Reportedly Marriott’s Aloft Playa Del Carmen is running a foreign currency conversion scam on guests. They charge all room rates in local currency, and make up an inflated rate to charge that amounts to increasing everyone’s room rate by 15% over what they booked. I recall seeing this at other properties, and over time reported at other Marriott hotels in Mexico.
When you search on the app with currency set to “hotel currency” it presents in USD. I switched to MXN because I have a no FX credit card and it’s usually cheaper to use the local currency and have Amex convert in the back end.
However, you cannot do this; it will show the rate booked in USD, with the MXN total quoted “as reference”. The exchange rate on this reference of 16.87 USD/MXN.
At check-in, the hotel says they cannot process payment in USD, it must be in MXN. Which is rather curious, since they don’t allow you to book in MXN, and require you to book in USD (I’m not American, so it’s not a geolocation thing).
Checking in after a long travel day with a baby, I didn’t look too closely until I got my folio at checkout. They charge an insane exchange rate markup of 16% at $19.29. For reference, Banco Mexico’s FX rate that day was $16.71.
Here’s what appears to be going on:
- You make a reservation for the hotel in U.S. dollars
- You are charged in Mexican pesos. Being charged the local currency equivalent is not unusual.
- But they mark up the conversion.
- They actually show you an accurate currency conversion when you’re booking, saying it’s for “reference.”
- But they charge you about 15% more
- They actually show you an accurate currency conversion when you’re booking, saying it’s for “reference.”
What they are doing is effectively charging you a 15% higher room rate than what you’ve booked and they’ve hidden it in the currency conversion.
You could dispute this with your credit card, as you are being charged a higher price than what you agreed to, but I suspect it will be too confusing for front line reviewers to follow.
The conversion from dollars to pesos and back will be just convoluted enough that this may not be a simple dispute. And the hotel will argue that the ‘reference’ conversion isn’t a commitment or binding, even though it is deceptive – to disclose a reasonable conversion rate and not disclose the (unreasonable) one that they’re using.
And good luck pursuing this through Mexican authorities. Your primary means of redress will be Marriott, but Marriott’s front line customer service will likely get you nowhere.
It is, however, ripe for a class action lawsuit in the U.S. over fraudulent misrepresentation of the cost of a room. It might also be worth complaining to the states of Pennsylvania and Texas where Marriott has agreed to display accurate, full pricing at first instance through its booking channels (resort fee settlements).
This scam is commonplace. They occur stateside, too. My New York City apartment runs a scam where I’m forced to pay $1,000 every December in tips to building staff. And they only accept cash. This is practically universal to NYC residential buildings with the exception being some places will take Venmo.
Just checked out of The Westin in Cancun. My reservation was booked with a variable date in US dollars. Booking confirmation showed rates like $250. At check-out they charged me in pesos. I just checked the currency conversion. Every rate charged by the hotel in pesos converts to $5-$7 HIGHER than it should be. 5,041.55 pesos or $302.31 when the rate should have been $295. $250 became a rate of 4,272.50 pesos or $256.16. Not as egregious as 15% but still an issue. Why can’t a US hotel brand charge in US dollars at the rate specified?
Mexico is a scammers paradise. Consider Vallarta Gardens in Cancun, Mexico. Which seems to be a resort that exists just to run scam sales timeshare and vacation operations.
https://brothke.medium.com/18-tips-on-how-not-to-get-scammed-when-your-phone-rings-6094e1f54427?sk=8a71bfa2bea3856e120a14d0879a793f
Gary, any suggestions for people who live in the 48 states where Marriott has not signed an agreement yet? Small claims court?
This actually sounds like a reason to book foreign properties through an OTA and pre-pay.
Wow, the 3% Barclay’s scam in the UK used to piss me off. So this is 5x that.
Marriott in Russia did this – everything while you stayed there was on a “points” system so a glass of fresh orange juice was 8 points and then they made their own in house conversion that was terrible
I eventually stayed at Holiday Inns instead
This is a common rip off at all resorts and restaurants in Mexico.
Pay cash in MXN
Coincidental that I would read this today. I was actually thinking about seeing if any class action lawyers would take on CVS.
The last few times I checked out at the pharmacy counter, I tried to put in my phone number for rewards and the cashier said it was already in there and pushed the transaction before I could enter my number. Then when the receipt printed there were no rewards printed. I knew I had $6 in rewards. Both times I insisted the cashier void the purchase and then redo it and and let me enter my number. Both times then the rewards printed. This is a scam also. I know my number is in there because *they read it to me* but unless you type in your number it is not issuing rewards.
