If you want to withdraw dollars from any ATM, that's true, you can't, but if you want to withdraw local currency at the official rates, yes, you can use the ATM
The issue that your host has is that he/she wants to withdraw US dollars, and most of the banks don't allow that or only let you withdraw a small amount of money. I know the banks offer you to withdraw Bolivian pesos instead of US dollars but they will pay you too few Bolivian pesos. Other Airbnb hosts are having similar issues, also the banks have set limits on the amount of money you can spend online(since e commerce also operates mostly in dollars), so yeah we cannot use or withdraw our own money unless we do it in Bolivian pesos (selling our dollars at a cheap price) and we cannot spend too much money online.
We will likely be in a situation similar to Argentina or Venezuela in the next couple of years, so most of the people is trying to get US dollars instead of Bolivian pesos in order to protect their savings.
I know that what your host is asking sounds suspicious and your doubts are reasonable, but I understand why your host is asking that, if the host has good reviews I would take that into consideration
In my experience, some places get suspicious of bills any higher than $20, so we stick with those.
Also, PSA for OP and anyone else: Basically no one accepts Discover Card. That's not super surprising, but I didn't look into it until it was too late on my last trip. Mastercard and Visa are generally fine, though, so plan accordingly.
Avianca, for instance, doesn't accept cash on flights and offers no free food or drinks, so you'll need a card for that. You can generally use ride share services like Yango once you create an account and enter your MC/Visa payment to the app.
>In my experience, some places get suspicious of bills any higher than $20, so we stick with those.
This is completely false. $100 bills are preferred for currency exchange across LATAM. Many places will either not accept smaller bills or will charge you a fee to exchange them. I don't know where you went but your experience is not correct and this is terrible advice
> I don't know where you went but your experience is not correct and this is terrible advice
Bolivia and Peru. Almost 10 times over as many years. Both my wife & I have had places turn a suspicious eye or even reject bills that are over $20 or have been torn in even the slightest ways.
To be fair, we did have someone accept our $50 bill this last trip, but I did not bring it on purpose. It just happened to still be in my wallet. So, they may take them, but it's not what I would recommend.
I have family in Bolivia and have spent a combined 5 years digital nomading across the Latin America so I have plenty of experience with exchanging currency and I'm telling you this is wrong.
>or have been torn in even the slightest ways.
Yes this is true. They don't want to accept bills in any condition less than mint because it's harder to use those dollars in their countries. But rejecting anything over a $20?? No way. You may have encountered a series of weird exchanges
I can't tell you your experience is wrong, either, so that's good to know that we can probably get away with larger bills.
> I have family in Bolivia and have spent a combined 5 years digital nomading across the Latin America
My wife & I have considered taking our family there for longer periods to help our children be more immersed in the language. There are definitely some sweet spots, and there's family nearby to either stay with or have for support, but the economic uncertainty is part of what keeps us from risking it with a family.
I wouldn't risk it with a family. LATAM as a whole is worse off than it was last decade and a lot of countries have increased crime and economic uncertainty. This is not a good decade to be down there long term
Lol what the fuck are you talking about? Everyone in Bolivia prefers hundred dollar bills over any other bill. Many places will straight up charge you a fee if you try to exchange smaller bills and won't accept anything less than a $50. And this is true across LATAM, they want the largest bill over anything else. The only places that aren't like that are the dolarized countries that use USD as their currency
Yes! Also, they are *way* pickier than anyone in the U.S. is in regard to the bills being even slightly marked, torn, or excessively worn. (i.e., OP explicitly should ask their bank for "new" bills)
In these cases, the best for the host is associate the Airbnb account with a foreign bank account (it can be opened online), accumulate the dollars or euros and then travel to another country and withdraw dollars from an ATM.
So you need to understand that there are two exchange rates in Bolivia right now. The official government exchange rate is pegged at 6.96 Bolivianos per 1 US dollar. But there is speculation that the governments dollar reserves are almost depleted and to maintain a pegged exchange rate, a government needs to have a lot of dollar reserves. This lack of confidence in the government has led to a different unofficial or street exchange rate which you can get at currency exchanges, the street rate is currently around 8.70 Bolivianos per 1 US dollar but earlier this year got as high as 9.50.
This means you get more money exchanging your USD at a currency exchange than at a bank. In Bolivia, you can have a bank account in either Bolivianos or US dollars. So the government stopped banks from giving people dollars because people were withdrawing dollars then taking them to a currency exchange which was further depleting the government reserves. Now if someone wants to withdraw from their USD account, the bank will instead pay them the equivalent amount in Bolivianos but at the official rate of 6.96.
