Surcharge for using PayPal?

[JFS]

I just got a quote at Blue Angel for a Labor Day Week trip.
9 nights @ $94 per night. All ocean-view rooms and all rooms have private balconies or patios.
8 Days of 2-Tank diving @ $95 With Nitrox (Blue Angel offers FREE NITROX). Marine Park Fee Included.
(Plus Room Tax & IVA)

FREE daily breakfast at their excellent on-site restaurant.
You are steps to the BA dock from your room. I like to drink coffee and have breakfast and watch the dive boat pull up. I then walk to the boat and go diving!. No taxis to /from the marina or being crammed in a pickup truck.
Free Valet Service.
Free Unlimited Shore Diving.

I really do not think this is overpriced at all. (Perhaps for Cheapskates ...)
JMHO/YMMV

That price is around $110 (inc tax) for two tank dive in low season with multiple days and no discount. There is a whole lotta shops that don't charge that in high season.

 

[ChuckP]

You got to be kidding me. A 50% deposit for lodging is downright nutty and indicative that there is something going very wrong. This has been covered in the past when BA had taken deposits and people then had to cancel their trips due to Covid and when they asked for their deposit back they had no $ to refund them as the operation had spent all of it. Those deposits weren't sitting in a deposit account to be refunded... all of that $ had been tapped and spent. BA has since updated its website with the following policy that you can read by clicking on "Reservation Policy" at the bottom of their page:

The deposit for your current reservation will not be refundable under any circumstances, but transferable dates up to two years from original reservation date, as long as you contact us at least 14 days before your arrival, this subject to restrictions with change with no previous notice.
No refunds or reschedules will be provided after check in.
For further information contact us to help you.

So, basically if something were to hit the fan less than 2 weeks before your arrival, you are not able to make your trip and you are past the stated 2 week notification deadline you can kiss both your $ goodbye and any offer to transfer your deposit to a future trip within the next 2 years. And this assumes BA remains in business because the window to dispute a credit card charge will probably have expired for most if they booked their trip and put the deposit down more than 60 days in advance. After 60 days you are SOL.

If others here have no problem with that then help yourself, roll the dice, and maybe everything turns out fine. If it doesn't you could be out one heck of a lot of $.

I agree and don't like the 50% deposit but let's talk a little bit about the last 8 weeks and even really since last November.

It's busy season, really when a company is making their money and this stupid COVID thing is going on - people are calling and cancelling a day before arrival due to a positive covid test - that means the room sits empty for that reservation...... What percent are they seeing of cancels??

I'm a little guy here that owns a boat and rents it to other scuba companies - I had more than 10 cancelled at the last minute trips in March - on March 1st, I had confirmed 47 trips for the month but of that, 10 cancelled at the last minute, I think that's a lot..... Any reservation cancelled in March could have been sold to three other people but you are not going to sell it at the last minute. It's those last 5 trips you do in March that helps cover the slow time in August and September so the cancels do not hurt today but they hurt later... No, I do not get deposits and I do think 50% is too much but I don't know her margins.

I would guess that these last months have had a much higher than average cancel rate and that might be very well what is driving deposit cancellation policies. I know that it has opened my eyes and has me thinking of what to do in the future...

 

[DandyDon]

It's busy season, really when a company is making their money and this stupid COVID thing is going on - people are calling and cancelling a day before arrival due to a positive covid test - that means the room sits empty for that reservation...... What percent are they seeing of cancels??

Ok, yeah, Chuck, that is a possible view to consider, but the pandemic has been going on for over two years. Many of us have tried to support the island community with our visits, business, tips, food bank donations, etc. Rooms and boat trips are very perishable, sure, but so are our plans. We're not going to cancel at the last minute if it's not needed. Hurricanes, pandemics, funerals at home, and other problems happen. If the traveler has to cancel the day before, it's time to sell their space - not make their emergency more painful. But then, we've had this discussion before: Cancellation Policy Changes at Blue Angel

EDIT: Well, on the other hand, I book hotels at Hotel.com, and if I cancel the day before, they can still charge me for the full stay. I did cancel the day of planned arrival a couple of years ago when the airline screwed my flights up too much, and they did charge me for four days I think - which I passed on to my Trip insurance which repaid me. They could have charged me for the whole week, but my Trip insurance would have covered that as well. One can even buy cheap Trip insurance from Hotels.com with the booking, but I buy more comprehensive insurance elsewhere.

I guess the problem is the hotel requires the deposit thru Paypal instead of credit cards, then charging the extra 4% on the Paypal payment.

