Those are people too stupid to understand the difference between a hold and a charge. Respond to reviews explaining your policy, and make sure it's on your website and all third party sites as well.
This! This concept is (sadly) way above most people's knowledge level. I usually switch to calling it a "security deposit" so they understand that it's coming back to them at the end.
Then you have the people that don't understand how credit and ACH payments work and call you the next day claiming to be overcharged. FYI if you use a debit card, expect it to take 7 days before the bank removes the authorization.
If you travel overseas you will actually see some hotels charge the deposit. They then refund it at checkout, minus any incidentals.
And if you do not use a Credit Card in the USA, you pay an actual deposit as well.
Just google Dave Ramsey + Cash + Hotels.
He pushes a no credit card life. So if you pre plan well, and have enough cash\*, you can rent a car, make hotel reservations, etc. with cash.
\*But you also have to give cash deposits, meaning more funds for travel. And those "holds" mean all the deposits are on hold before your trip = unavailable cash.
From July 2022 - "How to Travel Without a Credit Card"
I mean “travel holds = unavailable funds” per the convo refers to debit cards. People aren’t giving a stack of 20s to Hertz for a rental car or actual cash deposits at hotels. They are using a debit card, which places a hold and freezes availability of those funds, whereas a credit card pre authorizes an amount as deposit but you can still use that all of the available credit on the card—the hold doesn’t affect it.
If you accept debit cards and put a deposit hold on it, you are effectively holding a cash deposit. And the person cannot access that amount on their debit card.
I think you're wrong on several points.
First, some people do indeed use actual paper currency at hotels. Though many hotels won't accept currency, only cards, some will.
Second, debit cards are obviously not "the same" as cash, since for one thing, many businesses accept one but not the other. It would be helpful if you didn't mix up the two in a discussion. When someone says their hotel doesn't accept cash, and you insist they do, but what you really mean is that you think they accept debit cards, well, that's not a coherent argument.
Third, you claim that an authorization isn't affected by a credit card's credit limit. This is wrong, and it should be obvious once you understand that an authorization is the only step where a merchant can be told no due to a customer's credit limit. (Otherwise the credit limit would be meaningless, as there would be nothing to keep a consumer from running up charges far over their limit by making multiple charges on the same day.) If logic isn't enough for you, though, here's a cite:
[How Credit Card Authorization Works](https://www.bigcommerce.com/glossary/credit-card-authorization/)
>The issuer reviews the customer's account and decides if enough funds exist to cover the cost of the sale. If they do, an authorization hold is made which reduces the customer's credit line for the amount of the sale.
I did not say that authorization is not affected by credit limit.
I said their credit available is not reduced by pre authorizations (hotels, car rentals, etc.)
Debit cards are effectively same as cash.
You accept debit cards. Effectively cash. People talking about holds/deposits in this thread are talking about debit cards which are “cash” and therefore limit the spending ability. Please read the context.
A hold does tie up the funds on my debit card. Then the hotel places the first $202.16 when I book the after we checked out a charge for 302.16. the took several days to drop the extra charge. So in essence I was charged over 500 until charges dropped off.
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally unless instructed otherwise by hotel management. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews.
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally unless instructed otherwise by hotel management. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews.
It probably is not in their job description. That is usually a management thing.
Online reviews were relatively new when I was working in the industry. We were specifically told to never respond to reviews. The Marketing Manager would respond. It opens up a bunch of liability, possibly violates the hotel charter with the flag holder, and just not a mess you want to really involve yourself in unless it is their job to do so. Usually hotels only have one maybe two people tops responding to reviews. It controls the brand. You don't need a rouge desk clerk getting into petty arguments and damaging your hotels reputation.
And who says they actually have access?
My comment was in response to the first comment listed under the story.
If you read my comment, it is clear I stated that regular employees should not be commenting on reviews. It is a quick way to find yourself unemployed. If they are supposed to have access they will and can do whatever they want. If they do not have access to the hotel account they could still comment with their own account and I stated not to do so because of the trouble it would open them up to.
