Is prepaying hotel the norm?

Hi, I've chose to stay with Blue Ribbon in Puerto Galera. They are asking me to pay the entire hotel bill up front. Wondering if that is usual with hotels in the Philippines? Perhaps it's because I am there during Christmas?

Not in my experience, at least not when booking direct. When I used to book through an agency, it wasn't unusual to pay a deposit with the balance do 30 to 60 days prior to departure. I suspect that this had more to do with them not getting caught in the middle. So in that regard, assuming you are talking about this Christmas, that's only 5 weeks away, so it probably isn't an unusual request.

On the other hand, if they are in trouble with their business and close before you get there, you might have little chance of recovering the money. You should have a conversation with your credit card company. I tend to use AMEX, and it's my understanding that they will refund my money if a supplier goes belly up before I can take "delivery" of the service or product.

I would also ask the hotel if they intend to process the entire amount or just take a deposit and "reserve" against the balance.

But considering the time frame, it probably isn't out of line.

At the risk of sounding like a bad joke, are you sure the place is even standing following the typhoon?

It seems like a pretty reputable place, so I'd be surprised if they shut down unexpectedly. From what I've read on this forum, Puerto Galera was not affected much by the typhoon. Does anyone have any other information? Thanks.

Everything is fine in Puerto Galera....there was no serious damage.

The reason they want you to pay upfront is so they know 100% you will turn up and take the room, you and that room is locked in then....... all too often people say they will turn up and they simply change their mind and go somewhere else meaning the hotel has turned away customers in anticipation of you arriving and therefore profit is lost as they can't fill the hotel room before the business closes that day.

If it was low season maybe the situation might be different but since it is high season they want to ensure they maximize their income by filling as many rooms as possible.

I would say most people here would do the same thing if they owned a hotel.

Personally, I'd tell them to swing. A deposit is fair enough. One thing I've noted in the Philippines is that it pays to reserve the right to get up and leave if not happy with the service somewhere. If you pay in advance, you've lost any leverage as a customer.

It's very normal for non-chain hotels in the PI to require prepayment to hold the reservations. Whether you have to pay all or just a deposit can differ and may be negotiable. If you refuse be prepared for them to refuse your reservation. If you put it on credit card you can dispute the charge later if they don't deliver what the advertised.

I probably wouldn't want to stay anywhere that I felt it necessary to reserve the right to get up and leave if I wasn't happy with the service.

If I was staying at a crappy place with bad reviews I probably wouldn't send a full payment in advance but then again I wouldn't want to stay at a crappy place anyways.......

As far as I know Blue Ribbon is the highest rated diving resort in Puerto Galera on Tripadvisor so I doubt anyone is trying to trick you or anything like that.

I don't know about the Philippines in general (our trip there was prepaid but it was with a dive shop.) But it's pretty common at resorts in many places, particularly when you're not talking about a large chain in a well traveled destination. The smaller and/or more remote they are, the more likely a last minute no show will cost them, the more likely they will do this. I do appreciate it when a place where I would expect it does not require it, but I don't lose sleep over it if they do.

Damselfish:

I don't know about the Philippines in general (our trip there was prepaid but it was with a dive shop.) But it's pretty common at resorts in many places,..

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Maybe it's a thing done with tourists coming from overseas? Because I've never encountered it here (expat/resident).

DevonDiver:

Maybe it's a thing done with tourists coming from overseas? Because I've never encountered it here (expat/resident).

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sure, the sorts of places I'm thinking of, probably 99% of their guests are tourists from overseas.