Beware of the "hotel deposit" scams in the Carpathian Mountains

Romania here. <br><br>In the Carpathians, there is a trend among some of the hotels/hostels: you book the room, and if you don't show up on the agreed date, they'll take the deposit/deposit and money sent or money/block the card and you won't get them back. <br><br>The deposit is usually a strange ritual here, in which you send money to the owner, and he then sends you the "deposit" back sometime before the stay, but there are situations in which this doesn't happen. <br><br>We booked a hotel for Christmas, three nights. After a few texts and calls, the owner agreed to a deposit and a deposit, and even shortly after the booking he said that he had found another guest, at a higher price, and that he would return the deposit and deposit. We didn't hear from him for a few days, and on the 23rd we realized that we couldn't stay anywhere else on Christmas Eve, so we decided to cancel the reservation, even though the deposit hadn't been returned. <br><br>If you decide to come here and stay in a hotel, make sure to check the reviews and find out if the owner engages in such practices. <br><br>Also, never send money without first booking a room.