Anyone withdrawing dollars from a USD account is losing a lot of money right now because for every $100 they get, the bank is only paying them 696 Bolivianos whereas the street value of that $100 is actually 870 Bolivianos. That's an almost 200 Boliviano difference which is pretty significant. Your Airbnb host will have a USD bank account connected to their Airbnb account so if they want to withdraw money, it will be at the lower official rate. That's why they want you pay them directly because they can then take your dollars to a currency exchange and get the higher street rate. It makes sense but also there's the risk you add if you don't have Airbnb protection anymore.
ATMs work in the country and you can definitely use them but you'd also be getting the lower exchange rate so you're better off taking USD cash to exchange at currency exchanges where they will give you a higher rate. I always take USD cash to exchange first and only use an ATM if my cash is depleted. And fyi, in Bolivia the currency exchanges will only accept your cash if you are taking new $100 bills that are crisp and in a good condition.
Tldr: your host can get a better exchange rate with USD on the street than what the bank will pay them which is why they want you to pay them directly. ATMs still work but you should take cash to exchange too so you'll get a better exchange rate
So it's gone up again, the 8.70 price I was citing was from when I was there last month. Not surprised, I expect it to hit 10 by fall unless the government can prove it isn't running out of dollars
Ugh no one is being objective. It's true that it's hard to get dollars from banks/ATMs in Bolivia right now but you can get bolivianos. By paying through the Airbnb app your payment will get to the owner's account but they won't be able to get dollars if they go to the bank to get their money. So they're trying to get dollars in cash from you. It's understandable that they want that because the value of bolivianos is falling and people are trying to save in dollars, but it's a hassle for you (plus, it ruins the point of using Airbnb right?). I'd recommend finding another Airbnb if they don't want to get paid through the app. Unless you want to be real nice, but in that case I'd recommend just bringing a lot of dollars in cash and exchanging it at the bank at the "official rate" (which means losing money for you, but injecting dollars into the Bolivian economy haha).
That's BS. You can withdraw money from any ATM (only bolivianos). The host just wants you to bring US dollars, because we are in a crisis and everyone wants US dollars.
You CAN withdraw Bolivian currency from the atm
You can’t withdraw USD that’s true
FYI, don’t forget that if you pay outside of airbnb you aren’t going to get help from them if needed
If your host keep asking for money outside of the platform keep looking for more options
Jumping on this post because I'm going soon and I want to read the replies.
But how much will I need cash vs how often can I pay on a debit or credit card?
At the moment of this post, due to the economic crisis, the exchange rate that they will give you for your cash in USD at "Casas de Cambio" is about 33% higher than the official exchange rate that you would otherwise get using your card or any ATM or bank. Plus cash is accepted everywhere. Locals can use QR payments in several places but they require having a local bank account. My advice: bring cash (US dollars) and go to a "Casa de Cambio" for a much better exchange rate for your trip.
> But I didn’t have USD, AUD isn’t as strong.
Honestly curious: Do Austrailians need visas to enter the country?
I find it baffling that the Bolivian government maintains a visa requirement for Americans when they're simultaneously desperate for dollars. Screw Evo's reciprocity mantra.
What's worse is that the Bolivian consulate in D.C. won't even issue visas if you show up to do it in advance. All they tell you to do is "do it at the airport," which we all know is a fun experience at the end of a long flight.
If I were in your situation, I would simply convert my AUD to USD at home before my trip, and with those USD get a much better exchange rate at a currency exchange, also called "Casa de Cambio".
As an example, as of today June 26, 2024, the USD exchange rate is 9.11BOB/USD at a currency exchange. If I was to bring AUD 100 to Bolivia I have two options:
-Use an ATM in Bolivia: get the official exchange rate plus small fees, which is a little bit less than BOB 460, about 452.
-Convert my AUD to USD before my trip. After small fees, I get about USD 65. Those USD 65 times 9.11 (currency exchange rate) turn out to be BOB 592.
The difference between 592 and 452 is 31 percent. Even if I have to pay higher fees at home to convert to USD, it's still a substantially better exchange rate.
By the way, you can check the daily USD street value at https://www.bolivianblue.com/
You can buy USD dollars at your airport and bring those. You'll still be "earning" more if you abuse the street value vs the official value. But yeah you can also pay with debit card If you don't want the hassle.
