Deposit for Gite

[tourdefrance]

Hi
We are staying at a Gite in France for two weeks in August. The original booking mentioned a deposit (caution of €900) but we've now had our final confirmation email and it says we will get the keys on receipt of the deposit.
Has anyone experienced this before? Surely you don't just hand over the cash?

Am going to email the central contact and ask if I can pay it by credit card in advance but am interested in people's experience.

We've been asked to hand over cash in an envelope a few times before - which was returned to us at the end. It's not unusual with private rentals in France.

Thanks. All the booking is through Gites de France official website so doesn't feel private iyswim?

We get gites every year. I have nearly always paid the deposit in cash (although has always been 2-300 Euros rather than 900). I have an envelope of 300 Euros at home that has travelled backwards and forwards with me to France for years now.

However, the last couple of times I've booked with Gites de France there has been the option to pay the deposit electronically. It came up in the "My accounts" section when I paid the final balance.

Thanks @lavenderlou . €900 does seem like an awful lot but obviously too late to query that now.

Yep, mildly irritating as it meant we had €800 in cash on the last day of our holiday….

You have probably booked a nicer gite than me 😁. Just checked and the option to pay electronically came with the final confirmation email after paying the balance - there was a button at the bottom of the email so maybe not available for all properties.