Best way to deal with large, cash-only lodging bill - Amsterdam
 

We will be staying in a place in Amsterdam for about a week in Sept. When I made the reservation, they specified payment must be "cash only." That will be a fair chunk of money, more than I'm likely to be able to withdraw at an ATM, and more than I would normally carry around for more than about 20 min., let alone the 2 weeks we'll have been on the road before staying there.

How do people usually/best deal with this situation, now that travelers' cheques are scarcely known, used, or accepted?

(tagging Netherlands, but wonder if it's not an issue elsewhere in Europe sometimes).

Will you have to pay the full amount when you arrive? If you can pay when you leave (what I would hope for for a long stay - wouldn't want to prepay so much money in case something went wrong), you can take out a few hundred Euros per day from an ATM easily. Just check with your credit union or bank before you leave for Europe to see if they have a daily limit - probably equivalent to a few hundred Euros at a time.

If you are in urban Amsterdam at all, perhaps there is an ATM close to your rental? (Check on Google Maps.) Maybe if there's an ATM right around the corner, it will be just a few steps to walk back and forth to the rental with a few hundred Euros at a time.

You might ask the landlord if they accept Paypal. But because that would cost them about 3% extra, expect them to pass that surcharge on to you.

More and more, travelers don't bother with places that insist on "cash only". I suggest you do the same. There are so many websites now for booking accommodations with the additional advantage of doing so by credit card in your own currency, I think these outlaws will eventually be out of business. Meantime, why not move on and find yourself an easier option?

We paid our deposit via xe.com, and because of some confusion it required several e-mails to set up the receiving end of the account, which in some way legitimized the transaction.

We still had to have a large amount for the rest, obtained through several trips to the ATM.

MmePerdu is right, and I never accept cash only deals.
However, if you are stuck, just use several cards...
I've got 3 debitcards and 5 creditcards, so my limit for withdrawals is time 8 in case of emergency.
Plus my wife's cards.
Btw it certainly means the owner is frauding...

We stay at a place in Rome that is cash only. We plan ahead and take out some money from your ATM every day. You didn't say how much but it's probably less than a standard hotel.

If you do withdraw money using an ATM every day until you accumulate enough money (as I have done several times for similar situations in Asia), BE SURE to carry that money in a secure passport pouch under your clothing.

It doesn't necessarily mean the owner is tax dodging. It could be that they will accept a bank transfer from a euro land, but want cash from non euro countries to be sure they get the full amount of the rental.
Not everyone accepts credit cards - it is expensive for small traders to do so.

You could ask if you can pay by bank transfer if you are prepared to bear all the costs.

I imagine that if an accommodation is full-up all the time and accepts only cash, then one cannot blame them for doing it, taxes aside. But if they aren't always full then I wonder why they don't join the current century and accept bookings from 3rd party reservation services and add on the modest cost, or do the same and accept cards themselves. Maybe it's a generational thing but the world in general is heading toward a cash-free way of doing things. My own habits are changing even at this late stage. I love my credit card air miles.

I used to carry half with me and used ATM s for the rest. No more I don't book unless I can use a credit card.

I find it almost more surprising that someone rents a place that clearly labels itself as "cash only" and afterwards wonders how he would get that amount in cash at the destination and also feels uncomfortable carrying a larger amount of cash.
Anyhow, I would not feel extremely happy but also would not be extremely worried to carry €1,000 in cash across Amsterdam. It's neither the Gaza strip nor Rio.

First of all, getting cash from a credit card is a VERY BAD idea. Between fees, interest starting immediately...should only be used in emergency.

If you have 3 ATM/debit cards from different banks, you can take out max from each one. Maybe $300 - 500 per account? If your wife has 3 others from DIFFERENT accounts, that's another #300 -500.

IF that's not enough, ask your banks for higher limits.

Hi cfc,

I would do, have done, what DebitNM suggests -- ask your bank for a one-time authorization to withdraw a large sum. I didn't have any trouble getting the authorization nor getting the cash on the day I needed it.

Also, double check that they know the one-time large withdrawal will come from Europe so that they don't put a hold on it.

Have fun as you plan!

s

I also try to avoid cash-only lodgings.

In Italy, cash transactions of €1000 or more are illegal.

I stay in small private -owner apartments in Switzerland and Germany primarily, and find that cash on the first or second day after arrival is quite usual for these small (legal) landlords. I am able to withdraw the amount over 3 days from an ATM, and the owner has never had a problem accepting payment in halves or thirds.

I find that cash on arrival is the norm in Europe, following a deposit made via paypal or a credit card upon reservation. When I have used airbnb and Flipkey it's been credit not cash, but the other websites are some kind of cash system.

Maybe the easiest way to avoid a huge cash payment on arrival is to limit apartment stays to 4 nights, that's what I have done.

OK so I'm stupid and guileless. FWIW - and yes, I know Tripadvisor is increasingly untrustworthy - the place is a B&B with 25 excellents and 2 very goods out of 27 reviews. On its website (along with medallions as registered B&B, etc.), it lists banks with banking numbers, so I'm wondering if maybe it's possible to set up a direct transfer in some form.

AFTER our stay.

