After much searching, we found a B&B in Rome that seemed nice and affordable. The total cost for three nights would be €300.

However, on making a reservation for the room the owner wants us to make a deposit of €100.

Would you consider this normal? Should I do it, or should I consider myself warned and check for another place?

We stayed in a B&B in Rome for €100 per night and the only thing required was my credit card number. They didn't even accept credit cards so it was only for security purposes.

We paid only cash on arrival. I presume that B&Bs operate the same as hotels, so I would not think it is normal to pay a deposit. If it was an apartment, then of course it would be normal.

See what other slow travellers think.

Elly

I really think no landlord would ever confirm a reservation without a booking deposit and there is not much difference between a vacation rental and a B&B (the legal status is very much alike)- taking the CC number if you don't accept CC does not have much sense... how could you ever apply a "no-show" policy??... probably it's just a way to make the guest feel somehow "committed" but there's no way the CC could ever be charged

I agree with Giò!
We tend to give alternatives to a deposit as 90% of our guests are not Italian and it's very expensive to send a bank transfer... but Italian guests often "require" to pay a deposit, I suppose they feel that I'm committed to keeping the room for them if I have received some money...
Annika, it's quite normal to ask for a booking deposit if you don't accept credit cards, so if you like the place go ahead with the booking (or try to convince the owner that it will be very expensive for you to send a deposit and that you'll write them again to reconfirm the booking if they want you to ).

Thanks! As it turns out, it wouldn't cost me a thing to make a bank transfer online (yay for EU!!) and I have the money so it's not that, it's just ----- oh, I don't know, I'm just a little scared of being ripped off.
I can understand why she wants the deposit (to make sure that we show up), but what if I pay and then when we get to Rome the place doesn't exist?
The B&B is this one: L'Archetto.

It doesn't make it easier that all the correspondence has to be done in Italian.

Ok I'm sounding like a whiny brat now But I'm new to this, and probably too scared and cautious.

I understand you Annika, I'm an innkeeper but also a traveller! Have you checked any website to see if there are reviews of this place?
Should you wish me to check anything for you with the landlady please tell me!

I have searched and searched but not found a single review.
Thanks for your offer but I don't really know what to ask. You can't call somebody to ask them if they're serious, can you?

Anika,
Many Italian hotels and BB ask for a deposit even through venere, they specify that some of the places are doing this, especially when the price is low. Usually, I payed by credit card, but before paying I always ask them questions on deposit, and so far they all reduced the deposit amount. I payed but it was may be the half of what they originally ask, just to ensure that I am serious, and I always got a written confirmation for this.
However before paying I always communicated with people who could give me a reference. Did you check on all the sites? tripadvisor, hotel-overview, google search (enter the name+city+review), usually I was always able to find someone for a feedback.

Annika,
I googled your B&B and found that it is also listed on this site:
It looks real to me. An inexpensive little B&B near Termini station, it appears to be clean and airy. If you are OK with the area (which is not unsafe, just not particularly appealing to me, and is the reason for the low price), I think you should feel confident booking it. If you only have to give one night's deposit, if you don't like it you can check out after staying one night.
- Marie

Myself,I will only pay a deposit if they will take my credit card for it. if they want cash, I find another place. The landlord wants to protect himself against a no-show and that is fair. But then again I am not going to try and figure out how to send it him if he won't take plastic for it. if you pay by credit card and there is a dispute about something, you at least have the recourse to get your money back through the credit card issuer.

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if you pay by credit card and there is a dispute about something, you at least have the recourse to get your money back through the credit card issuer.

This is exactly why some (small) hotels etc. don't accept cc as a deposit.... because in case of a dispute guests would be able not to pay... and sometimes in disputes it's the guest who is wrong!
Anyway, Annika sais that it's not a problem for her to pay as she can do it at no charge through her bank via internet...

quote:

This is exactly why some (small) hotels etc. don't accept cc as a deposit.... because in case of a dispute guests would be able not to pay... and sometimes in disputes it's the guest who is wrong!

I can see that, but I view it as a way to share the risk. The travelor doing this over the internet sometimes isn't sure if the place exists or if they might "lose" the reservation. A person has to weigh this in their mind and ask themselves how badly they want to stay in this particular place if they don't want to accept the credit card for the deposit.

In my case, I have my CC linked to my account so that the fee is deducted immediately. Paying with the card or with the internet bank doesn't make a difference. I can see that it does for others though.

I want to ask the landlady about what happens with my money, should I need to cancel the reservation.

I think that in the end it's only a matter of trust, but if I keep all the emails and bank transfer statements and everything, I should be pretty safe - right?

Some of the small places just don't have a machine or a way of taking a payment by CC. But I am again with dragonpat on this one. I always managed to find a neighbor place to stay and to use a CC.
Annika, I would also ask if the amount of deposit can be reduced if non refundable.

PayPal (or similar) is an excellent way for paying the deposit... a bit expensive (almost 5% commission but on the other hand some banks will charge even more for a wire transfer!) but safe, fast and reliable!
The great majority of my guests use it (on my request!) and even those who did not know about it before, are very happy with it... the transaction is completed in just a few hours and their credit card info is not given out to just anyone! Try it!

I use paypal too, but credit card companies are much easier to get a refund from than paypal therefore I am with Dragonpat if CC is not accepted then unless I needed to stay at a particular place and could find no suitable alternative(as with our rental villa this summer) I would look elsewhere. In the UK though recently, CC companies took away refund/dispute protection for foreign transactions but someone took them to court and it was re instated.

Annika
I would not worry at all about sending a deposit. I have been sending deposits all my life and never had a problem.

The website of the B&B looks real and the fact that they have no reviews does not mean much. In a place like Rome there must be hundreds of accommodation that do not have a review. Not all travelers feel compelled to write a review about a place but that does not mean that that place is a scam. If you feel unsecure about this, you could call the Tourist office of Rome and ask if this B&B is registered. They claim to be registered in the webpage.

A B&B works in a different way than a hotel. Many B&B or home-style accommodation do not accept credit card beacause it is an expensive service. Therefore they are able to keep their prices lower than hotels. Many B&B owners are not familiar or hardly familiar with internet, so they do not accept Paypal either. A no show is a much bigger damage for a B&B than for a hotel beacuse a B&B has few rooms and one room empty makes a dent in the daily income.

So a B&B asks a deposit. However, as long as a B&B exists and it is legal, they would get into big trouble with the police if they would aks you a deposit and not honor your reservation. Why would they bother? for 100 Euro?

quote:

If you only have to give one night's deposit, if you don't like it you can check out after staying one night.

Again, please understand the fundamental difference between a hotel and a B&B. If you reserve several nights in a B&B and then you leave after one night for no serious reason, the innkeeper will have hardly any chance to sell the room so they might charge you for the cost of the whole stay.

If you are afraid of the risk, just do not book and once you are there go to give it a look to see if you like it.

Thanks everybody! I feel a lot better about the whole situation now so just two minutes ago I made the bank transfer. Now all we can do is hope.