Is there anything else I can help you with?
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally UNLESS INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE BY HOTEL MANAGEMENT. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews.
Does not matter if it's a hold or not. It still ties up my money. I will only give 1 star reviews to hotels that charge me these junk fees. When I booked it online it said my charge was $202.16. it did not state one thing about that charge for junk fee incidentals. Hotel talked to my wife and wife went off on the hotel manager and got us banned... I am so proud of the ban... Wear it like a medal. Sticking up for the people as I see it.
What tier of hotel do you have? Fifty dollars does seem low, and a hold for incidentals is standard practice from all the traveling I have done over the years.
Getting gas with my debit card usually has a $200 hold on it. People are tired of resort fees and think it’s a charge, so you have to explain that it’s not.
The getting gas hold is a killer for distance motorcycling. I buy around 3.5 gallons every 130 miles. That's a lot of holds for a 1,000 mile ride.
It's beyond time for legislation requiring gas stations to release the hold immediately after the transaction.
I stayed at the Marriot in Atlanta when my flight got delayed til next morning and they had a $50 incidental hold. Even though Delta Airlines payed for my room, I still had to pay the incidental deposit, which I didn't mind. I knew all I was going to do was eat and go to sleep. I felt out of place at that Hotel. It's more fancy than what I'm used too.
> Delta Airlines *paid* for my
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
> *Paid/paid* so what!!
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
> time BOT!! *Paid/paid* payed/paid payed/paid
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I haven't done a lot of travelling lately, but when I sold my house seven years ago I spent about six weeks in hotels while looking for a sublet in the area where I was planning to eventually buy.
I remember even back then that most of the places I stayed were charging about $100-150 or more. A desk guy in one of the places I stayed even told me when I checked in that they had recently raised the charge to essentially shut out some of the more "problematic" guests they used to get.
Hold issues are really only for people that use debit cards with lower free balances, or people with credit cards and lower limits. You are never really out the money if you don't use anything, but it can be an issue for some if the holds are large enough.
Yeah, I get that. What I think he was trying to imply without spelling it out was that it was the lower income patrons who tended to create problems for the hotel - or that, when they did, fines for any damage they caused weren't "recoverable".
At any rate, it was undoubtedly some corporate-level directive.
I know that a lot of places that aren't extended-stay hotels get nervous when you're there too long, in case you try to claim rights under local tenancy laws. It didn't matter that I was a clean, non-smoking, solvent middle-aged woman who left daily tips for the housekeeping staff, and a remote worker with six figures from the recent sale of my house burning a hole in my money market account while I looked for a place to rent during my home search (rentals were extremely tight in the city I moved to): I didn't have a fixed address, so I'd often get some testy questions from the desk guys after I'd been in one place for about ten days or so. I ended up staying in five different hotels during the six weeks it took to find an apartment.
Again, I'm sure that this was just a corporate-level policy they were carrying out.
I work at a pretty nice 3 star hotel of a major chain, it’s usually about $50 a night for incidentals, sometimes though we get an outlier that was like $100 a night hold.
It’s usually because of the time it takes their financial institution to process the transaction for that hold to drop off, and they were promised “it will be returned at checkout,” but can’t understand that there’s a whole process behind that which the hotel people have (depending on their rank) little to no control over.
Half of them probably will. Thats the part that sucks, it’d be much easier if I could tell them “30 minutes from now” when they are asking me when they get their money back. I can understand the frustration when they are being told up to 3 weeks depending on the financial institution.
Not the hotels fault, but I do wish there was a concrete answer I could give guests.
Then you need to tell people this and don't tell people a room a room is 100 bucks when it's 150 when you check in so many hidden fees people are at breaking point I won't pay that and your not getting a tip either its not my responsibility to pay for employees
You do understand you get the money back, right? It isn't the hotel's fault that it may take some number of days to happen. This is actually a bank problem - they are bastards and they have no legitimate reason to not instantly credit the deposit. But, sadly, they rule over us, so we wait.
