I haven't traveled recently in France, but I was reading the other day that deposits for hotel reservations must be fully prepaid. Can that be accurate? Workarounds? Thanks for any/all assistance.

Usually that is only for a cheaper, non-refundable rate. Check websites such as booking.com and you can see you have a choice of non-refundable pre-paid charges or refundable rates where payment isn't due until arrival. Sometimes, one night's deposit is paid in advance but can be refundable if you cancel within a certain time period.

Once you've narrowed down your likely hotels, check their websites as well to see if their rates are favorable and what the reservation agreements state.

Usually hotel websites have one price for book now/pay later, and a cheaper price for payment in full when booking. Also check their cancellation terms.

Ditto what KTtravel and KayF have said. AND check booking.com -- it will tell you your options.

First off, thanks all for your replies, but none answered my simple question, when a simple yes or no would have sufficed. I asked if anyone knew whether hotels in France were now charging a refundable PREPAID deposit, and all three replies, (so far), mentioned what I should do to find the answer. Please folks, this ain't my first rodeo and I had already done that part of my homework; I MAY BE OLD, BUT I AIN'T STUPID. Therefore, the decision to check with the fine folks here at Fodor's. By the way, before you all start panning me for being so ungrateful as to criticize your lack of cognitive skills, the highly recommended staff at Booking.com had no answer, either. So, I guess my last recourse will be to make a refundable reservation at some sleazy flophouse, 3 or 4 star of course. Let the hate posts begin.

I assumed it would be hotel-specific. My apologies for trying to be helpful, I can assure you that I won't make that mistake again.

My goodness - what a reaction!? Why so snarky? Every single hotel would have its own individual set of deposit / refund / cancellation rules. There is no single one size 'France hotel deposit rule'. In fact some hotels have different requirements depending on the season.

Talk about biting the hand that tries to feed you!

You get what you paid for, my dear. I find it ironic that you are not only biting the hand that feeds you for FREE advice, but insulting everyone by saying WE have a lack of cognitive skills. Interesting assessment. You do realize that no one here gets paid to answer forum questions, right? Booking.com MAY be getting paid. Not sure.

And I debated responding because, why bother? You may spend money on a 3 or 4 star flophouse. Some may say that is what you deserve by your treatment of people here, and possibly elsewhere.

But as someone who is the midst of booking hotels in France for this June, I personally have NOT found where any hotels are absolutely REQUIRING a pre-paid deposit. In fact, I personally NEVER make such bookings because of what could go wrong, so, there are absolutely some lodging establishments where this is not the case. Some may, some may not. It really is THAT simple as to the hotel's own discretion. Basically the same answer everyone else has already provided you.

And for someone giving you FREE advice, here is another piece: you get more with honey than vinegar.

As far as the gognitive skills, where is the mention of REFUNDABLE deposits in your original post as quoted above.

Wow. If you had done a bit of checking on booking.com you would have noticed some hotels require a pre-paid deposit and some do not. I actually went to booking.com yesterday to see what my favorite hotels are doing and came back to reply back with some suggestions. So sorry to have tried to be helpful.

Good catch, gomiki!

A simple answer yes or no, well that assumes that all hotels in France behave the same. Of course they don't.

Beware using Google Translate or other translation software. French has two different words that translate into English as "deposit." One means refundable deposit, the other nonrefundable deposit. Even if a hotel has an English website, their translation may not distinguish between the two different deposits once rendered into English.

Oh, and don't be nasty to your potential friends, both here on line and also in real life.

BTW, that's what a deposit is: prepaid. There is no such thing as a deposit paid only after you arrive.

Pelon2's huffy post and the clapbacks made me smile -- was like a visit to the Wild West early days here on Fodors.

Golden rule works so well

Very odd. Painful. I think the OP needs some sympathy.

First off, your question wasn't "simple", it was a two-part question, with assumptions as to the first answer being implied in the second question. The answers to your questions start with: Not all. (a simple yes or no is never accurate with your questions.) Yes, probably. - (Choosing a different hotel would be a work around)

See how simple that is?