Then today, the credit card reader *would not* let me check out without agreeing to receive phone calls or texts which they said *could include marketing messages,* not just texts when I have a refill ready! There was NO option to decline phone calls or texts! Kind of like the post Gary did in AUS about the checkout machine that would not accept ‘No Tip’ as an option.
I just stood there and looked at the cashier and said I don’t agree while customers were stacking up behind me. She kept telling me to press ‘agree to texts’ and she would take it off my account, but I just stood there. Finally she pressed it for me and said moved to the next computer and took it off while I was paying.
I did get my rewards on the second try and she said she opted me out of the texts, but whoever set up this system should be fired. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time but I should have taken video. CVS and Marriott should be ashamed of themselves. They are big, wealthy companies and it is sickening to see them using deceptive practices like these. I realize the hotel in question is probably a franchise but Marriott HQ has to know this is happening.
It’s not just a temporary glitch as it has happened multiple times. Gary, if it happens again I will try to get pics or a video if you are interested in doing a post.
Strange. When I travel, I book in local currency and pay ONLY in local currency.
My CC company gets a good exchange rate. If they ask for USD, I only allow if I check my own exchange rate first. A few pennies, okay. More than that. Nope
Paul – this is not a dynamic currency conversion issue (where they ask if you want to pay in their local currency or your local currency, with the latter having a decent markup), but rather that you can only make a reservation in USD on Marriott.com, then in person the hotel insists on charging in pesos but at a 15% markup to the current conversion rate with zero way to have the reserved price charged.
Just Me,
Yes, you are right to be perturbed by the schemes perpetuated by CVS Awards programs. Most retailer loyalty programs are just information-harvesting machines, with a light veneer of rewards to incent you to participate. However, no one here is particularly interested in their abuses, because 1) They are like all the others and 2) you cannot turn the points into airline miles and this is a travel blog.
Speaking of fraud schemes and Mexico, though, I felt seriously ripped off by Hertz this month in Cancun (anyone also notice a geographic focus on one particular area of Mexico where scams seem to be rife?!). We booked a good rate in advance, about $30/day, and booked the AMEX car insurance for the trip as well. But the Hertz rental agency refused to give us a car unless we paid supplementary Mexico insurance of ~$50/day. Actually, this was the basic coverage rate- they had 3 tiers 1) $20 a day for no coverage, 2) $50 a day for crappy coverage, where we were responsible for 10% of the cost of any claims, and 3) $70 a day for decent normal car company insurance. Tripled the cost of our car rental for the week, but after shopping around, there were no good alternatives.
Just had this issue today at Courtyard in Merida, Yucatan. They did the same thing. Converted my rate at their words “the national rate” of 18.8 when it’s 16.7. Charged me $50 more than what it should be. This happens a lot to me at Westin Cozumel. I was told by Westin the only way to get it for that price is to pay USD in cash. You have to pay at check in as they can’t reverse the transaction.
Just checked the Marriott site, and while it allows you to pick both MXN and “local currency”, the final booking is always in local currency. And for the Aloft (and, I would note about 30% of the hotels in the Playa Del Carmen area- beware!), the “local” currency is USD. So the OP was right, no way to book a pay at the hotel rate in any currency but dollars.
Another commentor mentioned booking through a 3rd party site; if you are unwilling to do that, but have to stay at one of these US currency Marriott hotels, you could also book a pre-paid rate which would be in dollars and settled in dollars.
Vacation in the 3rd world, deal with 3rd world problems
Possibly a VPN could get different results. Set it up so it looks like you are not in the USA. In general, I pay in the local currency. Having the hotel do the conversion will always result in an unfavorable conversion rate. If you ask them to change money you will also get an unfavorable rate.
Similarly I purchased sumo tickets thru a Tokyo broker. The only payment option was PayPal. The purchase was in yen, and the card I used charged no fx. Inexplicably, PayPal charged ~ a 6% fee. I filed a complaint and an appeal as well as requesting a breakdown of their fees. Only response was the charges are correct. Last response told me to mail a letter if I wanted to see the documentation of how the “dispute” was resolved. Sent it and now waiting to hear back, but expecting nothing of value. Also emailed the CEO pointing out this is a crappy way to do business and promising to share my experience.
