Hello,

I phoned to hostal San Benito in Seville, to make a reservation. The man on the phone asked me to send 40 euro's in advance, which is normal. But I didn't quite understand what he said about the banque. He gave me a 20-fig. number, should that be correct? And should I not know which banquec to send to? And, I will have to pay it directly to his name, Thomas Ortiz-Tirado, not the name of the hostal I think (I do speak spanish, but the Andalucian-type I cannot understand so well). Is this correct?
Please, can anybody help me out here!


Thanks!
Sepa.

I had to pay up front in Greece last year. This required sending money Western Union to the man's bank under the owner's name, not the hotel's name,so I don't think there is anything strange about this request. My hotel wouldn't accept credit cards and so Western Union was the cheapest way to send money. They will also work with you if you mess something up. I sent the money to the man who emailed me, but the account was in another name!
If you can verify the numbers, you may feel more confident about this.

Did you try e-mailing him? According to the San Benito web site, his e-mail address is burlon11@hotmail.com (the flying envelope).

THANK YOU! I missed the flying enveloppe....stupid me! I just looked up 'reserva', and found nothing but a phonenumber.
I will mail immediatly, and let you know how it worked out.

Sepa.

Could you find out if he has a "doble con dos camas" (double with two beds)? It says only "Habitación Matrimonial" (double with one large bed) on his web site.

Please let us know how you like the San Benito. There are no reviews of it yet on this board.

hello,

till now I didn't succeed paying the hotel. We mailed several times, but the only thing the owner(?) says is I can pay by cheque or giro. In Holland the cheques no longer exist, and for the giro I definitely need a BIC (Banque International Code)number and an IBAN (Intern. Banque Account Number). The man says he doesn't know anything about it and gave me again his 20-figures accountnumber: xxxx-xxxx-xx-xxxxxxxxxx.
So I'm still not able to send the money! Maybe I best send it just cash, in an enveloppe. Or does anyone have another suggestion?

Sepa/

Again, when I was asked to send money in advance, I was given the bank account number and the name of the person to send the money to. I then used Western Union to wire the money directly to the person's account in Athens. realize that you are talking about Spain and not Greece, but after speaking to the hotel owner I came to realize that this sort of thing is done frequently if the establishment does not accept credit cards. I made a mistake the first time and sent the check to the name of the man I spoke with and not the owner. Western Union took care of the problem for me. SO, if you have the bank he wants the money sent to, and you have the account number, and you have the correct name, then you could wire him the money. I had three days to do my transfer in because of a holiday!!!

Wow, maybe it would just be easier to stay somewhere else! I've looked for something in the Barrio Santa Cruz also (3-10-04 post). The only response I've gotten was: Hostal Pérez Montilla Plaza de Curtidores, 13, phone: 954 421854 / 420087. In the Barrio Santa Cruz, Sevilla (close to the C3 C4 bus line (Click on C3-C4, then "Pasarela" to see a map. ▲ denotes a bus stop.) Email amadel2000@hotmail.com , Mabel Meno Fernandez. Does not accept credit cards, no deposit required, double with bath 45 € in May 2004.

For what it's worth, the account number this person is providing is called in Spain CCC (Customer-Account Code). The first 4 digits identify the bank, so the BIC can be obtained directly from there. The second group of 4 digits is the branch, the group of two digits is a control, and the last ten are the 'pure' account number. The CCC identifies uniquely a bank account in Spain.

In my case, I have a bank account whose CCC is 2038-1817-71-0123456789 (last ten digits are not for real). 2038 means CajaMadrid, whose BIC is CAHMESMMXXX. The IBAN is ES46-2038-1817-7101-2345-6789 (i.e., exactly the same CCC but prefixing it with ES46).

Thanks Torrales!
This was just what I needed. Now I will be able to send the money to the right place. But, something amazing happened yesterday: I got an email from the hotel in what they told me not to worry about it, I didn't have to pay in advance anymore, just 'un saludo y que nos vemos pronto'!
Unbelievable these days. I mailed them back immediately of course to thank them. This is why I love Spain!
So, El Dougo, this hotel MUST be a good one! We'll check for you about the double rooms.
Thanks everybody for the help.

Sepa