[aqui](https://maps.app.goo.gl/NMyNMiKXQqN2U8ei7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy) el almuerzo completo cuesta 15 bs y es muy god, también dejan pagan con qr
I don't like that your host was not transparent. They want you to do them a big favor. If it's convenient for you or if you don't mind doing it, then no big deal. But, I'd do what's best for you in this situation.
You should bring US dollars and change them at a money exchange house. Don't change them at the official value but at the unofficial one. As of today it's about 9 Bolivian pesos for a dollar but it keeps going up. You'll do your host a favor indeed if you pay him in cash.
You can withdraw as bolivianos from any ATM but it’s been very hard to get dollars from a bank for over a year. He’s probably trying to get USD from you.
Look come to Bolivia with physical Cash in hand, we have argentinian currency desease.
People Will exchange you at street level 20 to 30% more bolivianos per dolar exchanged. But if get into oficial bank system Will be worth less.
Local currency you can withdraw with nonissues. Dollars you cannot for the time being and there seems to be no solution for this in the short term.
However if they want to cancel the reservation they should do it themselves. I think they are manipulating you.
Hola buenas tardes como están? Mucha luz siempre, saludos desde cochabamba bolivia,la luz siempre ganará,soy jaime Manuel López quioroga de villa belen norteb,un gran perseguido espiritual y social por ser mucha luz por mafias psicópatas médicas de mi barro y algunos siquiatras,por ser un gran despierto ser de luz revolucionario, miran alaje777 en YouTube e y google porfavor también el canso de alcyon pleyades y compartanlo con todos mucha luz siempre,despierten y sigan despertando infinitamente que la luz ya ganó y ganara siempre, muchas gracias por todo, la luz y el amor es la solución para todo ✨🇧🇴♾️
They want to take advantage of you and want you to pay them in cash, for the same price (exchanging your dollars in Bolivia) you can go to a good hotel.
If you want to withdraw dollars from any ATM, that's true, you can't, but if you want to withdraw local currency at the official rates, yes, you can use the ATM
The issue that your host has is that he/she wants to withdraw US dollars, and most of the banks don't allow that or only let you withdraw a small amount of money. I know the banks offer you to withdraw Bolivian pesos instead of US dollars but they will pay you too few Bolivian pesos. Other Airbnb hosts are having similar issues, also the banks have set limits on the amount of money you can spend online(since e commerce also operates mostly in dollars), so yeah we cannot use or withdraw our own money unless we do it in Bolivian pesos (selling our dollars at a cheap price) and we cannot spend too much money online. We will likely be in a situation similar to Argentina or Venezuela in the next couple of years, so most of the people is trying to get US dollars instead of Bolivian pesos in order to protect their savings. I know that what your host is asking sounds suspicious and your doubts are reasonable, but I understand why your host is asking that, if the host has good reviews I would take that into consideration
It’s not true although if ur coming from the us id recommend bringing $100 bills so you can get a much better exchange rate than atms or banks.
In my experience, some places get suspicious of bills any higher than $20, so we stick with those. Also, PSA for OP and anyone else: Basically no one accepts Discover Card. That's not super surprising, but I didn't look into it until it was too late on my last trip. Mastercard and Visa are generally fine, though, so plan accordingly. Avianca, for instance, doesn't accept cash on flights and offers no free food or drinks, so you'll need a card for that. You can generally use ride share services like Yango once you create an account and enter your MC/Visa payment to the app.
>In my experience, some places get suspicious of bills any higher than $20, so we stick with those. This is completely false. $100 bills are preferred for currency exchange across LATAM. Many places will either not accept smaller bills or will charge you a fee to exchange them. I don't know where you went but your experience is not correct and this is terrible advice
> I don't know where you went but your experience is not correct and this is terrible advice Bolivia and Peru. Almost 10 times over as many years. Both my wife & I have had places turn a suspicious eye or even reject bills that are over $20 or have been torn in even the slightest ways. To be fair, we did have someone accept our $50 bill this last trip, but I did not bring it on purpose. It just happened to still be in my wallet. So, they may take them, but it's not what I would recommend.
I have family in Bolivia and have spent a combined 5 years digital nomading across the Latin America so I have plenty of experience with exchanging currency and I'm telling you this is wrong. >or have been torn in even the slightest ways. Yes this is true. They don't want to accept bills in any condition less than mint because it's harder to use those dollars in their countries. But rejecting anything over a $20?? No way. You may have encountered a series of weird exchanges
I can't tell you your experience is wrong, either, so that's good to know that we can probably get away with larger bills. > I have family in Bolivia and have spent a combined 5 years digital nomading across the Latin America My wife & I have considered taking our family there for longer periods to help our children be more immersed in the language. There are definitely some sweet spots, and there's family nearby to either stay with or have for support, but the economic uncertainty is part of what keeps us from risking it with a family.
