Paying in Dollars, Pounds or Francs on a First Night

Visitors arrive in Amsterdam with all sorts of money. A wallet of dollars left over from the last trip, a few pounds, Swiss francs from a ski trip, and a card that works everywhere but has never been tested on a Dutch terminal. The first evening is not the moment anyone wants to go looking for a cash machine. The good news is that a session does not require one.

Two halves, paid two ways

On a first booking, the fee is split in two. The first half, the deposit, is paid before she sets out. The second half, the balance, is paid at the door when she arrives. The two halves are paid differently, and it helps to see why.

The deposit is settled from a distance, so it has to be something that can travel: a card, Revolut, Wise or cryptocurrency. Card is the usual choice for visitors, and any card that works for online purchases at home works here. For this site, PayPal and bank transfer are simply off the list. Cash cannot be a deposit, simply because it cannot be paid before anyone has met.

The balance is paid in the room, so cash works perfectly well, and it does not need to be euros.

Cash in another major currency

A balance paid in cash in another major currency is welcome. Dollars, pounds, Swiss francs and the other widely held currencies are all fine. The one thing that matters is that the figure is agreed in advance. Before she sets out, the exact amount in your currency is confirmed to you in writing in the booking thread, so there is no arithmetic at the door and no discussion of rates while she is standing in the corridor.

Take ninety minutes at EUR 270 as an example. The deposit is EUR 135, paid by card when the hour is agreed. The balance is EUR 135, and if you would rather pay it in pounds or dollars, the thread tells you exactly how much before she leaves. You count it out, put it in an envelope, and the matter is settled.

Every figure in euro

Every price on the site is a euro price, and the euro figure is what the booking costs. The rates are the same wherever you stay: EUR 180 for one hour, EUR 270 for ninety minutes, EUR 360 for two hours, EUR 540 for three, and EUR 1,250 for an overnight of eight hours. All of them include all taxes. There is no travel charge, no evening supplement and no extra for a hotel near the airport.

Card terminals and foreign cards

Visitors from some countries worry that their card will be declined. For the deposit, the payment is made online, the same way you would book a hotel or a train ticket, and the usual card networks work. If your bank asks you to verify the payment on your phone, approve it; if the payment fails, try again or use one of the other methods. The thread will tell you if anything did not arrive.

Getting euros anyway

If you would like euros in your pocket for the rest of the trip, there are cash machines in the arrivals hall and at Centraal station, and many shops and restaurants in the city accept cards only, so you may need less cash than you think. For the session itself, though, there is no need to change money first.

Having it ready

Whatever currency you pay the balance in, count it before she arrives and put it where you can reach it without opening a suitcase. It is paid at the door, at the start, so that money does not come up again. Keep the passport next to it, since she may ask to see a photo document to confirm that everyone present is twenty-one or over.

If plans change

A deposit paid by card comes back the same way if you cancel with more than twenty-four hours' notice. Inside the last twenty-four hours, before she has set out, half is kept and half returns. Once she is on her way it is kept, unless another client takes the hour. The booking terms page sets out the full scale with examples.

In short

A card, a phone and whatever cash you happen to be carrying are enough. The deposit goes ahead by card or one of the listed methods, the balance is paid at the door in euros or another major currency, and the exact figure is in writing before anyone travels.