How did you pay for your Lembeh resort?

Hi all. I'm heading to Indonesia next May and am in the finalization of paying for the resort and they are asking  for me to pay with an app called "wise" which I'm not familiar with, wire transfer or credit card option. They said that there are fees for all choices, but they didn't say what. This wasn't the case when I was there in 2017. It was an easy credit card transaction and I don't remember any fees because most credit cards don't charge for foreign transactions. Because of all the fraud that you read about these days I don't like the wire transfer or the Wise app and am concerned about what the fees are going to look like for credit card. So for those of you who have been out there lately, what was your experience? were your fees really high? maybe its just the resort I'm talking to? everyone is looking to take a little more from us these days. TIA

28 minutes ago, toque said:

Hi all. I'm heading to Indonesia next May and am in the finalization of paying for the resort and they are asking  for me to pay with an app called "wise" which I'm not familiar with, wire transfer or credit card option. They said that there are fees for all choices, but they didn't say what. This wasn't the case when I was there in 2017. It was an easy credit card transaction and I don't remember any fees because most credit cards don't charge for foreign transactions. Because of all the fraud that you read about these days I don't like the wire transfer or the Wise app and am concerned about what the fees are going to look like for credit card. So for those of you who have been out there lately, what was your experience? were your fees really high? maybe its just the resort I'm talking to? everyone is looking to take a little more from us these days. TIA

Wise will pay directly from your bank account to their bank account. It will apply a negotiated exchange rate that will beat the credit card significantly

In addition as credit cards add fees they may ask you to pay an additional X% of fees yourself.

Ultimately is a consideration of cash flow vs risk. First I would not pay the entire amount one year in advance anyway.

On the other hand if you pay by credit card and the resort is no longer there you are dead in the water regardless of how you paid for it.

I paid through wise my last trip to Malpelo 20% at booking and then other two 40% installments. There are only two boats going there and there was no other choice so I took the risk

Hi, I pay the resort in Anilao or Lembeh, part when I arrive, remainder when I depart, no deposit in advance.  Usually I carry cash, in dollars which they love as they can exchange them locally at a nice profit.
A VISA card also works. 
Advance payment is nice for the resort as they have your money whether you show or not.  If unable to travel, too bad, if one is lucky the resort may refund part of the money.

@toque

I've used Wise both for deposit payments in Indonesia and Africa.

There are a number of resorts (& liveaboards) that require full payment (or close to full payment) before arrival. In some very remote destinations it's almost more of a necessity because taking payment onsight is difficult. Most liveaboards require full payment before arrival.

I prefer not to use a direct wire transfer (Wise is actually a financial intermediary that enables the equivalent of wire transfers), and there are a number of destinations where my credit card company will decline the transaction if it's initiated remotely to a company in that destination, so Wise is the best (and in some cases, only) option. As an aside, our Credit Union now uses Wise exclusively for wire transfers.

When I went to Lembeh, the resort I used only required proof of air fares to hold and you can pay by credit card when you leave.  They had a discount option to pay some amount up front as I recall.  Many businesses will charge you the 1.5% or similar that the credit card company shaves off the payment to the merchant.  This is particularly prevalent in Asia, but it does occur in many countries where it is allowed by law.

Overseas wire transfers through your bank can be problematic, your bank will charge a fee and a % fee as well and sometimes but not always it will go through an intermediary bank who shaves a fee off the payment so the full amount won't arrive.  The banks claim they can't advise such charges in advance.

Research your card for what fees they charge,  For example the credit card I use in Australia will charge 3% as a foreign exchange fee on top of the buy/sell split on exchange rates.  I got a Citi debit card specifically for use overseas, they use the same exchange rates but don't add a 3% fee.  Still doesn't avoid the fees the merchant may charge. 

I agree I would be reluctant to pay in full a year in advance.

I've been using WISE recently for foreign exchange and foreign payments including to buy an apartment. It's an online system with an optional cash card which you can charge up in the currency to which you are travelling. 

I find their exchange rates pretty good (on a par with XE.com and certainly way better than UK banks) and their fees are minimal. 

So far,  so good!

