A traveler was hit with a 4.5% currency conversion fee at a European hotel despite explicitly selecting to pay in euros — and the hotel's response reveals a scam pattern that international visitors need to watch for.
The incident, reported on r/travel, highlights a growing problem with dynamic currency conversion (DCC) fraud at hotels across Europe, where payment terminals are allegedly "malfunctioning" in ways that consistently benefit the hotel at guests' expense.
How the Scam Worked
The traveler selected euros as their payment currency at checkout. But the hotel's payment terminal processed the transaction in U.S. dollars instead, automatically adding a 4.5% conversion markup.
"When I asked them about it they said it was a new machine and having issues," the traveler explained.
When they requested the transaction be canceled and reprocessed correctly, the hotel manager refused. Instead, the receptionist "typed in the amount of euros for the stay and processed the refund of that amount and charged me again but this time correctly in euros."
The problem: the 4.5% markup was never refunded.
"I said what about the markup that wasn't refunded and they pretended to not know what it was," the traveler wrote. "They also refused to provide a copy of the receipt showing the markup."
This Isn't a 'Glitch' — It's a Pattern
Dynamic currency conversion allows merchants to offer customers the option to pay in their home currency rather than the local currency. In theory, this provides transparency. In practice, it's often used to disguise expensive conversion rates.
The markups — typically 3-7% above actual exchange rates — generate revenue for payment processors and merchants who participate in DCC programs.
What makes this case particularly egregious: the traveler . They selected euros. The hotel processed it in dollars anyway, then claimed it was a technical error.
