All my Italy hotels want CASH/euros...

I'm staying at several small apt. and B&B's while in Venice and Florence. They all seem to want cash/euros on site. Is this customary -- they really don't take credit cards? I'm really not thrilled at the idea of having to find 100's of euros for each place and carrying them around with me. I do have a money belt. Any other suggestions?

I know Euro/$ conversions are better in Europe; so I don't want to buy a bunch and bring along. I guess I will have to deposit cash into our savings account unless someone has a better idea?

I did most of our booking thru Booking.com -- could this be the problem?

All cash rates are certainly not uncommon in small businesses. You are probably getting a reduced price on a cash only booking.

In my experience, most owner-rented apartments and many B&Bs in Italy want cash. It's not out of the norm.

There's been a lot of debate about apartments rented and whether or not they are "legal". It may be another reason (besides not wanting to deal with the credit card percentage) that many places will only accept cash.

Yes, they want cash in euros in most places. We had a problem last year when the banks first went on strike and then ran out of cash at the ATMs because of a holiday weekend. The banks in our neighborhood didn't restock cash for almost a week. My recommendation is to draw out lots of cash as soon as you can in case the system breaks down, as it often does.

I did most of our booking thru Booking.com -- could this be the problem?

Some hotels will have a rate that is for credit cards and a lower rate for cash only. Perhaps e-mail the small B&B's and ask what the price would be via credit card?

Next time, perhaps consider AirBnB for apartments. They take charge your credit card at booking which includes a booking fee in addition to the nightly rate. Hosts don't get the money until 24 hours after check-in. "AirBnB does not endorse cash payments" https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/51 Guests have a clear Guest Refund Policy https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/324

My apartment in Florence took Paypal as payment and she was ligit. The owner did everything that was required of her by Italian law.

I rented an apartment in France and she gave me a choice of pay pal or cash and I used pay pal to cover myself and since it was through home away.com, it included a guarantee with a card payment. There was an extra fee for using pay pal as they charge a percentage to the receiver. Ask they may take a card but prefer cash for this reason.

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Many small businesses (and this would include family-run hotels, restaurants and shops) just don't want the hassle of accepting credit cards. I wouldn't be surprised if they tell you that cash is the only option. We have found quite a few hotels that participate in Booking.com or similar services, and accept a credit card to hold the booking, but only want cash at the time of checking out.

I booked a small hotel in Venice via hotels.com and prepaid with credit card

another in Florence pre paid credit card directly on hotel website

both transactions have appeared on latest credit card statement

the printout confirms only extras to be paid on arrival are the local tourist tax

will be able to report on whether any problems in 2 weeks!