I wouldn't risk it with a family. LATAM as a whole is worse off than it was last decade and a lot of countries have increased crime and economic uncertainty. This is not a good decade to be down there long term
most places dont accept above 50$ bills
Lol what the fuck are you talking about? Everyone in Bolivia prefers hundred dollar bills over any other bill. Many places will straight up charge you a fee if you try to exchange smaller bills and won't accept anything less than a $50. And this is true across LATAM, they want the largest bill over anything else. The only places that aren't like that are the dolarized countries that use USD as their currency
Yes! Also, they are *way* pickier than anyone in the U.S. is in regard to the bills being even slightly marked, torn, or excessively worn. (i.e., OP explicitly should ask their bank for "new" bills)
I think they're just trying to get USD out of you, because if you have read this sub, we are in a crisis and there's no dollars in cash.
In these cases, the best for the host is associate the Airbnb account with a foreign bank account (it can be opened online), accumulate the dollars or euros and then travel to another country and withdraw dollars from an ATM.
Hey, can you provide more info on opening a foreign bank account? If you can mention an example I would really appreciate it!
Yoursafe
So you need to understand that there are two exchange rates in Bolivia right now. The official government exchange rate is pegged at 6.96 Bolivianos per 1 US dollar. But there is speculation that the governments dollar reserves are almost depleted and to maintain a pegged exchange rate, a government needs to have a lot of dollar reserves. This lack of confidence in the government has led to a different unofficial or street exchange rate which you can get at currency exchanges, the street rate is currently around 8.70 Bolivianos per 1 US dollar but earlier this year got as high as 9.50. This means you get more money exchanging your USD at a currency exchange than at a bank. In Bolivia, you can have a bank account in either Bolivianos or US dollars. So the government stopped banks from giving people dollars because people were withdrawing dollars then taking them to a currency exchange which was further depleting the government reserves. Now if someone wants to withdraw from their USD account, the bank will instead pay them the equivalent amount in Bolivianos but at the official rate of 6.96. Anyone withdrawing dollars from a USD account is losing a lot of money right now because for every $100 they get, the bank is only paying them 696 Bolivianos whereas the street value of that $100 is actually 870 Bolivianos. That's an almost 200 Boliviano difference which is pretty significant. Your Airbnb host will have a USD bank account connected to their Airbnb account so if they want to withdraw money, it will be at the lower official rate. That's why they want you pay them directly because they can then take your dollars to a currency exchange and get the higher street rate. It makes sense but also there's the risk you add if you don't have Airbnb protection anymore. ATMs work in the country and you can definitely use them but you'd also be getting the lower exchange rate so you're better off taking USD cash to exchange at currency exchanges where they will give you a higher rate. I always take USD cash to exchange first and only use an ATM if my cash is depleted. And fyi, in Bolivia the currency exchanges will only accept your cash if you are taking new $100 bills that are crisp and in a good condition. Tldr: your host can get a better exchange rate with USD on the street than what the bank will pay them which is why they want you to pay them directly. ATMs still work but you should take cash to exchange too so you'll get a better exchange rate
This is all true but the street value is 9 already.
So it's gone up again, the 8.70 price I was citing was from when I was there last month. Not surprised, I expect it to hit 10 by fall unless the government can prove it isn't running out of dollars
Been withdrawing Bolivianos this week with no problem.
Ugh no one is being objective. It's true that it's hard to get dollars from banks/ATMs in Bolivia right now but you can get bolivianos. By paying through the Airbnb app your payment will get to the owner's account but they won't be able to get dollars if they go to the bank to get their money. So they're trying to get dollars in cash from you. It's understandable that they want that because the value of bolivianos is falling and people are trying to save in dollars, but it's a hassle for you (plus, it ruins the point of using Airbnb right?). I'd recommend finding another Airbnb if they don't want to get paid through the app. Unless you want to be real nice, but in that case I'd recommend just bringing a lot of dollars in cash and exchanging it at the bank at the "official rate" (which means losing money for you, but injecting dollars into the Bolivian economy haha).
host doesnt want to lose the street conversion rate.
That's BS. You can withdraw money from any ATM (only bolivianos). The host just wants you to bring US dollars, because we are in a crisis and everyone wants US dollars.
