Canadian Lodges Charging U.S. Funds Only

[MachZ]

I received an email from an inqurie that I made to a place I stayed at in the early 90's asking them how much per week to stay there now in Canadian Funds as I live in Canada.
They replied back to me stating that they will give me a good deal this fall in Canadian Funds but from there on in I have to pay in US Dollars as they are American Hosts.
Needless to say this really burns me off!!

That last time I checked Canadian Dollars were the only true source of legal tender in Canada. Anyone can take other cash if they wish but the true legal tender is Canadian Dollars in Canada.
Am I expected to pay the service fees and conversion costs just to stay at a place thats residing in Canada?


Whats your take on this issue?

I am just fuming right now and I am ready to contact my MPP and see what can be done because this does not seem right to me.

[blackjack]

You are correct that canadian currency is the only true legal tender in Canada and as such,a camp owner would be wise just to accept it at a current exchange rate. When the owner refuses is where the problem starts. Lots of canadian camps are owned by US people who want to avoid the risk and hassle of currency exchange fluctuations. Getting an employee from the Ministry of Commercial and Consumer affairs to enforce the acceptance of canadian currrency is highly unlikely and bound to be time consuming at the least. The easiest route for you as a customer is to use your credit card to pay and the amount will always show up in candian on your statement.If you want to know what the conversion rate is on any given day you can call the 1-800 number on your credit card or call the issuing bank for their prevailing rate that day. You can also obtain US $ postal orders at any canadian post office.
As always, you, as the customer, can show your displeasure by taking your business elsewhere.

It would be very interesting to hear a camp owners response to this issue.

How about it Pat & Gary ?

[gojetsgo]

Not an uncommon practice by some operators in Canada, be they Cdn resident or US resident owners. Just seems unfair for a fellow Canadian to be expected to pay in non-domestic currency. Easy solution, ask for cdn pricing, if you feel it is unreasonable/unfair, take your business elsewhere.

what a country !

[Reels]

Our Camp is owned by a local born and raised Canadian. He too a few years ago, went to US funds only. Got me frosted a bit, as I like to buy my Canadia funds in the winter and get a good deal. Kinda like a game almost. But, all things considered, small issue. I wont let it hose up my trip. Dont worry, be happy... and have another beer!


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[ex pup.]

I have to agree with machz. This has been debated before on this site. i think its an easy way for lodge owners to pad their bill a little more. i dont know how the government lets them get away with it. They are fussy enough about speaking french in Quebec why let their money get screwed with. I prefer lodges that charge in canadian myself nomatter which way the exchange rate goes.

[New to this]

I have a thought. The lodges could charge the same amout for a Canadian to stay for a week as an American. The difference is Canadians pay in Can funds.

[Gary at Evergreen]

Yes, we use US$ here at camp as do most camps like ours were nearly 100% of clients are American. We even use US$ on most of our credit card transactions to eliminate the usuall explanation about conversion; seems people think in US$ and have a hard time understanding the math.Our rates are set the fall before and we take into account our expences that are in CA$ and work accordingly. This year, with the lower bookings around the industry and the lower exchange, some camps are finding this tight, thats business. The money thing has been debated many times, for us it's a convienience plan and simple. If we have a Canadain guest, we charge a fair amount based on a far exchange rate and let it go. If you are a Canadian booking at a lodge using US funds as a basis, you have the right to except or go elsewhere, it's a matter of choise the same choise the camp owner has in setting rates.

[Stevie B]

MachZ,

I am completely with you on this. I can't stand paying US funds for a lodge in Canada. This is our country. I don't have to pay in US funds when I go buy groceries or fill up my truck. Even though I live about 10mi from the boarder and alot of Americans come and shop in my hometown. Why is it soooo important to always advertise in US funds for these places? People going to these places aren't stupid they can do the math for the exchange rate. Plus I would think that it would be great for business if a lodge owner could give them the price in Can and then when it is time to pay for the bill they can give them a 30 or 40% (or what ever the current exchange rate is) discount if they want to pay in American funds. Please, any Americans reading this take absolutely no offense to this; I am targeting the lodge owners only.

Fish ON!!

[MK]

I believe that its partly a marketing gimmick and partly a reflection on the average American's inability to convert currency.

$800 US sounds a lot cheaper than $1,100 CDN. Plus, if the lodge down the road is advertising $800 (US) vs. $1,100 CDN, the other lodge will probably get more of the first time travellers.

We're not used to converting currency here and if you ask 100 people south of Minnesota what $150 US equals in Canadian funds, odds are only about 50% will get it right, and thats assuming you give them the exchange rate.