As mentioned by earlier posters: Wise (previously Transferwise) is nothing else but sort of an intermediary allowing for a cheaper bank transfers i.e. if I want to send a different currency transfer directly from my bank, it will cost me an arm and a leg. So this is where Wise comes in - you send them the money in your local currency to their bank account in your localization , they pay out in "destination" local currency from their "destination" local bank account to whoever is your recipient. Yes there are fees (its a business after all) but generally lower than banks and with a pretty good exchange rate.

I have been using them for years around Europe (not everybody uses Euro), for some occasional US payments, as well as to pay in Indonesia as well - while most  resorts will accept credit card (albeit with a 3-5% charge) and some even have accounts in Euro in European bank, some (most notably Scuba Junkies for example, did it with them multiple times, never a single issue not even with almost 2 year delayed booking due to Corona) want a bank transfer in local currency. That said, I usually paid some deposit in advance and rest while there, towards the end of my stay (transfer is rather fast, often 24h max). So no, its not weird, and some resorts do require bank transfers and they only advise Wise because in most cases this is easier and cheaper than sending a bank transfer from your bank.

Never had any  issues but remember it is a bank transfer in effect - it is NOT reversible by any means. So all will depend on how reputable is the resort/boat etc you are booking in this case.

EDIT: As I had this feeling at the back of my head I had looked through my old emails - I have also paid like this in Lembeh. Stayed at Froggies (they were one of a few actually locally owned places (and not by foreigners), though resort managers were Spanish if i remember correctly - no clue who owns them now, seems they are now marketed under Bastianos name; had an absolute blast there at the time though!) and they asked for an upfront deposit of about 1,500,000 IDR per person, then rest was settled at the resort during checkout (credit card was fine if my memory serves me well)

Thank you all. I don't feel like the resort would be the issue, its Lembeh Resort and they've been around awhile. I was more worried about a problem during the transfer of money or maybe this not really being the resort I'm working with. I normally prefer to use a credit card because if there is a problem The credit card will step in and cover the losses most of the time. Also the charging of fees, other than foreign exchange fee is new to me. That didn't happen the last time I was there and My credit card doesn't charge a exchange fee. I guess because I never heard of Wise before I was worried, but it looks like its reputable, just not that popular in the US.  The resort has requested a 20% deposit which isn't a problem, but interesting they haven't outlined how the remainder is needed to be paid. I'm use to having a payment schedule of some sort where there are payment % on specific dates. Hoping they will address this. 

3 hours ago, toque said:

Thank you all. I don't feel like the resort would be the issue, its Lembeh Resort and they've been around awhile. I was more worried about a problem during the transfer of money or maybe this not really being the resort I'm working with. I normally prefer to use a credit card because if there is a problem The credit card will step in and cover the losses most of the time. Also the charging of fees, other than foreign exchange fee is new to me. That didn't happen the last time I was there and My credit card doesn't charge a exchange fee. I guess because I never heard of Wise before I was worried, but it looks like its reputable, just not that popular in the US.  The resort has requested a 20% deposit which isn't a problem, but interesting they haven't outlined how the remainder is needed to be paid. I'm use to having a payment schedule of some sort where there are payment % on specific dates. Hoping they will address this. 

 

Never stayed there so cannot comment, but best email them and clear any questions i.e. how/when the rest is to be settled.
My guess is they want deposit as bank transfer since that is non reversible in any way, so they avoid folks trying to pull chargeback or something. While rest most likely can be paid via cc on check out. Either way, best ask, they claim to be "top" in Lembeh so surely can answer such questions.

Most  places in Indo/Philly charge you few% extra to cover their credit card processing fees, at least so they claim.
=> example from Papua Diving in Raja T&Cs,  just as it came on top of my search about fees -

"EXTRA CHARGES AT THE RESORT: We accept payments by credit/debit card (+3%processing fee) or by cash in Euros")

https://papua-diving.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TermsConditions-PD.pdf

Seems on occasion these can be high in such countries, though ofc might be some small "profit" hidden there. As to why Lembeh started charging fees while did not before, well that we can only speculate about. Could be new fees, could be they ate those fees before, could be profit. Dunno.