Hi,

I probably should do a search for this but I am at work and super busy! We have reserved an apartment in Playa del Carmen, MX, for December. We have to pay 50% of the total price as a deposit today. The place is called Villas Sacbe and a poster on this board was very happy with it (about two years ago.)

Is it normal that such a big amount has to be paid right away? It seems almost impossible to get back, but we have our plane tickets and are serious about this place, so we don't want to loose it. It just feels scary to pay so much now! Would it be worth it to purchase a separate policy that would cover us in case of another hurricane? There was a link to that on their website.

I would appreciate any advice on this!

Thanks,
Chiocciola

I had to pay 1/3 up front for my apartment in Tuscany last month; it was refundable up to a certain point.

But the apartment itself was not very expensive. I WOULD get travel insurance ASAP if I were you; not sure whether all such insurance would cover hurricane problems, etc. I've been getting travel insurance for my trips lately; it gives me a certain amount of peace of mind anyway.

M

Hi,

I always ask my guests 50% up front. 30% is not refundable, 20% is refundable up to 45 days before the beginning of their stay. What happens though, is that if somebody cancel and I manage to rent the week out again, I generally send the 30% back too.

It seems faii if I don't loose the week that they don't have to lose their deposit.

Ask the owner and buy that insurance: you never know.

Hola.

Interesting.

We just had guests from Alaska (Our first slowtrav paying guests) and back in March It was just too expensive for them to wire us a deposit here in Spain so we said pay us when you get here. No deposit just an email to confirm arrival.

They got here and paid us. (And we all had a very good time).We put them on the train to Granada today to continue their trip through Andalucia...

It is very hard in this world to trust a stranger but we have to make a start somewhere do we not?

Clive

Interesting question. For our upcoming trip to Montepulciano, IT., in Nov.2006, we were asked to pay 100% in February. Fortunately there were several testimonials and I was able to email some of them to find out the reliability of this place. With all of thm raving about it, I went ahead and sent the required amount. I guess this is another vote for trusting someone.

Thanks so much to all for this help! I found reviews on Trip Advisor, most were very happy with the place, the amenities, the location etc., the only complaints were from people who tried to get their money back, but we are going into this knowing that it is hard and that we need to protect ourselves in case of another hurricane or something else that we can't control. My mom will also check if her travel insurance covers this. And I will check if the insurance covers natural disasters.

A warning I try to post when there is a question of pre-payment of rentals from owners: if you take trip cancellation insurance, do not assume that it also covers down-payments for apartment rentals directly from owners, but verify very clearly with the agent or, even better, directly with the insurer. Not all companies will accept to insure what is considered a private arrangement. I believe it may be different if you make the booking through a travel agent, possibly for a fee; worth checking.