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I'll be landing in Toronto on May 23, 2018. I have an immigrant visa (I'm from Iran) and it's my first time coming to Canada. I need to book a temporary room for my first few days until I find a place to settle down.

I tried to book a room through the booking.com website but in the payment options it mentions that they only accept credit cards. Even for hotels that accept cash on arrival, I must provide credit card information.

Booking a room with AirBNB is not an alternative: they ban people from Iran. I tried emailing them but got no response. Since I'm from Iran and Iranian banks are banned internationally, they can't provide credit cards to their account holders, so I don't have a credit card.

This is a great dilemma. How can I book a room without a credit card?

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  • There are other sites like AirBNB (e.g. Wimdu), but you'll have to check what they require.
    – user40521
    Apr 6, 2018 at 11:10
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    Are you currently located in Iran? Because if not you can buy some prepaid Visa cards for many locations worldwide
    – Hanky Panky
    Apr 6, 2018 at 11:13
  • @Jay If you're arriving early enough, can you not just go into a bank, sign up for a bank account (Chequing account) they will give you the debit card straight away then create an account on Airbnb with this card? This seems to me like the best option if the prepaid visa card do not work.
    – Phorce
    Apr 6, 2018 at 14:44
  • @phorce I will be in Toronto at 6:00 pm. no bank will be open.
    – Jay
    Apr 6, 2018 at 17:27
  • @Hanky Panky They don't accept prepaid visa or master cards.yes i'm in iran right now.
    – Jay
    Apr 6, 2018 at 17:27

2 Answers 2

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Booking.com offers book without card you need to use fliters. enter image description hereenter image description here

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  • the problem is that all hotels require a credit card for a deposit. Even if you pay at the property they still require you to have a credit card and put $100 down
    – Phorce
    Apr 7, 2018 at 14:22
  • @Phorce you mean when checking in at the property? Many do require a credit card, but others can take cash or not require a deposit at all if you pay upfront. This is usually more often the case in cheaper properties, and probably needs to be checked in advance to avoid any surprises. I believed there was another question on that topic recently.
    – jcaron
    Apr 7, 2018 at 15:20
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    The thing with booking.com filters is that i tried to check a filter called "without credit card" but in toronto there is only one place that shows up and from the reviews of the guests, staying in that place is a terrible choice. so i don't want to go to the only horrible place which accepts cash. i seriously don't know what to do.
    – Jay
    Apr 8, 2018 at 8:17
  • Jay you do not need booking to go to hotel you can check any hotel without booking and pay them cash bro
    – Aneeq
    Apr 8, 2018 at 8:56
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    Or simply call them bro
    – Aneeq
    Apr 8, 2018 at 8:57
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For hotels in Canada and the USA booking without a credit or debit card is no longer common. However you're not the first person to have this issue, some locals also book and stay at properties without using cards so many hotels have policies and ways to arrange this. Cardless bookings aren't normally possible through the automatic booking channels.

Many hotels have a policy of taking a cash deposit and/or requiring prepayment for "Cash Paying Guests" e.g. the Omni King Edward's policy:

Guests paying in cash must pay their room charges and taxes in full with an additional $150 per day security deposit at the time of check-in.

Some hotels do not allow bookings without credit cards like the Holiday Inn Downtown Centre:

Credit card deposit and primary ID required for registration. No Cash or Debit will be accepted as deposit.

I'd suggest you find a suitable property and contact them directly by phone (or email) and inquire about how you can reserve your stay and check-in without a card.

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