 

[GameChanger]

That price is around $110 (inc tax) for two tank dive in low season with multiple days and no discount. There is a whole lotta shops that don't charge that in high season.

Also consider that Blue Angel includes Nitrox for FREE.
Most Op's charge an additional $10-$12 PER TANK for Nitrox.
So, if you go to a Dive Op that charges $92.80 (tax included) for multiple days of 2-tank boat dives, and you add Nitrox, the cost goes to $112.80. (I used the pricing from 3P's only because they are transparent with pricing and a great Dive Op that I also use!)

 

[ChuckP]

If the traveler has to cancel the day before, it's time to sell their space - not make their emergency more painful.

Lo siento - When you get a call at 2 in the afternoon to cancel a room or boat trip that is happening tomorrow - you are not selling it - it is lost revenue. Your only hope of selling the boat trip is if there is a boat that breaks down and they happen to see your boat sitting empty. How far in advance are vacations booked? Pretty rare person decides at lunch to fly to Cozumel tomorrow....

Make their emergency more painful by retaining a deposit? The traveler could have bought travel insurance, the traveler could have lived an ultra conservative lifestyle in the weeks prior to a vacation to minimize the chance of covid - that might help, might not. The business is doing everything they can so that they can provide the service when you arrive, I do not know that the vendor deserves the pain.....

Yes - covid has been going on for two years - last year the policies might have been much more liberal but in year two of this ordeal??? I don't buy it, you know the risk when booking a trip - have a little respect for the vendors that set aside space for you and now get to watch it sit empty. 50% is a pretty stiff amount still IMO but I don't know her costs. The whole idea of deposits and cancellation policies is a really difficult thing for any business.

The PayPal fee, well, I see others charging a higher % to use a credit card.

 

[JFS]

Also consider that Blue Angel includes Nitrox for FREE.
Most Op's charge an additional $10-$12 PER TANK for Nitrox.
So, if you go to a Dive Op that charges $92.80 (tax included) for multiple days of 2-tank boat dives, and you add Nitrox, the cost goes to $112.80. (I used the pricing from 3P's only because they are transparent with pricing and a great Dive Op that I also use!)

Nothing is for FREE. Shops that are charging you $10 - $12 a tank for nitrox are making big profit. Consumers need to look around these days. Lots of options in Cozumel especially during low season. Does shore diving include FREE nitrox?

 

[DandyDon]

Lo siento - When you get a call at 2 in the afternoon to cancel a room or boat trip that is happening tomorrow - you are not selling it - it is lost revenue.

Yeah, I posted my other view. Really, the 50% deposit that could be used for later credit if there is a cancelation is more generous than the terms on Hotels.com. If you booked BA there and canceled within two weeks of arrival, you could be charged for the whole stay. You'd better have Trip insurance and an excuse that meets their criteria. Hotels.com does also offer discounted Trip insurance that may not do much more than cover the stay, but it does that.

EDIT: Well, on the other hand, I book hotels at Hotel.com, and if I cancel the day before, they can still charge me for the full stay. I did cancel the day of planned arrival a couple of years ago when the airline screwed my flights up too much, and they did charge me for four days I think - which I passed on to my Trip insurance which repaid me. They could have charged me for the whole week, but my Trip insurance would have covered that as well. One can even buy cheap Trip insurance from Hotels.com with the booking, but I buy more comprehensive insurance elsewhere.

I guess the problem is the hotel requires the deposit thru Paypal instead of credit cards, then charging the extra 4% on the Paypal payment.

The PayPal fee, well, I see others charging a higher % to use a credit card.

That problem is the hotel insisting on Paypal only, then charging 4% of that. With Zelle there would be no protection, but no fees.

 

[ChuckP]

That problem is the hotel insisting on Paypal only, then charging 4% of that. With Zelle there would be no protection, but no fees.

My first read of Zelle is that it works between US banks...... The never ending twist of how to get Loonies, dollars and Euros here...

 

[DandyDon]

My first read of Zelle is that it works between US banks

True. That's how I pay my dive Op, who is from the US and has a bank account there. I have no idea how he moves money between countries. Venmo is a Paypal product for moving funds within the US.

 

[mediumone]

My first read of Zelle is that it works between US banks...... The never ending twist of how to get Loonies, dollars and Euros here...

We belong to a credit union. Zelle won't work. I've tried.
There are alternatives though, such as Remitly, Wise, and a number of fintecs, (Revolut is the one that I use), all of which facilitate transfers at less than 4%.