liesel

Good Morning,

I made a reservation at Hotel U Prince in Prague for 2 nights. I was quoted a price (for 3 people in a junior suite) of Euro 199 per night. So Euro 398 total for the stay. I've started researching the basics for the trip and remembered that the Czech Republic is still using the Czech Koruna (CZK). Any idea why the hotel would quote me in Euros? Should I request they quote me in CZK? I looked on xe.com and the exchange rate (as of today) is 1CZK = .049 USD. The exchange rates of course change on a daily basis but this at least gives me an idea. Our trip is in July.

This is my first time traveling to countries (Prague and Croatia) that are have different currencies than the Euro. The dollar is weak against the euro (although it's better than it was a couple of years ago) but if I can use the CZK and save money, obviously I would do that.

Thank you for the help!!

adrienne

You should ask the hotel why they quoted in Euros. My guess is that they are used to having European guests who use Euros. I've seen prices in Euros all over Europe, even when the country did not use Euros (Turkey, for instance).

The dollar is weak against all currencies (compared to what it used to be although it is a bit stronger now) so don't think you're getting a bargain if you pay in CZK. I remember when the exchange was $1:25czk. When I went to the Czech Rep 2 years ago the exchange was $1:17czk. Today it's $1:20czk.

Ask the hotel for a quote in CZK and do the math. They'll probably charge you in CZK but if you're more comfortable with that currency then ask for the price to be charged in CZK. Just don't pay in USD.

adrienne

You also need to understand that exchange rate is only 1 part of the equation. You need to factor in what you pay for something. For instance, the Czech Rep is a bargain compared to where I live and it's not just the currency. Portugal, a country that uses Euros, is a complete bargain - cheaper than any European country I've been to. I could live there on very little money. So it's not only about the Euro or USD:Euro or USD:CZK. It's more about how much you pay for food and lodging and sightseeing and transportation when you travel.

november_moon

I think they quote in euro for convinience of the guest - guests who are used to working in euro. Other times you may see things quoted in US$.

In the Czech Republic though, you should pay in Koruna - even if someone offers you the option to pay in euros or US dollars. When someone offers you the option to pay in non-local currency, they get to set the exchange rate and will always make it favorable to themselves.

unclegus

Your hotel has probably quoted in Euros as that is a much wider known currency and you will be charged in Czk, if using a credit card you will be charged that rate on the day.If you want to pay by cash you can do so in CzK. I had a few stays in hotels in Prague and Brno a couple of weeks ago and paid by credit card in 2 hotels but on the 3rd I paid czk as i had plenty of them and needed to use them up

kappa1

For conevenience probably, but I prefer paying with local currency. I feel like I pay more paying with non-local currency. remids me also of Dynamic Currency something, what was the word? probably not in your case though. I just prefer using local currency anywhere I go and as often as I can.

But there are exceptions : Last winter in Prague, I stayed at a nice 3* hotel (I had stayed there already a few times) in Mala Strana for €25.00 per room per night breakfast included. It was a mix of low season rate + pay 2 nights and stay 3 nights scheme so at the end, the cost was €25.00. At this price, for a hotel of that quality and location, I don't care if I pay in € or in Koruna.

liesel

Thank you all for your responses! I contacted the hotel and asked if they could quote me a price in czk. the response was: "It depends on current rate by national bank on the day of arrival.
At this moment 1 EUR = 25,785 CZK."

I then thanked them and asked if they could send me a total amount for the 2 nights in czk and the response was: "10.009,70 is total now in CZK. Of course you can pay in CZK."

I did the calculation and with todays rates I save roughly $5 by paying in czk (I should say if using xe.com correctly this is what i came up with). Math is not my speciality.

kappa1, in reading your post it reminded me that while we were traveling in Switzerland we ran into an issue at the Romantik Holtel Wilden Mann with DCC (dynamic currency conversion) - this was back in 2006.

Thank you again for the responses!

Christina

Lots of hotels in Prague quote rates in euros. They do it because most people looking for hotels are familiar with euro but don't know how to evaluate rates in CZK. This hotel's response was very odd but there may have been a communication problem. Or it is possible the hotel is managed by a foreign company and they do set their rates in euros but you would pay in local currency. I had that happen in Prague once, actually, the hotel was owed by Austrians. If you gave the name of the hotel, maybe one could figure it out better as to what was going on or if anyone had experience with them.

Christina

sorry, I saw you gave the name of the Hotel. It looks like they just set their rates n euros because they have a wide range of guests, most probably using euro. That's what I would speculate. It doesn't have anything to do with DCC as I know some Czech and they quote them in euro even if you use the Czech language section.

basingstoke2

Many hotels in Prague will give you a discount if you pay in cash. It pay to ask and could be worth it. Where we stayed it was 5%.

liesel

I received a quote from the Regent Esplanade in Zagreb and the same thing there - it was in euros. I asked if they could send me a quote in the local currency, the hrk. The hotel's response was: "The conversion rate will be based on the exchange rate from EUR to HRK on the middle currency exchange rate of the Croatian National Bank stated on the day of your departure – 1 EUR = approx. 7,5 HRK)."

I would think that when I go to a country - they would quote me a price in their local currency and i could convert it from that currency to the USD. It seems in prague and zagreb I'm being quoted in euro - then need to convert euro to local currency - then convert that to USD (if i want to pay in local currency). If not, then I can just pay the euro. Would I be losing money paying in Euro? I apologize if I'm being thick - i'm just trying to understand. I do understand why they may quote in euro as most travelers to that area use the euro.

Thank you for the comments!

adrienne

They gave you a price so you can't be losing money since it seems like they do the conversion to CZK when you pay for the room. When you pay, give them your credit card and they can charge you in Euros. You don't want to do a double conversion.

If you went to a country where the currency was the Euro you would have to pay in Euros so what's the difference.

Although I do think it's odd that they convert the Euro price to CZK. I didn't have this problem in the Czech Rep or in Poland.

I'd be inclined to look for a different hotel. I wonder if they charge Czech citizens in Euros.

adrienne

I just went on the Czech and Russian sites for your hotel and they quote in Euros so they're not singling out any particular nationality. The price is in Euros.

liesel

Thanks Adrienne. When I booked the hotels I didn't even think twice about them being in euros - then when I was doing more research and reading the travel books I started wondering why they didn't just quote me in their local currency ... I will just pay the euro and save myself the hassle. I just didn't want to be losing money by not "understanding" someting - curiousity got the best of me. Thanks again!