Originally Posted by lotemblizej

Am reviving this thread as it has gotten worse for me recently. I have long experienced hotels in Europe asking me at checkout if I want to pay in dollars or Euros and I always choose Euros because of the unfavorable exchange rate charged by the hotel which on average increases the bill in dollars by 5 percent. Recently, I had a hotel in Dublin not let me choose as the checkout clerk reached over to the credit card reader and pushed the dollar button before I was able to choose Euros. When I told him I wanted to pay in Euros, he acted cagey, saying most Americans prefer to pay in dollars and therefore he was doing me a favor. He initially agreed to reverse the charge and let me pay in Euros, but then claimed it could not be done “until later” due to their system being down. In the end, it took me two weeks to get the problem resolved with the hotel, which was a Marriott property. The hotel itself was a nice place to stay, but I will never stay there again based on my experience. I have also had problems recently at other hotels in Europe, where once I choose the option of paying in Euros I get messages warning me that I will be subject to the “uncertain” exchange rate of my CC provider. I ignore the warnings as my CC provider gives me the market exchange rate, but it is a pain to have to decline the option of paying in dollars a second and sometimes third time. It makes me wonder, though, who is choosing to pay in dollars and add 5% to the cost of,their hotel?

Originally Posted by notquiteaff

50% of people presumably have no idea that it is costing them extra.

Since we are in the Hilton forum, a reminder that Amex cards don't allow DCC, so when staying at foreign Hiltons I generally use my Aspire card. I wish Visa and MC would follow Amex' example, though.



Name and shame

I would have asked for a manager and told them to reverse it now or I would dispute the charge as unauthorized.