Would you do this?
 

A very upscale looking B&B, at least it appears to be from the pictures on their website in Acapulco, is asking now for full payment for an 8 day stay during Christmas week.
The problem is that payment must be made in the form of a check. They dont accept credit cards. The choice is to send the check directly or to deposit the money into their back account. Somehow this goes against my better judgement. I have contacted the owner, an American, several times via email. I dont get a bad vibe from him and I told him that I was leary of paying this way. He offered "references" from guests who have stayed at his place. But still, to pay this way would leave me wide open. I guess I wont do it!

Unless he is willing to accept it postdated to the date of your arrival, I would be very cautious too. Check with your bank to see if there is some way to put a hold on the check until you give them the go ahead.
Lisa S

Gracias Lisa! Thats a good idea.

He wants a check from the U.S. sent to him in Mexico? It would be quite expensive for him to cash it- doesn't make sense. Twice I have taken a chance and mailed traveler's checks to Mexico at people's request. One for a deposit at a langauge school and once for an apartment rental. I knew I was taking a chance but did not get burned. Full payment would scare me as your person requests. You certainly would not get a refund if anything changed.

ttt

Actually his account is in the States.

This sounds perfectly legit to me. I've done this with private homes in Belize, Honduras and B&Bs all over France with not problem. He's taking a big chance that you will actually show up at Christmas too. What if you decide not to make the trip and he has held the room for you? Christmas week is very high season. If you don't feel right with this set-up, you might be more comfortable in a large hotel with more familiar resrevation policies.

FYI: I was a banker for many years. Posted dated checks don't work. The checking system in the US is so automated, that no one even looks at the signature - let alone the date. I've had checks clear without a signature. I think posted dated checks are illegal in most states. But I am certain that they don't protect you in any way.

Has anyone reviewed this B&B on tripadvisor.com? Is it featured on any travel site, like DifferentWorld?
By the way, do you mind giving the name of the B&B?

There'd be no sense from the hotel's point of view in accepting a check postdated to the date of your arrival, since that would mean they had no guarantee of anything until the date of your arrival. I'll also say that while I of course have no idea about this particular establishment, deposits are often increased a great deal or just made equal to the total for stays during the Christmas/New Year's holiday period, and cancellation terms are often tightened, as well. These steps are based on two simple facts: the hotel is risking more to guarantee a stay during that period than during other times of the year, given the high rates then, and the demand is also at its highest then, meaning it's a seller's market and the owner can rest easy that if you refuse those terms, then someone else will agree to them sooner or later. This would be even more true of an upscale place.

Sorry, but I think you're over the proverbial barrel here, and you'll probably find that if you really want the reservation, you'll have to fall in line and pay a deposit as the hotel directs.

best,

Steve Ryberg

Sounds like a scam - there are lots of great places @ and above Las Brisas.
Why mess with a potential bandito?
M

I've done this in Puerto Vallarta when renting an apartment. To an American owner~ 1/2 sent as deposit, the other 1/2 sent (to US address) 10 days before the trip.

I've done this numerous times. I've found the usual formula is 50% down within 7 days of your booking and 100% due 60 days prior to arrival. I have never traveled around Christmas but am not too surprised on the payment in full. Travelers are very fickled and change their minds all the time. If you're a small business owner and the holidays are your busiest times you need to cover yourself. Getting payment in full gives you a more committed traveler. Too many last minute cancellations for a small business owner will put him out of business. Especially when he could have booked the place 20 times over and is stuck with empty rooms and a staff to pay.

Also, being set up on credit cards when you're a very small business owner is not always worth the hassle. You have extra paperwork, have to pay a discount rate to the credit card companies which is higher if you don't have the actual physical card to run through a data capture machine( which you don't over the phone)and in some cases MC & VISA will charge you extra fees to set up. Then the owner has to litigate with any potential chargebacks due to fraudulant customers. It comes to a point where a business owner has to decide whether he is losing business because he doesn't take plastic and is willing to take on the extra fees (which can also increase his prices).

I'm just pointing these things out because this does not sound like a scam to me. But having said this, you should check out his references, it doesn't hurt. If he is operating out of the U.S. ask him if he is a member of the BBB. At least you could check the BBB from the town he is based out of to see if there are any complaints. Also, check his cancellation policy and see if your comfortable with it. You could always get travelers insurance for you entire trip for unseen emergencies that result in a cancellation of your trip.

If you are uncomfortable with this than there are probably many other places to stay in Acapulco that are very nice. You just need to weigh things out. Parting with your money this early on is not fun for anyone so it should be a place that you really want to go to.

The money arrangements of my rental worked out fine, but I did find that things can look much better on a website than they do in reality. I'd try to talk to someone who has stayed there or a review on tripadvisor or the like, if possible.

As mentioned 1) many smaller businesses do not accept charge cards because of the cost to them to do so, and 2) Christmas is a very popular rental week in Mexico.

I just emailed the owner requesting a few references. He offered to provide the names of a few guests that paid well in advance with a check.
Thanks for all your comments. Maybe this is a legitimate procedure. However, Christmas week being so busy, I wouldnt think that he would haave any trouble booking the room.

maletas, I didn't mean to talk you into doing something if it doesn't feel right to you. Only saying that the request for payment wasn't necessarily a red flag of something suspicious. There must be hundred of places to stay in Acapulco, and regular hotels (as opposed to B&B or private apartment rentals) would not request full payment ahead of time.

Exactly. He probably wouldn't have any problems booking it during Christmas that's why he probably wants to cover himself. Once the place is booked he will be saying no, no, no to everyone else. If he didn't have a comittment then it would be easy for someone to cancel right before the trip which would be frustrating on his part because they had turned away other guests who wanted that spot. Most people plan Christmas trips in advance. If Christmas week reopenned for him a month or even two months prior to someone's arrival it may be tough for him to remarket. Most seats on airplanes heading south are pretty booked and really expensive.

You must really like this place. Do you want to share the website with us? Maybe someone on the boards has stayed there?

Let me add that you are playing it very smart by asking questions and researching things.

Full disclosure:
I lease my SMdA house, but I send all who don't know me personally to my local professional property managers who get a 15% leasing fee.
Regardless of who leases the place, the property managers provide the same service to all.
M

I have done this with a house in Cozumel - I think it is OK.