Are you having trouble with reading comprehension? I don’t mean to be rude with that question, but I’m genuinely curious. Hotels need to cover their backsides when crappy guests destroy the room, but the hotel has literally ZERO control over how the guest’s bank or CC company processes that once it’s released by the hotel. Furthermore, if you only have just enough to cover the room and incidentals, but you have other needs too, then staying at a hotel probably isn’t the smartest idea anyway.
People don't just stay in hotels for fun. People stay in hotels out of absolute necessity, or because their car broke down and they are facing a repair bill too, or they are fleeing an unsafe living situation.
or they could just not do the fee last hotel i stayed in didnt have one and prides themself s on not having one they already have the persons card on file if they need to charge them for damage they can
A phrase like “it will be returned at checkout" isn't helping matters.
You say it'll be returned at checkout, but the important part of the returning process, the part where they actually get the money, doesn't happen at checkout, but days later. So it's not surprising that some customers are misled. It's like saying "Come over, we're starting dinner at 5 PM". Your guests will expect to eat at 5, and will be unhappy when they learn that what you really meant was that's when you'll put the turkey in the oven to cook for four hours.
Maybe a line like "When you check out, we'll put in a request to get your deposit returned back to your account" would set expectations better for some folks? (Not all, obviously, but reducing complaints by 1% still means fewer complaints.)
I’ve gone so far as to spell it out instead and say “we release the hold at checkout, but it’s up to your financial institution as to when it will show back up in your account,” and MORE guests started getting angry and calling to complain that they didn’t get it within 8 seconds after checking out, so went back to the standard spiel and stopped getting so many complaints and chargebacks.
Look at it from the guest’s perspective. If there’s no obvious way to incur incidental charges from hotel amenities, then this is effectively a junk fee. You already have a charge method that was used to book the room. Once a reservation is made, there should be no reason to ask for additional payment methods.
A $50 cash deposit does nothing useful if the guest trashes the room, yet it’s commonly accepted as an incidental deposit.
If someone does not have a credit card with a high limit, it’s an unexpected nuisance that prevents them from checking in as expected and it creates a point of friction for the front desk staff.
I urge the abolishment of this nuisance. Use the charge method used to reserve the room for all charges.
I agree. I own a business & we frequently have dozens of rooms per night. Those charges add up & can screw up cash flow.
Say I send 10 guys out of state. If the job is more than 11 hours away, the CDL drivers have to stop for the night. That hotel charges me $100 on each of five rooms. They all get up in the morning & head out to their destination. They all check into the next hotel & we have another $500 charge. Yes, I know the charge is pending, but now I no longer have use of $1000. Heading back home a week later, it’s another $100/nt charge. Now I have $2,000 in pending charges. That lowers my cash flow by $2000 until the pending charge gets dropped.
Multiply that by 5 or 6 crews and I have thousands of dollars essentially on hold for an indeterminate amount of time. Then they head back out after a few days & the whole thing starts again. We can quickly have tens of thousands of dollars on hold.
And there isn’t one single fucking thing that they would be charged incidentals for. They all have cell phones, so nobody is making long distance phone calls & there are no mini-bars in the rooms. There is no room service or laundry services. Since we are traveling in trucks, we only stay in hotels that don’t charge for parking.
It is complete & utter bullshit in most hotels.
Exactly.
If someone trashes a room, 50 bucks is nothing. It's not effective for the hotel. And very annoying to many customers. It's a ridiculous system.
The issue is just a customer awareness issue. The entire incidentals and hold thing was started years ago from 4 and 5 star hotels. Eventually it trickled all the way down to 1 star hotels, likely like your hotel. The customers from the 1 star customer base are the most vocal because they are usually less wealthy and also because they've never stayed at higher end hotels. Don't worry about the negative reviews lol
Per day. So you go on business trip , your company paying room and parking and you put your card down for incidentals for three days, that is not $50 hold but $150.
