Hotels charging MEP rate for cash payments since Friday

Nortesur

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Hotels are charging the MEP rate since Friday even for cash payments despite the fact that the directive is only for card payments and the card payments will likely never use the MEP rate because VISA/AMEX/MC will never be obliged to use it.

This means that bookings made weeks ago at the official rate are now being charged at the MEP rate. We just called Booking.com and they said not to pay more than was quoted when booked so we paid by Amex and will file a fraud charge and leave a scathing review of the hotel.

Typical lawlessness and ridiculous behavior. No logic. None.
 
Thank you for the heads up! We need to book a place and normally always use booking.com and pay at the official, but I'll likely just do airbnb now because the prices are similar and that would piss me off.

Hopefully this is just one hotel and won't be how all of the places on booking.com react...
 
Thank you for the heads up! We need to book a place and normally always use booking.com and pay at the official, but I'll likely just do airbnb now because the prices are similar and that would piss me off.

Hopefully this is just one hotel and won't be how all of the places on booking.com react..

Booking.com has been supportive. I also secretly used the hotel webpage whatsapp number to get a quote in pesos and there they use the official rate so maybe best to book directly with hotel? IDK but this is for sure another fail. I wouldn't mind if we could pay by card at the MEP rate but we can't - it's fiction.
 
Sorry but it makes no sense. There have always been two rates one for tourists in USD and one in Pesos for locals. If you booked in USD on booking you will pay that. If you booked in pesos you will be charged in pesos. Exchange rate is irrelevant here.
 
Sorry but it makes no sense. There have always been two rates one for tourists in USD and one in Pesos for locals. If you booked in USD on booking you will pay that. If you booked in pesos you will be charged in pesos. Exchange rate is irrelevant here.
This is simply not true. I’ve stayed at 5 start hotels in Mendoza, Bariloche and Ushuaia numerous times since early 2021 and always paid USD quoted rates in pesos cash at the official rate.
 
This is simply not true. I’ve stayed at 5 start hotels in Mendoza, Bariloche and Ushuaia numerous times since early 2021 and always paid USD quoted rates in pesos cash at the official rate.
You are correct. The price is in USD. So you either put this on your foreign card and pay that or pay at the official rate in pesos/cash. But my point was more in line with the reference to Booking.com and the payment managed by them. Even if the payment is not managed by them there will be a USD dominated estimated total. I think they should have refused to and have booking.com intervene. But I guess they will at some point.
 
Sorry but it makes no sense. There have always been two rates one for tourists in USD and one in Pesos for locals. If you booked in USD on booking you will pay that. If you booked in pesos you will be charged in pesos. Exchange rate is irrelevant here.
That's not true. What are you talking about? booking.com shows the property currency and the usd rate at the offical Banco Nacion exchange rate and that's the rate that is used.
 
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