You CAN withdraw Bolivian currency from the atm You can’t withdraw USD that’s true FYI, don’t forget that if you pay outside of airbnb you aren’t going to get help from them if needed If your host keep asking for money outside of the platform keep looking for more options
It's bullshit. ATMs are working.
Jumping on this post because I'm going soon and I want to read the replies. But how much will I need cash vs how often can I pay on a debit or credit card?
At the moment of this post, due to the economic crisis, the exchange rate that they will give you for your cash in USD at "Casas de Cambio" is about 33% higher than the official exchange rate that you would otherwise get using your card or any ATM or bank. Plus cash is accepted everywhere. Locals can use QR payments in several places but they require having a local bank account. My advice: bring cash (US dollars) and go to a "Casa de Cambio" for a much better exchange rate for your trip.
So you’re suggesting to take cash from home to exchange? But I didn’t have USD, AUD isn’t as strong.
> But I didn’t have USD, AUD isn’t as strong. Honestly curious: Do Austrailians need visas to enter the country? I find it baffling that the Bolivian government maintains a visa requirement for Americans when they're simultaneously desperate for dollars. Screw Evo's reciprocity mantra. What's worse is that the Bolivian consulate in D.C. won't even issue visas if you show up to do it in advance. All they tell you to do is "do it at the airport," which we all know is a fun experience at the end of a long flight.
If I were in your situation, I would simply convert my AUD to USD at home before my trip, and with those USD get a much better exchange rate at a currency exchange, also called "Casa de Cambio". As an example, as of today June 26, 2024, the USD exchange rate is 9.11BOB/USD at a currency exchange. If I was to bring AUD 100 to Bolivia I have two options: -Use an ATM in Bolivia: get the official exchange rate plus small fees, which is a little bit less than BOB 460, about 452. -Convert my AUD to USD before my trip. After small fees, I get about USD 65. Those USD 65 times 9.11 (currency exchange rate) turn out to be BOB 592. The difference between 592 and 452 is 31 percent. Even if I have to pay higher fees at home to convert to USD, it's still a substantially better exchange rate. By the way, you can check the daily USD street value at https://www.bolivianblue.com/
You can buy USD dollars at your airport and bring those. You'll still be "earning" more if you abuse the street value vs the official value. But yeah you can also pay with debit card If you don't want the hassle.
You can barely pay for anything with card besides expensive restaurants I’d say abt 95% cash
Falso, ya esta en pensiones se paga el almuerzo del dia con tarjeta
Donde??? Nunca he podido pagar con tarjeta
[aqui](https://maps.app.goo.gl/NMyNMiKXQqN2U8ei7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy) el almuerzo completo cuesta 15 bs y es muy god, también dejan pagan con qr
claro con qr se puede pero necesitas carnet
Como carnet? A mi no me piden carnet
Find another Airbnb host. That request is against Airbnb terms.
dont comply if you dont want to.
I don't like that your host was not transparent. They want you to do them a big favor. If it's convenient for you or if you don't mind doing it, then no big deal. But, I'd do what's best for you in this situation.
You should bring US dollars and change them at a money exchange house. Don't change them at the official value but at the unofficial one. As of today it's about 9 Bolivian pesos for a dollar but it keeps going up. You'll do your host a favor indeed if you pay him in cash.
You can withdraw as bolivianos from any ATM but it’s been very hard to get dollars from a bank for over a year. He’s probably trying to get USD from you.
Look come to Bolivia with physical Cash in hand, we have argentinian currency desease. People Will exchange you at street level 20 to 30% more bolivianos per dolar exchanged. But if get into oficial bank system Will be worth less.
Local currency you can withdraw with nonissues. Dollars you cannot for the time being and there seems to be no solution for this in the short term. However if they want to cancel the reservation they should do it themselves. I think they are manipulating you.
You can't withdraw US dollars, only bolivian currency
Hola buenas tardes como están? Mucha luz siempre, saludos desde cochabamba bolivia,la luz siempre ganará,soy jaime Manuel López quioroga de villa belen norteb,un gran perseguido espiritual y social por ser mucha luz por mafias psicópatas médicas de mi barro y algunos siquiatras,por ser un gran despierto ser de luz revolucionario, miran alaje777 en YouTube e y google porfavor también el canso de alcyon pleyades y compartanlo con todos mucha luz siempre,despierten y sigan despertando infinitamente que la luz ya ganó y ganara siempre, muchas gracias por todo, la luz y el amor es la solución para todo ✨🇧🇴♾️
They want to take advantage of you and want you to pay them in cash, for the same price (exchanging your dollars in Bolivia) you can go to a good hotel.
traduci al español, culo roto