Now fulfilling my promise.
Punch line, don’t ever make non USD purchases with PayPal if you have any alternative.
Here’s another one to be aware of: at a gas station outside of Cancun I paid for my gas with a credit card, and they somehow made two simultaneous charges. One a legitimate charge for the actual cost of the gas, and a second one for hundreds of dollars that was just pure theft. Lesson learned, I will always pay for gas in cash going forward.
Bonvoy!
Points are best way to avoid headaches of foreign currency and avoid resort fees
Let me clarify this for you, Gary.
Hotels in Cancun and Riviera Maya primarily serve American guests, which is why their prices are quoted in US Dollars on virtually every platform. However, due to local regulations, the payment must actually be made in Mexican Pesos (the hotels are in Mexico, after all). This requirement effectively turns hotels into a de facto currency exchange house, as they need to convert their advertised US Dollar rates into Mexican Pesos at the time of payment.
To protect themselves against the risk of currency value changes, hotels add a markup to the daily official exchange rate provided by the Mexican Central Bank. This adjusted rate, which includes the markup, must be visibly displayed at the hotel’s front desk. It’s important to note, though, that a markup of 15% is unquestionably high.
Some luxury hotels have recently streamlined this process. They handle the currency conversion internally, allowing guests to effectively pay in US Dollars at checkout. The rate used is the one displayed at the front desk, with a more reasonable markup between 3% to 5%. This arrangement is beneficial for both the hotel and the guest. The hotel manages the risk of currency fluctuations, potentially making a small profit or a loss on any given day. Guests, on the other hand, benefit because they avoid the even higher exchange rates and foreign currency conversion fees charged by their credit card providers. As a result, the impact of the hotel’s markup is minimal, if not completely negligible.
I hope this makes things clearer.
@Rafael Espeja “to protect themselves” they charge guests 15% more than the rate guests reserve, that’s dirty pool.
If they want a higher room rate, quote it. Otherwise charge the price that guests reserve.
While during checkout at the JW Marriot in Bogata recently, and paying with Marriot gift cards, I noticed about a 15% currency difference. I showed the cashier the rate and did the math. They told me Marriot sets their own exchange rate! It is fixed and does not flucuate daily like the currency. What, who does that? It ended up being almost $200 more. Felt like fraud. After went to Cartegena and stayed with Hyatt with points. No hidden charges with Hyatt on points. Not liking Marriot so much anymore.
I had this happen here, the aloft in Tulum and Hotel La Semilla in Playa del Carmen (member of Design Hotels [i.e., part of Bonvoy too, but independently owned/managed]). However, both alofts allowed me to charge in pesos at the rate equivalent to the advertised USD rate. I believe I had to use my Marriott Amex card (business card, but that’s irrelevant). I don’t remember, maybe they charged me in dollars as advertised and it was my Marriott Visa card.
Point is, asking for my options allowed me avoid the scam.
It was not irregular to encounter a variety of scams at the Residence Inn Playa del Carmen too.
Just spent 5 months in PV and only noticed at the end of trip that price I agreed to pay in MX was higher by 10-15% in several transactions. These were relatively small purchases so had the overcharge immediately credited back. They only amounted to $10 but how many others did I miss? This pisses me right TF off. Wish the government would crack down on this sh*t.
Yes, to protect themselves from sudden and unexpected currency exchange swings for the following 48 hours after payment until the funds are settled. Having said that, of course a 15% markup is overprotection, or just plain dirty pool if you will.
Adjusting the rate won’t do it either because you got that markup in your entire folio (room, F&B, etc.) not just the rate. For that specific hotel you stayed in, this markup is probably considered an additional income stream. Just like the Resort Fees are for Las Vegas hotels.
My suggestion would be to confirm with the front desk what exchange rate is being applied and compare it with the published one from the Mexican Central Bank. If you find the markup unacceptable, perhaps you could challenge it, just like you can with the Resort Fees in Las Vegas. Or stay at hotels that are not excessively marking up, of which there are plenty.
This almost happened to me at the HARD ROCK in Punta Cana back in Dec 2022. I didn’t fall for it and changed my currency of payment.
@ Gary. “After went to Cartegena and stayed with Hyatt with points. No hidden charges with Hyatt on points. Not liking Marriot so much anymore.” These types of comments need to be censored. Your followers will screw up the Hyatt program just as they have done to all the frequent flier points programs.