Standard Booking Deposit
 

Hello All. Preparing to leave for South Africa in a couple of weeks. We'll be there for 3 weeks so we are planning on staying at a self-catering guest house/cottage. Each establishment has either requested 100% deposit or 50% deposit. We are already in the 7-14 day cancellation window which means if we were to cancel for some reason, we'd be losing up to 75% of the deposit. Also, a couple of places where we've inquired don't accept credit cards and are requesting direct transfer to their bank accounts and cash payment for balance on arrival. Is this the standard amount of deposit and procedure? Thanks.

Yes, this is standard procedure for South Africa. Most accommodation require a 50% deposit upfront and balance to be paid on arrival.

Usual practice.
Not unusual that small properties do not accept credit cards.
International wire transfers (EFT - electronic funds transfers), assuming from a US bank, costs about $35-$50.

Be sure you receive from each property, their:

- name
- address
- phone #
- bank name
- bank account number
- bank Swift Code

Thank you both. Does anyone have a link to a currency exchange site so I can check the current rate of exchange? Also, it sounds like it's less expensive to transfer funds in foreign currency. Is there a general consensus on whether it's better to transfer funds in USD or in the Rands? Thanks again.

For wire transfers in foreign currency, your bank will do the conversion. I've never sent a wire in Rand but have in other foreign currencies. Assuming your bank does this, the conversion rate wouldn't be the rate that you see on a site like xe.com. Your bank will add their conversion fee (usually a percentage of the amount transferred).

Is the recipient asking for USD or Rand?

You should transfer funds in the currency the receiver wishes. They may have a USD a/c, but more than likely it will be a ZAR (Rand) a/c. Ask the guest houses and/or cottages before sending your wires.

As Patty indicates, if the receiver wants their own currency, then your bank will do the conversion at whatever the rate they use.

The currency exchanges sites show the rates that banks (larger currency traders) get for volume conversions, so expect yours to be less favorable.

Thanks again to all. The guest house owner did not specify which currency she prefers. I will find out from her before I do the transfer. My bank did not mention a percentage of the transfer amount, but they did say that they would charge $35 to transfer funds in foreign currency and $45 to transfer USD.

Perhaps a percentage of the transfer amount isn't the correct phrasing to use in this case, but what I was trying to say is that it's not a flat fee like the wire transfer fee of $35/$45. It's a markup on the exchange. For example, if the current euro rate is USD1.53, they may charge you USD1.58 or more. This would be in addition to the $35 your bank charges for foreign wire transfers.