Multi-currency pricing for hotels: show local, charge home
Show guests prices in their own currency but say clearly which currency you charge in. Their bank sets the final rate and may add a fee, so label conversions.
Multi-currency pricing lets a hotel show room prices in the guest’s own currency while charging in the hotel’s currency. The converted price helps guests understand the cost. The amount on their card statement can still differ, because their bank converts the charge and may add a fee. Tell guests clearly which currency they will be charged in.
What is multi-currency pricing for hotels?
A hotel in Dubai prices its rooms in UAE dirhams. A guest in London thinks in pounds, a guest in Mumbai in rupees. If the booking page shows only AED, many guests open a currency converter in another tab. Some never come back.
Multi-currency pricing solves this by converting the price into the guest’s currency on screen. There are three common ways to do it, and they differ in one key question: which currency does the guest’s card actually get charged in?
- Display conversion. Prices are shown in the guest’s currency for reference, but the charge is in the hotel’s currency.
- Charging in the guest’s currency. The payment provider charges the guest in their own currency and converts the money to the hotel’s currency before payout.
- Fixed local prices. The hotel sets separate prices per currency and updates them by hand when exchange rates move.
Presentment currency vs settlement currency: what is the difference?
Payment providers use two terms that are worth knowing. Stripe’s documentation defines the presentment currency as the currency of the charge, the one the customer pays in. The settlement currency is the currency your bank account receives.
Stripe explains the consequences on both sides. If the charge currency differs from the currency of the guest’s card, the guest’s bank or card issuer “might charge the customer a foreign exchange fee”. The bank might also charge the guest if the card and the business are in different countries, whatever currency is used. And if the charge currency differs from your settlement currency, the provider converts it before paying you.
| Approach | Guest sees | Guest is charged in | Who converts | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display conversion | Own currency, as an estimate | Hotel’s currency | Guest’s card issuer, at its own rate and fees | Simple and transparent, but the statement amount can differ from the estimate |
| Charge in guest’s currency | Own currency, exact | Guest’s currency | Payment provider, before payout to the hotel | Exact amount for the guest; conversion cost and rate set by the provider |
| Fixed local prices | Own currency, exact | Guest’s currency | Payment provider | Stable prices, but the hotel carries exchange-rate risk and manual work |
Providers price these options differently. As one example, Stripe documents an option called Adaptive Pricing where the customer pays in their local currency. Stripe states it applies a 2 to 4% conversion fee to the exchange rate shown to the customer, which raises the customer’s price by that amount, and the business pays no conversion fee for it. Other providers have their own terms, so always check yours.
How does goDirects handle currency?
goDirects uses display conversion. Guests see converted prices in their own currency, and the charge is made in the hotel’s currency. All totals, including taxes and fees, are calculated on the server in the hotel’s currency first, so the converted figure is always based on the correct total. Learn more on our multi-currency page.
Payments run through providers such as Stripe, Tap, PayTabs, Tamara and Razorpay where they are available in the hotel’s country, plus pay at property. See payments for details.
Worked example: why the statement differs from the screen
Example only. The exchange rate here is chosen for easy maths. It is not a current market rate.
A guest in the UK books a two-night stay at a hotel in the UAE. The total, including taxes and fees, is AED 1,200. The booking page shows the guest a converted price using an example rate of 1 GBP = 4.80 AED.
- Price on screen: AED 1,200 / 4.80 = GBP 250.00 (estimate).
- Charge: the card is charged AED 1,200, the hotel’s currency.
- Conversion by the card issuer: the guest’s bank converts AED 1,200 to pounds at its own rate on the day it processes the charge. If its rate were 1 GBP = 4.75 AED, the converted amount would be AED 1,200 / 4.75 = GBP 252.63.
- Possible bank fee: the issuer may add a foreign transaction fee on top. That depends on the guest’s card terms, not on the hotel.
