Help on risk of price increases for pre-booked hotels booking.com

kategg

Sorry not sure if this is the right kind of question for you but thought I’d try. I’m in the UK and I’ve booked a big holiday of a lifetime for next February to Costa Rica.

Weve planned it all out and budgeted for it. The flights and a couple of bits for internal transport have been paid for already, but all the hotels are through booking.com and are pay on arrival with free cancellation options. Currently saving up as much as we need for those and all other spending with the plan to then use a credit card whilst over there which can be immediately paid off from the savings pot.

Given the pound is likely to continue to fall inbetween now and then, is it right that I’m likely to end up paying more? When I’ve booked hotels now I’ve had a price confirmed in pounds, but if the hotels are actually setting their price is USD could my pound equivalent actually be greater when I arrive if Stirling has dropped? Suppose it depends on how Booking.com works which maybe people don’t know. If this is a risk how likely is it that I could ask to pay the balance now instead to avoid this risk? I’m worried we could end up without enough money saved up to cover it if the prices go up sufficiently.

budgetflyer

Yes. The price on Booking.com is only todays exchange rate comparison for a "pay at hotel" booking. You will be charged the same in what ever currency used but the actual exch rate to GBP may be up or down.
I suppose you could put the amount on to a fixed currency card just now if you are bothered about it. you will lose a few percent on the actual live rates though as these cards rarely offer the best exchange rate.

Its worth noting that ALL YOUR SPENDING here and abroad, is likely to go up or down @ Brexit.

eDicky

kategg wrote: »

Given the pound is likely to continue to fall inbetween now and then,

The value of the pound in February is unknown, there is no more chance of it being lower or higher than now.

photome

kategg wrote: »

Sorry not sure if this is the right kind of question for you but thought I’d try. I’m in the UK and I’ve booked a big holiday of a lifetime for next February to Costa Rica.

Weve planned it all out and budgeted for it. The flights and a couple of bits for internal transport have been paid for already, but all the hotels are through booking.com and are pay on arrival with free cancellation options. Currently saving up as much as we need for those and all other spending with the plan to then use a credit card whilst over there which can be immediately paid off from the savings pot.

Given the pound is likely to continue to fall inbetween now and then, is it right that I’m likely to end up paying more? When I’ve booked hotels now I’ve had a price confirmed in pounds, but if the hotels are actually setting their price is USD could my pound equivalent actually be greater when I arrive if Stirling has dropped? Suppose it depends on how Booking.com works which maybe people don’t know. If this is a risk how likely is it that I could ask to pay the balance now instead to avoid this risk? I’m worried we could end up without enough money saved up to cover it if the prices go up sufficiently.

How do you know that? (in bold)


other than that yes you are right you will be charged in dollars at the time and at the prevailing exchange rate


have you got the best cards in place to pay

Shimrod

kategg wrote: »

Weve planned it all out and budgeted for it. The flights and a couple of bits for internal transport have been paid for already, but all the hotels are through booking.com and are pay on arrival with free cancellation options. Currently saving up as much as we need for those and all other spending with the plan to then use a credit card whilst over there which can be immediately paid off from the savings pot.

You could mitigate some of this by changing your hotel bookings from pay on arrival to pre-pay as you get the money saved up. The pre-pay option is often cheaper which would help offset some of the currency changes, but make sure you have got your travel insurance in place as well.



I'll use pay on arrival when I need flexibility in travel and think I might change location. I have a holiday booked for later this year that has all been paid up front through Booking.com and Expedia (as well as using Topcashback) which gave savings around £300 vs pay on arrival. The exchange rate has dropped 6% over the last two weeks, but the only thing I have left to worry about is spending money, which is not significant.

davelewis

Cancel your 'Booking.com' and book the hotels direct? You might be able to pay immediately on the hotel's own website?

gingerdad

We found better to pay upfront currently as the couple we hadn't done the rate in Canada dropped 15c between booking and travelling, and with BlowJob in charge rates are only going one way

melb

when I've booked on a "pay at hotel" basis I have paid in the local currency at the price that was stated at the time of booking. Wouldn't this protect against any fluctuations in currency exchange rates?

leylandsunaddict

worldtraveller wrote: »

While no resolution has yet been reached, Balpa have said in a statement that both sides would resume talks today, Monday (5 August).

Balpa is yet to announce any strike dates and says it is “committed to finding a negotiated settlement” to the dispute.

The union would be required to give 14 days’ notice of any strike action.This pushes back the potential start of any strike action even further, with Tuesday 20th now being the earliest possible option.

I think you've post on the wrong thread.

worldtraveller

leylandsunaddict wrote: »

I think you've post on the wrong thread.

Indeed, thanks and have deleted.