Keeping one's guard up... (not!)
Feb. 28th, 2005 05:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpI got a call Friday reminding me to submit my expense report for the Kazakhstan gig, so this afternoon, I did the expense report thing and noticed - I believe not for the first time - that the prices charged by the hotel get zapped with a 16.67% surcharge that is not immediately obvious to the casual observer.
The hotel, you see, uses an exchange rate of 32.35 rubles per dollar, which is applied to hotel prices that are officially quoted in "currency units," but in effect are dollars. So a US$240 room ends up costing 7716 rubles (before the 18% VAT charge, also in "currency units").
When converting this back to dollars, American Express used a number that was a lot closer to the one published by the Central Bank of Russia: 27.54 rubles per dollar.
Suddenly, that hotel room shows up as a $280.17 charge on the American Express bill.
I sure am glad I'm being reimbursed for the room, as having to pay $16.35 for the martini I had in the lobby bar is quite enough, thanks.
Cheers...
The hotel, you see, uses an exchange rate of 32.35 rubles per dollar, which is applied to hotel prices that are officially quoted in "currency units," but in effect are dollars. So a US$240 room ends up costing 7716 rubles (before the 18% VAT charge, also in "currency units").
When converting this back to dollars, American Express used a number that was a lot closer to the one published by the Central Bank of Russia: 27.54 rubles per dollar.
Suddenly, that hotel room shows up as a $280.17 charge on the American Express bill.
I sure am glad I'm being reimbursed for the room, as having to pay $16.35 for the martini I had in the lobby bar is quite enough, thanks.
Cheers...
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-01 02:24 am (UTC)This is yet another form of charging scam: showing prices without VAT and use voluntary "unit" exchange rate, making you believe you'd pay less...
no subject
Date: 2005-03-01 03:10 pm (UTC)the martini or the room.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-01 10:03 pm (UTC)The martini was on my own nickel, of course.
Just one of the things you have to be aware of when you travel (though outside of Russia, this should not be a problem; if you buy a room in London, the price charged will be in pounds sterling, which will be directly converted into dollars by a credit card company like American Express).
Cheers...