So the guest saw GBP 250.00 and could see more than GBP 252.63 on their statement. Nothing went wrong, but a guest who was not told may think they were overcharged. Clear wording prevents most of these complaints.
How should hotels disclose exchange rates?
Good disclosure is short and placed where the guest decides. Use plain words near the price and again at checkout:
- Name the charge currency. “You will be charged AED 1,200. Prices in GBP are an estimate.”
- Explain the difference. “Your bank sets the final exchange rate and may charge a foreign transaction fee.”
- Show both figures at checkout. The hotel-currency total should be visible before the guest pays.
- Repeat it in the confirmation email. State the amount charged in the hotel’s currency. goDirects sends booking emails and notifications after each booking.
- Keep rates fresh. Update conversion rates regularly so the estimate stays close to the market.
Some rules apply when a business offers to convert the charge for the guest at the point of sale. In the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/518 requires providers of currency conversion services at the point of sale to express total conversion charges as a percentage mark-up over the latest euro reference rates from the European Central Bank, and to disclose that mark-up before the payment starts. They must also show the amount in both currencies before payment. If you offer a “pay in your own currency” option to guests paying with EU cards, check with your payment provider how it meets this rule.
Currency and metasearch: why accuracy matters
If you send prices to Google Hotels, currency accuracy has a direct effect on your listings. Google’s price accuracy policy says it checks prices in the currency displayed to users, and it recommends updating currency conversions every few hours to avoid mismatches. A stale exchange rate can make your price on Google differ from your booking page.
Read our Google free booking links guide and hotel metasearch explained for more on price accuracy.
What about refunds and cancellations?
Currency affects refunds too. Stripe’s documentation explains that when a converted payment is refunded, the amount is converted at the exchange rate at the time of the refund, which can differ from the rate at the time of payment. Stripe refunds the customer the exact amount they paid, in the currency they paid in, so the amount deducted from the business can be more or less than it originally received.
With display conversion, the guest was charged in the hotel’s currency, so the hotel refunds that same amount. The guest’s bank then converts it back at its own rate, and the guest may receive a slightly different amount in their currency. Say this in your cancellation policy so nobody is surprised.
A short checklist for your team:
- Decide which currency you charge in and write it on every booking page.
- Label converted prices as estimates.
- Show the hotel-currency total at checkout and in the confirmation email.
- Explain in your FAQ that the guest’s bank sets the final rate and fees.
- Check that prices sent to Google use fresh conversion rates.
- Explain how refunds work when currencies differ.
- Train reception to answer “why is my statement different?” calmly and with the booking total in hand.
To see how converted prices and server-calculated totals look on your own booking page, book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
Should a hotel show prices in the guest’s currency?
Showing a converted price helps guests understand the cost without leaving your page. It works best when you clearly say it is an estimate and name the currency the card will be charged in. Many hotels keep charging in their own currency to avoid exchange-rate risk, while displaying the guest’s currency for convenience.
Why was the guest charged a different amount from the price shown?
If the hotel charges in its own currency, the guest’s bank converts the charge at its own rate on the processing day and may add a foreign transaction fee. The converted price on the booking page was an estimate. The amount in the hotel’s currency is the one that was actually charged.
Who pays the currency conversion fee?
It depends on the setup. With display conversion, any fee is between the guest and their card issuer. If the payment provider charges the guest in their own currency, the provider sets the conversion terms, and some pass the cost to the customer through the exchange rate. Check your payment provider’s pricing page.
What is dynamic currency conversion?
It is when a guest is offered the choice to pay in their home currency at the point of sale, with the conversion done by the merchant’s provider rather than the card issuer. In the EU, the provider must disclose the total conversion charge as a mark-up over the ECB euro reference rate before payment.
How often should converted prices be updated?
Regularly. Google’s price accuracy policy recommends updating currency conversions every few hours for prices sent to Google Hotels, because Google checks prices in the currency shown to users. For your own website, use a rate source that updates through the day and label the result as an estimate.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.