Paying Half From the Arrivals Hall

A layover booking at an airport hotel always carries a deposit. The reason is simple: the therapist is travelling out to the airport, the journey is agreed in advance, and the hour is held against everything else she might do. Half the fee goes ahead, and the other half is paid when she arrives. On a layover the first half is usually paid somewhere between the arrivals hall and the hotel lobby, on a phone, with a suitcase at your feet. A little preparation makes it quick.

How much

Half of the figure in the chosen therapist's profile for the length you want. EUR 90 on an hour at EUR 180. EUR 135 on ninety minutes at EUR 270. EUR 180 on two hours at EUR 360. EUR 270 on three hours at EUR 540. For a couple with one therapist, an hour is EUR 360 and the deposit EUR 180. For an overnight with one therapist, the figure is EUR 1,250 and the deposit EUR 625. The amount is written in the thread once the hour is agreed.

How it is paid

Card first, with Revolut, Wise or cryptocurrency available for anyone who would rather use them. Neither PayPal nor a bank transfer is an option here. Notes and coins are no use for this half either: it has to arrive before she sets off, and cash is only ever handed over once she is in the room. The destination for the payment is written in the thread, and only there.

What to have ready

A card that works abroad and is not blocked for foreign transactions. Many travellers find their bank flags the first payment in a new country, so it is worth having a second card or a Revolut or Wise account as a backup. A phone with enough charge and a working connection; the airport's free wifi is usually sufficient, and a mobile connection is more private. A few minutes of attention, which after a long flight can be surprisingly scarce.

When

After the hour is agreed, not before. On a layover that usually means after you are through border control and on your way to the hotel, because until then the hour is only pencilled. Paying from the arrivals hall is common. Paying from the hotel lobby while waiting for the lift is just as common. Once the payment has cleared, the thread confirms the booking, and she sets out.

What happens to it

The deposit is the first half of the fee, not a separate security. If the session goes ahead, the balance is paid when she arrives and the matter ends there. If you need to cancel, what is kept depends on the notice you give, and it is set out on the cancellation policy page. More than twenty-four hours before the booked time, the whole deposit comes back. Inside the final day, before she has left, half of it is kept. Once she is on her way, the whole of it is kept, unless the hour is taken by another client, in which case it is repaid in full.

The balance

The balance is paid in the room when she arrives, at the start of the session, so that nothing about money is left for the end when your mind will be on the flight. Cash in euros, or in another major currency at a sum confirmed in writing before she sets out, or by card. A traveller with only dollars or pounds in their wallet does not need to find an exchange desk in the terminal.

If the card is declined

It happens more often than it should, usually because a bank sees an unfamiliar payment from an unfamiliar country and stops it. Do not try the same card five times in a row, which tends to make the bank more suspicious rather than less. Use the second card, or the Revolut or Wise account, or write in the thread that the first route failed and ask about cryptocurrency. The hour stays held for a reasonable time while the payment is sorted out, but she does not set out until it arrives, so a declined card on a tight layover costs real minutes. Checking with your bank before you travel, or using a travel card, avoids the problem entirely.

A first booking, too

A first booking with the house also carries a deposit, whatever the address. On a layover the two rules coincide, so a first-time layover guest pays half ahead once, not twice. The guide to a first layover booking walks through the whole sequence, and the booking page sets out the order of messages.