Wiring deposit money to a hotel??

[jenifajones]

I was emailing back & forth with a hotel in Tulum & was asked to wire them my deposit money (50%, non-refundable).

Is this normal? They do not accept credit cards & the hotel is very small (only 4 cabanas).

Help!!

[beachreader]

It is pretty normal down there. I had to do it last year at Hemingways. Sort of nerve-wracking and strange, but I did it and it worked. Send them an e-mail telling them it's coming and they should confirm when they receive it.

Where are you booking?

[jenifajones]

Casa Violeta. It is a very small place (only 4 cabanas). It was referred by my very good friend who, although never stayed there, has been to Tulum a bunch of times, has met the owner & a guest there while checking out one of the cabanas.

She was ecstatic when I told her we would be staying there-- but like I said, she has never stayed there.

On top of that, since the place is very small, the online community has pretty much no clue about this place. Ugh.

[minniemex]

Welcome to the board!

I guess that will make you our "Pro" on Casa Violeta:D

I know how you feel, making that commitment & not knowing the end result until you get there. :confused: I think when places have so few rooms, they need to know you are seriously coming, and not just "holding" a room in case something better comes along, or you change your mind. I have been hearing the name Casa Violeta coming up on the forum boards, but like you say, nothing about it. I too had to make a deposit on my room & everything turned out great -:)

[AdGuy]

Wired deposits are the norm in Tulum. Typically 50% or three nights (whichever is less). Most hotels do not accept credit card so you'll need to bring proof of your initial payment and cash to settle up.

[austxdan]

I was amazed when making my reservations for Tita Tulum. This small 8 cabana hotel ecologico takes deposits via Pay Pal! Quite handy if I do say so myself.

I also read (maybe on here?) that someone paid their final bill for Tita by going to town (maybe) and Pay Pal-ing the amount. That's a darn good idea. I may do that as well.

Tita is cutting edge!


Dan

[AdGuy]

I also read (maybe on here?) that someone paid their final bill for Tita by going to town (maybe) and Pay Pal-ing the amount. That's a darn good idea. I may do that as well.

Dan

I recall reading that as well. I seem to remember that it was offered as a solution in an emergency situation rather than standard operating procedure. You may want to verify with Tita it's okay. When we checked out from Tita's, there was only a waitress available to settle our bill with. I seriously doubt she could have processed PayPal.

[Susan&Mike]

We are booked into Cabanas Tulum and paid a deposit when booked and just last week I paid the balance all using pay-pal. We booked through Yucatan travel.

[mariposa]

a deposit to miami for Nueva Vida..Kind of inconvenient but it went smoothly..no problems.

[Jules]

I am working with Nueva Vida to confirm a reservation and one of their options to pay the 50% deposit is "wire transfer or billpay to our bank account". The only thing I know called "billpay" is how I pay my bills online with BOA and you do not put in the receiving party's bank account number. If the payee is not in the system BOA would just mail a check on your behalf.

Does anyone know what they may be referring to when they say you can pay the deposit via "billpay to our bank account"?

[beachreader]

Ask them if they'll do PayPal. More and more places along the beach road are using it, and it makes things SO much easier for us. The first time I stayed in Tulum, I had to do a wire transfer and it was a huge pain in the butt.

Not sure what they mean by "billpay", unless it's just another type of electronic funds transfer. I use BoA Billpay too (love it), and I know that would just end up as a check on their end, and I'm sure NV wants to avoid that.

Or maybe give BoA a call and see if there's a way to do the transfer thing online? That would be interesting.

[Jules]

I emailed NV to see what they mean by "billpay" so I'll keep you all posted. I would love to just do it by paypal! I'll see if that is an option but NV's info says they don't take credit cards for the deposit. I wonder if they would consider paypal paying by cc?

I'll let you all know how it works out for furture refernce on this issue.:)

[beachreader]

Hamaca Loca doesn't take credit cards either, but I was able to do PayPal using my credit card on my end. The difference is that the money shows up in their PayPal account as real money, they don't have to deal with the cc companies. I look forward to the day that everyone down there takes PayPal!

[TulumDreamin]

Hamaca Loca doesn't take credit cards either, but I was able to do PayPal using my credit card on my end. The difference is that the money shows up in their PayPal account as real money, they don't have to deal with the cc companies. I look forward to the day that everyone down there takes PayPal!
Ditto! TDS does Paypal now as well. I used Paypal to send Carlos a downpayment. Smooth:)

[Jules]

I'm staying at TDS for the first 4 nights we're down there and then moving to NV for two nights.
I did the same...It was very nice to use paypal for the deposit for TDS!!

[benb]

We just booked at Ocho. The owner lives in the U.S. so you can speak so someone without incurring international call costs and he responded to my emails by the next day every time. We put 1/3 down via credit card, and they can bill the rest using that same card at the end of the stay. I guess they have wireless internet onsite.

[minniemex]

I did wire Zulum money when we went there last October, but now they take Paypal. My complaint was that it cost so much for the wire transfer and paypal would have cost me nothing. I was uncomfortable to an extent, but all turned out well. Just make sure when you go you bring all the copies of your transactions.

[beachreader]

We just booked at Ocho. The owner lives in the U.S. so you can speak so someone without incurring international call costs and he responded to my emails by the next day every time. We put 1/3 down via credit card, and they can bill the rest using that same card at the end of the stay. I guess they have wireless internet onsite.


Benb, for the rates Ocho charges, they'd better darned well take credit cards! :D Most places have much tighter margins and the 6% or whatever the cc companies charge places to use their services would kill some of them.

When are you going? I hope you have a great trip and come back with lots of pictures (better ones than I was able to get) for us.

[benb]

We will do our best beachreader. I feel like I owe it to you guys, all the ideas I took, answers I got that calmed my fiances nerves (mine too, but mostly hers). We are going in June, and I didn't think the price was that out of whack. We originally were considering Zebra, but now they charge $220 for the smaller beachfront cabanas. The prices listed on ocho's website include tax, looks like alot of others do not so that makes them look less expensive.

[beachreader]

We originally were considering Zebra, but now they charge $220 for the smaller beachfront cabanas. The prices listed on ocho's website include tax, looks like alot of others do not so that makes them look less expensive.


Holy cow, you're right! That's just nutty in June, charging that much.

Seriously, Ocho is a lovely place, the guy who showed me around was very nice, and the stretch of beach is amazing (or is now that it's probably cleaned up now that they're open). I'm curious to see how they're handling things, what the restaurant's like, all that good stuff. The bathroom is gorgeous, the beds looked seriously comfortable. You're going to have a beautiful honeymoon!

Plus, you're right next door to Om, and you can slip over for a great meal by chef Freddy if you want some variety. And La Zebra is just a few more properties north so you can see what you're not missing up there. I really enjoyed my food at La Zebra, very nice place, but charging $270/$220 in June is out of line in my book. Thanks for the info!