Paying hotel deposit

lisyloo

I need to pay a hotel deposit to a small hotel in Italy that doesn't accept cards.

The options they have given me are

Travellers cheque by mail
personal cheque
cash by mail
or direct bank transfer

We don't currently have a Nationwide account (am thinking of opening one but it won't be done in time for this transaction).

At the moment I favour the direct bank transfer.
I think it will cost 2.75% (Nat west) but a least I'm in control.
If I send a cheque I don't know what the charges are.

Thanks for any advice.

P.S. They are a bona fide hotel (loads of good reviews on independent sites).
Just a small family business that doesn't take cards.

lisyloo

Sending money by bank transfer is quite expensive.
I don't want to send cash through the mail.

So does anyone know:
Can I use a travellers cheque? Is this safe? what will it cost?

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question but I always use cards so I'm not familiar with travellers cheques.

I don't know about cheques, but I guess the hotel will have charges applied (above commission) for cashing a sterling cheque.

blindman

I've just setup and used this facility XE Trades on Xe.com to pay a US villa owner.

It took about a week to setup and some paperwork, but the transfer went through OK. It uses BACS from UK to lots of places and once setup is simple to use. The payment took about 1 week to reach the US.

It's a FREE service and they make their money by offering slightly less in Xchange rates, but unless you're trading in Millions you don't really 'lose' out.

lisyloo

Don't know if anyone else is interested, but I think the cheapest way to go is to send a travellers cheque through the post.
For £6.25 it is insured and trackable on-line.

The XE trades is probably cheaper if you are going to do it more than once or don't mind setting it up and sending off the paperwork etc.