Use Foreign Currency to Pay Your Hotel Bill
On a recent trip to Mexico, as I was about to check out of my hotel and head to the airport, I realized that I had about 1,000 extra pesos in cash.
I first went straight to my bank’s partner ATM (the same secure machine where I had withdrawn thousands of pesos just a few days ago) to find out that this global ATM alliance allows me to withdraw local currency but not deposit it back into my account. …
So what was I to do with this extra money? I could exchange it before leaving (at a disadvantage, of course) or do the same when I get home (probably the same scenario). I was thinking about buying liquor or duty-free sweets at the airport, but already carried so much luggage. How about tipping the hotel staff? Even after that, I still had 700 pesos left.
Then it dawned on me when I signed the final check-out forms: you can pay the hotel with the remaining cash and they will debit the balance from your card.
So simple! No bad conversion rates! Easily use up everything at the last minute! I was just handed a folio from which 700 pesos had been deducted and headed straight to the airport.
Likewise, if you are staying with a friend, just give them all your extra money and ask them to return Venmo for it if it suits them. And if you’re staying on Airbnb, well, that tactic is controversial, although you could potentially ask your host to use the cash / Venmo method mentioned above. In my opinion, now it will be considered one of the advantages of choosing a hotel for an international trip. These are plush robes.