The Canadian Family Who Couldn't Pay Me, and What It Taught Me About Taking Money From Guests Abroad
A family from Montreal booked our Cape Cod house and then couldn't pay through the app I always use. Here's how they ended up paying, what it cost them, and what I'd do differently.
International guests often can't use US-only apps like Venmo, so they fall back on mailing bank drafts, which is slow and costs them bank fees plus postage. Taking their credit card usually costs the guest about the same, roughly 2.9%, but skips the days of waiting and the back-and-forth emails to confirm the money arrived.
- Venmo only works within the United States, so a guest outside it is stuck before they start.
- Mailing bank drafts works, but it's slow and costs the guest bank fees plus postage, one time about $30 just for rush shipping.
- PayPal crosses borders but often stalls on the guest's end, and you're the one who hears about it.
- Taking a credit card would have cost my guest about the same, roughly 2.9%, and saved us the hours we spent mailing and emailing.
- Booking platforms add about 14% to the guest's price and take about 3% from you; a card on its own is about 2.9%.
The summer a family from Montreal couldn't pay me
A family from Montreal booked our house in Truro for a week last August. Easy over email, the kind of guest you hope for. Then it came time to pay, and the whole thing stalled.
I offered Venmo. That's what I use with most guests, and it's never a problem. This time it was. Venmo only works within the United States, so they couldn't send me anything through it.
So they did it the old way. They mailed me bank drafts through Canada Post. $500 first to hold the dates, then the balance later. Each draft cost them a bank fee plus postage. One of them ran about $30 just for rush shipping. Each one took a few days to reach me by mail. And each one meant a string of emails back and forth, them telling me a draft was on the way, me telling them when it showed up.
We spent hours on that. Not on the house, not on their trip. On figuring out how to move money from their bank to mine.
How does an international guest actually try to pay you?
Most of the time you reach for whatever you already use. For me that's Venmo. It's free, it's fast, and everyone I book with in the States already has it. The trouble starts the moment a guest is outside the country, because that app is US-only and there's nothing either of you can do about it from your side.
What's left is a short list, and each option costs the guest something different.
| Method | Works for a Canadian guest? | Cost to the guest | How long it takes | Who chases it down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo | No, US only | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Mailed bank draft | Yes | Bank fee plus postage; one rush shipment ran about $30 | A few days by mail | You, over email, confirming each one arrived |
| PayPal | Sometimes | Currency conversion and fees on their end | Can be held for review | You, when it doesn't go through |
| Credit card | Yes | About 2.9% | Clears right away | Nobody, it just clears |
What about PayPal?
PayPal does cross borders, but for the guest it is rarely simple. They may need an account they do not have. Or they hit currency conversion and fees on their end. Or the transfer gets held for review. None of that is your problem to fix, and all of it lands on you anyway, because you are the one they email when it does not go through.
That last part is the catch. You don't see the failed transfer. You see the message that says "I tried to send it, is there another way?" And now you're troubleshooting a payment system you don't control, for money you haven't received, days before the deposit was due.
What did mailing a bank draft actually involve?
- Buy the draftTheir bank charged a fee for each one
- Mail itCanada Post; one rush shipment ran about $30
- WaitA few days for it to reach me on the Cape
- Confirm by emailBack and forth until we both knew it had arrived
- Do it again for the balanceSame fee, same postage, same waiting
What would it have cost to just take their card?
If I could have taken their credit card, the fee would have landed at about 2.9% plus about $0.30 per charge. On the $500 deposit, that's roughly $14.50. Set that next to the drafts: a bank fee on each one, postage, and $30 the time we needed it fast. It's close to the same money out of their pocket.
The difference isn't the fee. It's the hours we spent mailing drafts and emailing back and forth to figure out how to move the money.
The $500 deposit, two ways. By card: about 2.9% plus $0.30, so roughly $14.80, and it clears the same day. By draft: a bank fee, postage, and about $30 the time we paid for rush shipping, plus a few days in the mail and the emails to confirm it arrived. Similar cost to the guest. Very different afternoon for me.
Wouldn't a booking platform have handled this?
A platform would have taken their card, yes. But platforms add about 14% to what the guest pays, and they take about 3% from you on top. So the guest pays more than they otherwise would, and I net less. Card processing on its own is about 2.9%. Downwind is a flat $20 a month and takes no cut of the booking.
For the guest, a card is a card either way. The real question is who else is taking a piece.
They wanted to give me money for a week at my house, and the hardest part of the whole booking was figuring out how to let them.
Frequently asked questions
Can international guests use Venmo?
No. Venmo only works within the United States, so a guest outside it can't send you money through it. That's exactly what stopped my Montreal family.
How did the Canadian family end up paying?
They mailed bank drafts through Canada Post, $500 to hold the dates and the balance later. Each cost them a bank fee plus postage, and one rush shipment ran about $30.
Is PayPal a good option for overseas guests?
It crosses borders, but it's often not simple for the guest. They may need an account they don't have, hit currency conversion and fees, or have the transfer held for review. You're the one they email when it stalls.
Does taking a credit card cost the guest more than mailing a draft?
In my case it would have cost about the same, roughly 2.9% on the amount. The savings was time, not money: no waiting on the mail and no emails to confirm each payment arrived.
Do I need a booking platform to accept international cards?
No. Platforms add about 14% to the guest's price and take about 3% from you. You can take a card directly at about 2.9%, or use a flat tool like Downwind at $20 a month with no cut of the booking.
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