It went into an envelope and got stashed back in the dresser drawer. When we figured we had enough for gas, food, lodging and FUN, we made our plans.
We now have an envelope set up for WDW in 2010. The kids pitch in money when they want to/can. When we have the funds, then we will make the plans

Why not put it in a savings account and earn some interest on it. It will be out of reach til you need it. You could show your kids (not sure what age they are but it is valuable for all ages) how to do banking, by letting them fill out deposit slips and taking them to the tellers. They could keep the register and actually see it grow that way instead of hiding it in a drawer. Have you tried that?
When my children were younger our local credit union had kids clubs and they got a free foster's freeze ice cream after 10 deposits. They were excited to save $. Each deposit they go another stamp in their book.

You know, I thought about it. However, my heart rate just rose a few notches when i read the headlines at cnn.com about the DJ falling below 9,000. I kind of want to keep my money in my sight...interest be darned at this point

 

[Samster]

CASH!!!!! I JUST GOT PAID CASH!!!!
Honeymooners, so I think it was out of the kitty from relatives..

Oh, right...honeymooners have paid cash along with the fling-a-ding-dings.

 

[JeannineIrish]

We don't get to the bank every day so I don't mind the cc processing fees because the money is is the bank within 24 hours.

 

[Copperhead]

First cash pym't in a long time...Guest said, if you haven't charged my card yet, I would rather pay cash. I thought...music to my ears!

 

[ginocat]

I have in my confirmation "although we do accept Visa and Mastercard, cash or traveller's cheques would be most appreciated."
I get cash about 25% of the time this way. Some guests ask me about it when I arrive and I just say that cc fees are increasing and that I appreciate not having to pay them if possible. Most of them agree and say they hate paying the fees also. Of course I NEVER say no to credit cards and never hesitate when they ask if they can use them. I can write it off but still....
I always get a credit card at time of booking btw.

 

[Morticia]

I have in my confirmation "although we do accept Visa and Mastercard, cash or traveller's cheques would be most appreciated."
I get cash about 25% of the time this way. Some guests ask me about it when I arrive and I just say that cc fees are increasing and that I appreciate not having to pay them if possible. Most of them agree and say they hate paying the fees also. Of course I NEVER say no to credit cards and never hesitate when they ask if they can use them. I can write it off but still....
I always get a credit card at time of booking btw..

I have in my confirmation "although we do accept Visa and Mastercard, cash or traveller's cheques would be most appreciated."
I get cash about 25% of the time this way. Some guests ask me about it when I arrive and I just say that cc fees are increasing and that I appreciate not having to pay them if possible. Most of them agree and say they hate paying the fees also. Of course I NEVER say no to credit cards and never hesitate when they ask if they can use them. I can write it off but still....
I always get a credit card at time of booking btw.

Thanks, we were wondering how to phrase it. Not that anyone reads the confirmation...but worth a try.

 

[Samster]

I have in my confirmation "although we do accept Visa and Mastercard, cash or traveller's cheques would be most appreciated."
I get cash about 25% of the time this way. Some guests ask me about it when I arrive and I just say that cc fees are increasing and that I appreciate not having to pay them if possible. Most of them agree and say they hate paying the fees also. Of course I NEVER say no to credit cards and never hesitate when they ask if they can use them. I can write it off but still....
I always get a credit card at time of booking btw..

Just had guests this weekend who extended their stay a day. They said to just charge the card. I asked if it wasn't too much trouble if I could swipe the card because the merchant fees are lower. They had no clue, of course. I just laughed it off with them and said I had to be educated in this stuff since I didn't know either. They were fine with it.

 

[Morticia]

I have in my confirmation "although we do accept Visa and Mastercard, cash or traveller's cheques would be most appreciated."
I get cash about 25% of the time this way. Some guests ask me about it when I arrive and I just say that cc fees are increasing and that I appreciate not having to pay them if possible. Most of them agree and say they hate paying the fees also. Of course I NEVER say no to credit cards and never hesitate when they ask if they can use them. I can write it off but still....
I always get a credit card at time of booking btw..

Just had guests this weekend who extended their stay a day. They said to just charge the card. I asked if it wasn't too much trouble if I could swipe the card because the merchant fees are lower. They had no clue, of course. I just laughed it off with them and said I had to be educated in this stuff since I didn't know either. They were fine with it.
.

It's interesting because guests think it's like a hotel. The cc is 'on file' so just add the charge to it.