Should an Irish hotel charge international guests in euro or offer currency conversion?
A sterling estimate on a booking page is not necessarily the amount a British guest will see on their card statement. Give reception a clear process for explaining a euro bill, an optional conversion and any later refund.
Keep euro payment available. Offer dynamic currency conversion (DCC) only where your payment provider supports it and the guest actively chooses it after seeing the amounts, exchange rate and charges. Paying in euro leaves any conversion to the card issuer; choosing DCC converts the payment at checkout. Neither route is automatically cheapest for every card.
Separate the displayed price from the payment currency
For hotel euro payments in Ireland, distinguish three layers before discussing dynamic currency conversion. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) pricing guidance requires clear euro pricing and consumer totals including Value Added Tax (VAT). A supplementary currency estimate should not obscure the amount actually due.
- Price display: the booking page and hotel bill show the agreed euro total. Label any GBP or USD estimate as indicative unless it is a binding price in that currency.
- Transaction currency: this is the currency actually charged to the card. An EUR charge to a GBP-billed card normally requires conversion by the issuer or card network.
- DCC choice: the payment provider offers a converted amount at payment time. This is separate from the hotel’s settlement currency: a guest paying GBP does not necessarily mean the hotel receives GBP.
Worked example: a €400 bill and a GBP card
Hypothetical training example: a British guest stays two nights in Galway at €180 per night and adds €40 of breakfast charges. The total is 2 × €180 + €40 = €400, including applicable taxes. The guest uses a GBP-billed card. All exchange rates and fees below are invented, not current quotes or RoomRaccoon prices.
| Stage or option | Amount and calculation | Reception check |
|---|---|---|
| Price display | €400 payable. Optional estimate: €400 × £0.8500 per €1 = £340.00. | Label £340.00 as indicative; it excludes any card charges. |
| Pay in EUR; decline DCC | Card transaction: €400. Assume issuer rate £0.8500 and a 2% conversion fee: £340.00 + £6.80 = £346.80. | The hotel charges EUR; the issuer determines the actual GBP amount and fee. |
| Pay in GBP; accept DCC | Assume an offered rate of £0.8800 per €1: €400 × 0.8800 = £352.00, including the DCC markup; no separate DCC fee. | Show €400 and £352.00, the rate and disclosed markup before the guest chooses. |
| Hotel settlement | Assume a euro merchant account and €400 gross settlement under either route, before contracted processing fees. | Verify this arrangement with the provider; record fees separately from the €400 bill. |
The assumed DCC uplift is (£0.8800 ÷ £0.8500 − 1) × 100 = 3.53%, rounded. £352.00 − £346.80 = £5.20 in this example only. The reference rate is invented, not a European Central Bank rate. Assume no additional issuer charge on the GBP transaction; actual card terms may differ.
Suggested wording: “Your hotel bill is €400. You can pay €400 and let your card provider convert it, or choose the displayed DCC offer of £352.00. Please review the rate and charges and select your preferred currency.” Do not press the choice button for the guest.
Check consent, receipts and refunds
Visa’s DCC guidance calls for both currency amounts, the exchange rate and additional fees or markup to be shown on the screen and receipt. Staff must not choose for the cardholder or steer the choice through presentation.
- Before payment, verify the euro balance and any deposit already collected. Present available currencies neutrally and let the guest select.
- After payment, match the successful transaction reference, currency and amount to the hotel bill. Keep the provider’s receipt and choice record; never substitute a typed staff note for the payment record.
- For online payments, test the payment screen too. Elavon’s scheme-compliance guidance covers both in-person and eCommerce DCC disclosures. Terminal availability does not establish online availability.
Handle refunds against the original transaction
Identify whether the guest paid EUR or accepted GBP conversion. Use the provider’s refund workflow and confirm the refund currency, amount, exchange-rate treatment and any retained fees before promising a sterling result. Do not manually convert a euro refund using today’s online rate.
A euro refund can produce a different sterling amount when the issuer converts it. For example, a hypothetical €100 refund at £0.8400 per €1 gives £84.00, versus £85.00 at the original example rate, before fee adjustments. Barclays’ foreign-card guidance illustrates that processing-date rates and refund fees depend on card terms. For DCC refunds, ask your processor whether the original conversion is preserved.
Apply the checks to your RoomRaccoon workflow
RoomRaccoon’s Irish hotel payment processing page describes payment links, in-platform refunds and automated reconciliation. Its property management system (PMS) supports reservation payment visibility and invoicing. These published capabilities do not confirm DCC for your property, payment channel or card.
Bring a euro bill and a foreign-card payment scenario to your demo. Ask which currency choices, receipt fields and refund controls your proposed setup supports, including any additional service or contract requirements.
Book a demo for your propertyQuestions about international guest payments
Does a guest’s nationality determine their card currency?
No. A British guest may hold a euro account or use a multi-currency card. Ask which currency the presented card actually uses; do not infer it from a passport or address. Holding euros elsewhere does not make a separate GBP-billed card spend those euros.
Does declining DCC mean declining the payment?
No. It means choosing the local-currency route. The transaction still needs normal payment authorisation, so declining DCC does not guarantee that the card payment itself will succeed.
Does paying in GBP guarantee there are no bank fees?
No universal promise is possible. Check the guest’s own card terms for foreign-purchase charges and compare the complete DCC quote with the issuer’s conversion terms. Do not describe DCC as fee-free merely because its markup is included in the rate.
Sources and checks
Checked on 13 November 2026. Scheme guidance, Irish price-display guidance, an issuer example and RoomRaccoon product information; example amounts are hypothetical.
- Visa: Dynamic Currency Conversion — disclosure and cardholder choice.
- CCPC: Pricing — euro display and tax-inclusive consumer totals.
- Elavon Ireland: DCC compliance guidance — payment-screen and receipt requirements.
- Barclays: Using your debit card abroad — issuer-specific conversion and fees, not Irish hotel rules.
- RoomRaccoon: Hotel payments processing and hotel PMS — published product workflows.
