Journal · 2026-06-09
Paying the Balance in Pounds, Dollars or Francs
Weekly visitors often arrive with cash from home. How the balance can be paid in another major currency, and why the deposit still goes ahead by card.
People who fly into Schiphol every week tend to keep a small stack of their home currency in a wallet pocket, left over from the last trip or drawn for the next. Sterling for some, dollars or Swiss francs for others. A question we receive often from regulars is whether that cash can be used for a booking, and the answer is yes, for the balance, with a few details that are worth knowing before the evening.
Two payments, two sets of rules
A booking at Schiphol is paid in two halves. The first half is the deposit, which confirms the booking before she sets out. The second is the balance, which is paid at the door when she arrives. The two halves follow different rules, because they happen at different moments and for different reasons.
The deposit is settled before anyone leaves, so it has to travel electronically. Card is the first route, and Revolut, Wise and cryptocurrency are accepted for anyone who prefers them. Cash cannot serve as a deposit, for the simple reason that cash only changes hands in the room, and by then the deposit has already done its job. Bank transfer and PayPal are not used for either half.
The balance is paid on arrival, and here cash is welcome, including cash in another major currency. The exact sum in that currency is confirmed to you in writing in the booking thread before she sets out, so that nobody is doing arithmetic at the door.
How the figure is fixed
Prices here are set in euro, and the euro amount is the price of the booking. When a regular says in the thread that the balance will be in pounds or dollars, the reply states the sum in that currency. That sum is the one to have ready. On a ninety minute booking the balance is half the fee, and the thread will give its equivalent in the currency you named, as a round figure you can count out easily.
The reason for fixing it in writing beforehand is practical. Exchange rates move, and two people calculating a conversion in a hotel doorway rarely reach the same number. With the figure agreed in the thread, the question is settled before the evening begins, and the visit can start the way it should.
Which currencies
Major currencies are welcome: pounds sterling, US dollars, Swiss francs and the like. If you are unsure whether the currency in your pocket counts, ask in the thread when you book, and the reply will say. Coins are not practical in any currency; notes are.
Mixing euro and another currency
Some regulars have a few euro left and a few notes in their home currency, and ask whether the balance can be split. Say so in the thread, with the rough amounts, and the reply will confirm what the split looks like. The principle is the same: the figure is fixed in writing beforehand, and nothing is calculated at the door.
When the booking has no deposit
A returning guest who asks for one or two hours later the same day, at an address in central Amsterdam, pays the whole fee at the door, with nothing ahead. In that case the whole fee may be paid in cash, in euro or in another major currency, again with the sum in that currency confirmed in writing before she sets out. For a two hour booking in town, that means one figure agreed in the thread and counted out on arrival. Out by the airport, a deposit always applies, so this situation arises only in the city.
What is included
The figures include all taxes. There is no charge for the journey out to Schiphol-Oost, Schiphol-Rijk or the airport, no surcharge at night, and nothing added for paying in another currency beyond the conversion stated in the thread. The rates are listed on every profile on the roster, and the payment steps are set out on the booking page.
For a weekly visitor, the practical upshot is simple. Keep a card for the deposit, bring whatever cash is convenient for the balance, and name the currency when you book. The rest is agreed before the knock at the door.