On line banking for bookings

[Sandra]

I keep reading about problems on how best to accept money be it PayPal, card etc.
For people like us who's customers are UK based with sterling we are happy to take cheques(long may they last) but guests often prefer to us simple on line banking.
It's safe as u are actually giving out less information than that's written on a cheque.
Yet I hear no one talking about it as an alternative. Or am I missing something?

[Casscat]

This is a bank transfer and all of us accept (and usually prefer) payment this way but increasingly guests want fraud protection and are not happy about making a cash transfer which is irreversible to a total stranger.

[Marks]

I have been taking payments by transfer since I started in 1999, I give my bank details to each guest, never had a problem. I return security deposits the same way. I no longer accept cheques. I have started with PayPal this year, 20% of guests have paid this way, I pass on fees.

[GRL]

I have been taking payments by transfer since I started in 1999, I give my bank details to each guest, never had a problem. I return security deposits the same way. I no longer accept cheques. I have started with PayPal this year, 20% of guests have paid this way, I pass on fees.

For UK guests I prefer bank transfer and have not had anyone complain. I also take and return security deposits this way.
For French guests I actually prefer a cheque as it will arrive quicker than a bank transfer and is much more difficult to cancel in France. I also take a French cheque for security and tear it up if it is not needed.
A few non UK or French guests pay by PayPal and I charge the extra for fees.

Maybe I have lost bookings from people who want to pay by other methods and have not told me. Who knows?

[greenbarn]

Yet I hear no one talking about it as an alternative. Or am I missing something?

I think you are missing something. I can't recall anyone saying they didn't take payment by bank transfer, and it's generally the preferred method with some exceptions (see Rosie and French guests eg). Cheques are generally unwelcome and most of us are looking for ways to dissuade guests from using them, or simply refusing to accept them.
All the fraud scares are leading people towards paying by credit card for the protection it gives them, and it's also a means for them to control their cash flow; it's a very useful facility to offer, with or without passing on the charges.

So yes, bank transfer, online banking, BACS or whatever you want to call it is very widely used - not as an alternative, but as the preferred method.

[tavi]

In five years I've never used anything else -
i.e. guests pay by online bank transfer & I return their damage deposit the same way.

[Joanna]

Bank transfer is our preferred option but we do accept cheques as long as there's at least 2 weeks before the arrival date. However, my local bank branch is closing in a couple of months so after that I'll be re-thinking the cheques. We offer PayPal to Overseas customers where bank transfers seem to be less common and tend to over complicate things. They're in the minority though so I think if you're a UK owner with mostly UK guests then bank transfers will usually be the first choice.

[tavi]

In five years I've never used anything else -
i.e. guests pay by online bank transfer & I return their damage deposit the same way.

In fact, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I haven't used a personal cheque myself, in UK or PT, for years & years.........

(I did have one guest who paid for his rental last year with a cheque...('twas such a pain having to go to the bank to deposit it!)

[mi casa]

Bank transfer for us also most of the time. This year we have 'two mature ladies' their words who preferred to pay by cheque. Two ladies renting a four bed for two weeks and paying the fullprice. I was happy to pay a visit to the bank.

[Gettingthere]

I receive 95% of payments via BACS (ie bank transfer, online banking etc etc) but have never used PayPal. I can see I need to be more ready for credit cards going forward.

Rather than hijack his thread I'll start a new one as I'd like to hear more of people's experience of PayPal.

[Normandie]

(I did have one guest who paid for his rental last year with a cheque...('twas such a pain having to go to the bank to deposit it!)

You have just reminded me that I need to go and pay in a deposit cheque... that I received about 5 weeks ago...

Fortunately, they've not been and gone already...

[Guest]

[Gettingthere]

7 aspire
If people pay via their PayPal account, does it cost them anything? I'm looking at receiving payments this way and I understand that there is a charge for using a CC, but if they fund their PayPal Acc via debit card, do they get charged a fee?

[Guest]

[Hells Bells]

As I have taken PP since I set up the apartment rental , I added potential fees into my charges from the start, so never charge the guest anything. I will accept a bank transfer from a French account, and have sometimes offered a small discount depending on negotiations. I have far more email contact with potential French visitors than from UK ones.