It would be frustrating to have to deal with that, but most lodges I've dealt with take either and just convert.

You guys have more patience than we have. If I called a lodge in Minnesota and they said they accepted only Canadian currency, I'd tell them to take a hike. Chances are they'd be out of business in less than one season, unless they had REALLY good fishing.

[ex pup]

I guess i must be missing something with this exchange rate business. The advertising and the news always stresses that its cheaper to travel to Europe or Canada because of the favorable exchange rate. Where is the favorable exchange rate in Canada when they adjust their prices according to the exchange rate. the prices on things , I would say, are very expensive. I talked to a personal manager, met by accident, of a paper mill up there and I mentioned that I thought the prices seemed high for things. Well they are he said because people make so much money. A laborer in the mill in 1990 was making $23,00 and hour plus benefits, now it must be over $30. no wonder a can on coke-10 ounces was a dollor! How much were you making in 1990? Isnt that how the value of money determined. what can be manufactured in time and materiel compared to another country?

[Ron Thompson]

You have the cure that I have been after for years.

That is the way to do. Put it this way. I know a few lodges/resorts that charge (example only) $800 US for a HK cabin that accommodates up to four people. If an American calls, it is Quoted in US funds, if a Canadian Calls it is Canadian $$. But unless the person says they are calling from a Canadian province or address who is to know?

However, as a Canadian, I firmly believe that all prices quoted anywhere, should be quoted IN Canadian Dollars period. I have mentioned this to many tourist operators, and tourist organizations however without any success or changes.

If I was going to a resort that charged $800 US at the present exchange rate that is $1040 Canadian (+/-) To ME that is over priced no matter what ammenities the place offers.

Also I bet many Canadians will agree too.

Tourist operators pay Canadian Funds for their Staff, their supplies, and everything else so why not charge in Canadian funds?

Sure, some are owned by American citizens. Well, tough!!

charge in Canadian, and you just might book more Canadian guests, and fill those cabins that are empty...right now..

Ron Thompson
http://www.kenoraontario.net

[Vermilion Bay Lodge]

For quite a few years we had our rates in CDN funds with an "approximate" US dollar equivalent. The problem with this is that at sport shows, for example, you have only a few minutes to explain what you offer and what it will cost. Telling someone that it may cost this or maybe that depending on the future exchange rate is really not good marketing. The bottom line is people want to know what a trip will cost them when they book it. If 95% of your clientel is from the US then this makes sense to me. For the few Canadian clients we have each year they will be offered a Canadian $ rate....I don't expect Canadians to have to pay in US dollars but they also must realize the US rate is a bargain due to the past high exchange rates. With the rate dropping it will become even more important, I think, for a US customer to know what the bottom line will be. If I thought that I could do this using CDN $ rates I would...it would be better for me this year in particular! Both ways have their drawbacks. I'm doing it the way I do it because I am a Canadian owner trying to make it work with a US customer base....not because I am being sneaky or dishonest.

Gord

[Canadian Guy]

The US dollar and the US are the major tourists spending money at lodges. Many don't want Canadian business. I think it sucks but we're dealing with reality here. I say let them charge US dollars at the lodges, fly the American flag above the Canadian one which is common and keep nonresidents off of crown land. They have to stay at the resorts.

[Reels]

Hey Vermilion, I dont think anyone thinks to lodge owner is dishonest, with the rare exeption of someone gouging the system.

Bottom line is owners try to keep the guests happy. No matter how hard they try, you can't allways please everyone.



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[Reels]

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[bigfish1965]

Our clientele is about 40% American. Our prices are in Canadian dollars. We are in Canada. Canadian Dollars is the currency. I think I'd be pi$$ed if I was American and the lodge owner thought I was too dumb to figure the exchange.
Our customers are quite adept at figuring currency exchange and even hedge their bets by purchasing Canadian dollars well in advance in light of the falling US dollar. They save about 10-20% this way.
I think its a total cop-out for the lodge owners. They do themselves a tremendous disservice. The ads on my website are in Canadian dollars or I don't let the lodges advertise. For the little money an ad generates these days, its an inexpensive way to take a stand.

[Minnow Man]

It seems to me that the world has based everything on the American Dollar. I have traveled out of Canada to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Grand Caiman Islands & other tourist hot spots. All will only accept American Dollars. Grab a travel brochure and plan a winter holiday, all destinations want payment in U.S. funds. It seems strange that even in Cuba with the American embargo that they will only accept U.S. dollars. My poor old Canadian Dollar no foreign country wants it. Not sure why?