It sounds like it would be. If I recall correctly, my bank charged $40 for a transfer, several years ago, plus whatever they charge to convert the currency. I'd ask on this end first, to make sure the fees are acceptable to you before you ask the B&B. I also recall that with the fees, including those on the receiver's end at a French bank, the deposit came up short. Fortunately, the owner wasn't concerned about it, but do ask about fees at their bank, too. I'm sure they'll let you know.

I suspect any bank transfer would have to be done before your stay.

Try xe.com. The only downside is that you must open an account (no deposit involved) with it as if opening a bank account. But it tends to be cheaper than a bank transfer from what I am reading: no added fees, just an exchange rate slightly higher (2%?) than the daily rate.

Maybe I should be asking about people's preferred way of carrying cash concealed on their body........ :-D

I wouldn't stay in such a place. I stayed in a modest B&B in Amsterdam about 30 years ago and didn't have to pay cash. I've never used travelers checks to pay for anything directly, even when they were popular way back then, I just used them to get cash at an exchange bureau.

But if this is such a cheap place, the money over a week can't be that much, can it? should be less than 700 euro, I hope. I can get that much out of an ATM from my bank, at most two withdrawals.

'I find that cash on arrival is the norm in Europe'
No. And most countries have limit for cash transactions.
But it seems to be the habbit for US to pay cash upon arrival.
I just come back from Slovenia, booked an appt and paid by credit card.
I never - never - pay anything cash, I never have cash on me.

Apartments in Rome are usually cash on arrival, and not just for Americans. I've never exceeded the €1000 limit, but I haven't stayed in such an apartment in about five years. Now booking sites tend to also have apartments, and those apartments usually allow payment by credit card. Some of the apartments for which I paid cash gave me a fiscal receipt, so it wasn't always a tax dodge.

We stayed in an apartment in London a few years ago, and all the apartments I saw required payment by bank transfer a month before arrival.

Cash on arrival is certainly the norm in Europe. Yes it is possible to substitute a bank transfer or credit card via PayPal in advance, however it is much more costly to do it that way (ballpark 15% higher than paying cash), at least for someone without a European bank account.

Here's a recent (18 month) summary of European rentals:

UK: 1 credit card

France: 1 credit card / 2 cash

Denmark: 1 cash

Italy: 1 credit card / 2 cash

"Maybe I should be asking about people's preferred way of carrying cash concealed on their body........ "

Here's a recent thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...allets-etc.cfm

Americans want to pay for apartment and house rentals with credit card or personal check (never cash). Bank transfers are what Europeans renting lodging want, but a transfer from a U.S. bank to Europe is expensive, awkward, and rare. I have 2 bank accounts. One (Capital One 360, I set it up just for free European ATM withdrawals) will not send money to a European bank at all, and my normal bank charges $50 + 3%. Using PayPal is less but not by much. So Americans are using cash by default. I can't believe that there isn't a cheaper electronic system. Maybe soon.

I'm puzzled as to why Cowboy1968 repeatedly posts on Fodor's an implication that the Gaza Strip is prone to thievery (unless he is trying to remind people the land has been stolen from its people). I know of no reason to make this illusion, other than to insult the people already living in a tragic situation.

allusion (or slander, really).

<i>Bank transfers are what Europeans renting lodging want, but a transfer from a U.S. bank to Europe is expensive, awkward, and rare. I have 2 bank accounts. One (Capital One 360, I set it up just for free European ATM withdrawals) will not send money to a European bank at all, and my normal bank charges $50 + 3%. </i>

They exist, you just have to look for them.

I understand the problems as we experienced something similar. Two years ago I rented a place in Paris for a couple of months and I transferred a deposit but the chap wanted the balance in cash on arrival, clearly a way to avoid tax. Anyway we had a bit of a dilemma about it because it was a lot of cash. Initially we were planning to take out several hundred euro over a ten day period which seemed a hassle.

However, I was astonished to find (having called our bank) that they will up your ATM limit for specific days. WE had them up the limit and took the money out on one day which made things much easier. It seemed the cheapest way to change the money to.

Of course that should have been "too" at the end!

Michael: I set up an ex.com account just for this purpose, to get a check in euros to mail to an apartment for the deposit. Problem was apartment owner wouldn't provide a mailing address so dead end.

sandralist

I am sorry that my comment disturbed you.
Nevertheless, thanks for following my posts so loyally.

<i> Problem was apartment owner wouldn't provide a mailing address so dead end.</i>

That is weird because all you need is the bank name and the account number, which apparently does not compromise the account. All businesses do that, and my rental in Amsterdam was done that way for the deposit.

Ther are more economical ways to transfer money from bank to bank. I use xoom.com to transfer funds between my US bank and my Italian bank. The exchange rate isn't brilliant, but they're very fast, and less expensive than a bank transfer. However, they don't handle commercial transactions (or didn't a few years ago when I tried to pay for an apartment in London using their service).

Best proposition seems to contact your bank to raise your ATM limit for a day or two. My international bank transfer cost $48 and more than a week of hassling last year. (Request had to be made in person, on the day of transfer, and before 1 pm if I recall correctly).
Duh, I know I'll call MY bank to raise my ATM limit THIS year ;-)

Unfortunately, my bank (at least for now) is Bank of America, who have been really impossible to deal with, at least locally. No one answers the phone, no one is available at the local offices, or if they are, they barely know what they're doing. But I may try the national number for this. (I can't use XE or xoom because I don't/won't have an account in Europe.)

Thanks all for the enlightening discussion and comments.