Hotel Guarantee?

Question

Have a question...when you guarantee a hotel room, do they "freeze" your credit card for a certain amount or the whole amount for the time you stay? I remember when they used to just charge for one night, that being a deposit, but not sure if that has changed. My work is being billed for the full amount, but they still need a credit card for a guarantee...thanks!!

Answer 1

I book hotel rooms for work. As I understand it they hold the credit card as a guarantee but don't charge it. I don't see the credit card bills. But I would get a report or request for an expense report from accounting if there was a hold or charge.

But on a personal note, I got charged at one hotel one night in advance. I understood it initially just to be a guarantee in case we didn't cancel and didn't show. I canceled the reservation entirely because that's not ok with me. I'm not paying in advance a non-discounted rate for a room.

You might want to check into it more with the hotel and check around. Not all hotels do this. I hope it's not becoming common because then I won't be booking in advance personally. Forget it.

But businesses may not have a choice. But it could be a bargaining tool to get a better rate.

Answer 2

What the hotel does is take an authorization for X amount so that they can recover the loss if you check out without paying. It's usually 1 nights worth if you're staying 1-3 nights and 2-3 nights worth if you're staying a week.

Answer 3

If it's a major hotel chain, likely not.  Some smaller, independently owned hotels may still cahrge the first night.

Although the bigger chains will not authorize your credit card when you reserve, they might authorise the card when you arrive.  Sometimes they authorize it for the whle stay, plus an additional amount for items charged to your room.  This protects them in case someone checks in, runs up a huge bill, and then leaves without paying it.  They want to make sure there are available funds on the card in case that happens.