[Ex-Resort Owner]

Pay in Cash..US Funds..for a good deal in the Fall.!

Hmmmmmmmmm.. Good scheme for making a tax free "cud" of "mad money" to play with over the winter back in the states. ;) ;)

Now there's some brass gonads!

Of course Canadian Funds should be acceptable in Canada!

I'm a Yank and I agree with you !

[LadyAngler]

This has been a sore spot with me ever since we started fishing Canada. We are travelling to a DIFFERENT COUNTRY so we exchange our currency as soon as we cross the border. We've had more than one arguement with a lodge owner or outfitter because we were told something would cost, say, $50, so we hand him a Canadian $50 and he says Oh No, I meant American funds. Then they dig out a dusty calculator & do a quick conversion, & we're left ot knowing whether we've been screwed or not. We tend to just bop into places and ask if we can rent a boat at one of their boat caches, so we haven't read their brochure, we just naturally assume we'll be paying with Canadian funds. As for some resorts not welcoming Canadian residents, that's a very sad thing, indeed, and if I were part of the local community where these resorts are located, I'd be tempted to do something to boycott them & cut them from the benefits of the local ties.

[aonghus]

I don't understand why US guests should expect to spend their money in Canada while they are here!!!

When I go to the US, as soon as I'm out of site of the border if I pull out canadian money all I seem to leave with is directions to the nearest money exchange. Most banks in the southern states even don't want it if you don't have an account with their bank.(no way to debit or credit you if the daily rate changes)

How about arriving with Canadian money the way we have to down there.

My Opinion
Gus

[Canadian Guy]

I have vacationed in numerous American states and the hospitality has been great. Many resort owners need to take courses in customer service.Americans as a whole are great hosts. Many locals do not have the depth financially that a lot of tourists have and will question charges or complain if they are being taken advantage of. Maybe this makes a poor "guest". Word also travels quickly in smaller communities and resorts that do this will see little local business. When a local also sees countless US vehicles, American cash at the resort, the flag of a foreign country flying higher than the Canadian flag and has had relatives fight and serve for our freedom it leaves a foul tasts.

[ex-resort owner]

Amen. I feel the same way when I see that kind of thing in Canada. It's Canada, not the US!
I'm a Yank....but, I absolutely agree with you Canadian Guy.
It should not even be a consideration, to price things in US dollars when you are doing business in Canada.
When someone goes to another nation, they should experience THAT nation, not just a "faux USA".
Part of the experience of going to Canada is observing the differences between the two countries. If the differences are lost, culture is lost.

[Barbara]

We are Canadian lodge owners and we charge everything in US$
98% of our guests are from the USA. For the three groups of Canadians we get each year, we have a
separate cabin rate and they pay only in Canadian money.
If we charged in Canadian $ we would have to raise our prices to compensate since we are now
charging in US$ what it takes to make the camp pay for itself.
Other writers have noted the inconvenience of converting their Canadian money when they travel.
Why would I inconvenience my guests to make the same bottom line?
I don't see it as an issue. Canadians pay Canadian (if they are asked to pay in US$, that IS an issue.
And it is illegal.
Americans pay in US$. They know now what next year's trip will cost them to the penny. That's important.
Exchange rate fluctuations can add a lot to a trip based on Can $.
If you're Canadian, you know the cost in advance and American guests should also.

And our Canadian flag does fly a little bit higher than our US flag.

[Sam]

The difference is, who takes the gamble on the exchange rate. If the lodge quotes in Canadian dollars. I as an American get the gamble on the exchange rate from the time I book until the time I pay. If they quote in U.S. funds. They get to take the gamble from the time they publish the price until the time I pay. The lodge I went to this year quotes in Canadian dollars. So I got to gamble and lost.

[Canadian Guy]

You both gamble on the exchange rate. The bottom line in my eyes is that you are in a foreign country with its own currency. The apparent lower dollar figures in terms of US dollars is why its done.

[Sam]

I don't agree that we both gamble. The lodge I went to this year got 1,399 Canadian dollars from me. How much I would pay in American dollars changes from day to day. So I gamble when they quote in Canadian dollars. The lodge I went to last year quoted in American dollars. I paid them 1,700 American dollars. How much they got in Canadian dollars changed according to the exchange rate. So they took the gamble.

[Mike Kansas]

Who cares ??? All my group cares about is that the fish are biting and the outfitter has good service. The outfitter we go to costs us $550 USA and we wont squabble over 450.