Later this month we will be spending six nights at a small hotel in the former East Berlin.

The hotel does not accept credit cards and has asked for payment in cash.

Our question: never having stayed in a hotel that does not accept credit cards, we are unsure how paying cash will work. Since we're staying for six nights, are we expected to plonk a whole lot of cash down on the reception desk when we arrive? (Naturally we'd rather not travel across the Atlantic with a bag full of cash). Or is it generally accepted that you pay, say, for the first night upon arrival, and then the balance upon departure?

I will try to contact the hotel about this but would be glad of other travellers' comments. Many thanks.

If you can withdraw a certain amount of cash from an ATM after arrival that would eliminate the necessity of carrying a large amount trans-Atlantically.

I'm not sure in this case there arew necessarily any "accepted" "rules" other than what this hotel decides to impose. I would have them make clear, in writing, their payment policy and if it sounds laborious, etc., I'd look to stay elsewhere.

Are you saying they accept dollars rather than Euros? I would NOT bring a bunch of Euro on a plane..either get them at an ATM or stay somewhere else.

Thanks for your replies.

The hotel accepts Euros (not dollars).

My experience in many German hotels has been that you just pay the whole amount at the end.

In all the centuries of hotel-keeping, this plastic stuff is a pretty new kid on the block, and there's never been anything particularly unusual about expecting guests to pay with real money. If you hit a particularly untrusting hotel, they might request part-payment after a couple of days for the bill you've incurred so far.

It's nuts to buy Euros in America, and Eurozone ATMs are always the best place to get Euros. But I can't understand why you're concerned about crossing the Atlantic with cash. Piracy's not been a problem in these parts since Henry Morgan drank himself to death.

I suppose that they will ask you to pay at departure. When you booked the hotel, did they ask for your credit card number as warranty?

Thanks for your replies.

Valtor, the hotel didn't ask for a credit card number. They just said that they accept no credit cards and prefer payment in cash.

We've decided to travel from Canada with just enough cash to pay the first night (if required). We shan't have a great deal of time to look for ABMs between arrival in Berlin and reaching the hotel before it closes for the evening.

Most hotels don't make you pay until the end, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just accumulate enough cash throughout the trip to pay in full by the time you leave.

Usually bank machines are available at your arrival airport, no need to look all over town.

Does it have to be cash/cash or could it be travelers checks?

I ask because I stay a number of places that don't accept credit cards but will take either cash or TC's.

JoeTro, Thanks for the advice.

Suze, I will ask about travellers' cheques.

But if you do Traveler's checks, I'd strongly advise you to get them in euro, not in dollars. Otherwise you could be faced with the hotel deciding their current rate of exchange is something like 10% or more higher than standard and you would be forced to comply. At least when you buy euro TCs in the US you KNOW what rate you're buying them at -- still maybe not great, but at least it's a known rate.

NeoPatrick, thanks for the tip.

It's rather unlikely that a german hotel will accept travellers cheques when they don't even take credit cards or maestro!

I agree with that, but you never know. I haven't done it in Germany, but I've paid for hotels in cash elsewhere, or they said there was a discount if you did, and it's like any other stay only in cash -- meaning you pay at the end of your stay. This was for hotels that preferred cash though, rather than not even accepting credit cards, so they would have my CC number for deposit or something (or if I left in the dead of night without paying, I suppose).

But as someone said, it doesn't matter what we speculate, you have to ask them what they require.

No big mystery or problem - while you are waiting for your bags at the airport, get a 300 or 400 € out of an ATM (if the ATM has a lower limit just step to the next machine and get more).

Don't mess w/ TCs (dollar or euro) - they will be expensive and the hotel will probably nail you for extra fees, IF they take them at all.

I don't think the hotel will accept TC's. In Germany we always pay on departure, either in cash or by CC if the hotel accepts the latter.

"It's rather unlikely that a german hotel will accept travellers cheques when they don't even take credit cards or maestro!"

That has not been my experience. Lots of small hotels and businesses don't take credit cards because they don't want to register and pay a monthly fee to do so or pay the fees to accept them. But most of them know that they can take TCs in euro and deposit them just like cash at their bank without any fee. I've used TCs for both deposits and for payments for hotels and apartments that did not take credit cards. If the TCs are in euro there is NO reason for them to charge you anything at all as it will cost them nothing.

This sounds like I'm a fan of TC's. I'm not -- but this is one time when they do come in handy -- depending on the owners of the hotel of course.

Oh, but I understand the reasoning behind thinking many will not want TC's. Some people have tried to pay using US dollar TC's which confuses and frustrates the small business owner since he has no idea what amount his bank will give him for those dollars -- which is also why if he does take them he's likely to add on huge amounts to make sure he's covered. But if you owe him 200 euro and you give him 200 euro in TCs, he knows his bank is going to credit him the full 200. So it is quite likely that a business owner will balk or refuse US dollar TCs.

> deposit them just like cash at their bank without any fee
Not really, a german bank cheque is always accepted without fee. A TC usually costs a fee, no matter if it's in € or $. My bank charges 3€ to cash a TC for cheques in € or $.