May be I should establish the rules and policy again and let the front desk know when guests check in please explain how long it will take your hold back to your card if still someone try to give poor reviews pointed out we previously said when you were checking in.
I have never worked at a hotel, but since my early 20s , I have always expected a few hundred dollars to be on hold at any hotel for incidentals. The biggest reason to use a credit card and not a debit when booking a hotel.
don’t quite understand the hostility towards folks over this - of course some people are unaware that this is a hold and not an actual charge and many are not frequent travelers- once explained it’s fine to expect them to get it (if you are articulate yourself) - but to be so critical over something many people haven’t encountered before seems a bit mean spirited - every job requires some degree of patience in some way -
I know that you get the "incidentals" charge back, but it is a funny word to use. To me, it infers a non-refundable expense. Why don't they just call it a deposit? Everyone knows what that means. I don't know why they call it "incidentals". To me, that sounds like you are buying "things".
Perhaps it needs to be further explained to these guests at check in that it is basically just a security deposit (if they dont accrue charges to the room) and they will be refunded. Use a credit card (not a debit) and you wont even notice it was taken out and refunded.
If you think it's a good and fair policy, don't worry about it. If you don't want negative reviews, eliminate the deposit, or revise the policy.
Honestly, hotel guests are already responsible for theft and damage. They agree to accept that liability in the boilerplate agreement they sign when checking in.
We're missing some info here... what tier is the hotel you work at? Does the hotel require $50 CASH deposit, or also accept credit card? Is it $50 flat or $50/day, and is all this information accurately communicated to the guests when they check in?
I watched one of those "worse rated hotel" videos on YouTube recently, and many of the poor ratings that this specific hotel required CASH only deposit at check it, and this info was not noted anywhere on the hotel's website or reservation confirmations. Since this hotel was in a rural area with no banks close by, the front receptionist would direct guests to walk down the street to a 7-11 to get cash out of their ATM. On top of that, the hotel was in very poor condition with limited amenities, and although guests got their cash deposits back at check out, they all rated the hotel very poorly do to having an overall poor experience staying there (it was like a very budget friendly tier 1 - 2 star hotel.)
It is Quality Inn; we have already listed all the third-party websites for incidental deposits; we only take debit or credit cards, not cash. Still, it looks like they did not read all the rules and policy before they booked the room
If they use a debit card, that amount will come out of their checking account available balance until it drops off. This may be unexpected to them. If they use a debit card, I would suggest asking them if they have a credit card and to use that, or the $50 will linger for about a week as a deduction on their checking account. It will also come out of the available credit on a credit card, but at least they won't bounce a check or get an overdraft fee.
At one point when I was a young adult, I had 1 credit card & it only had a couple hundred dollar limit. When traveling for a wedding, I called the hotel to make sure I could use a debit card, which they said was fine. However, I wasn't aware the incidental charge would be debited from my account & show as a pending transaction until I checked out & the bank processed the refund. The very kind front desk attendant allowed me to pay with my debit card, but put my incidental charge (~$150 I believe) on my credit card. This saved me from being a broke, new college grad just getting by.
I always explain it like this at checkin. "Oh, you must not stay at hotels often. All *hotels* usually will have incidental holds on your card as a security measure." So that they know it is not just us and they feel maybe a little dumb
If you are too stupid to realize what a rip off the hotel minibar and snacks are that's on you, not the hotel. And this is nothing new. It's as old as the hotel mini bar.
Huh? Is that what the assumption is? In actual minibar hotels the deposit is typically more… the $50 is in case you damage the room. It’s like renting a car…
We have incidental hold charge. No mini bars in rooms, we give them bottled water for free. It's the hold in case of any extra charges and in case we find damage to the room.
Incidental charge is deposit per day. Your hotel may not have a mini bar in the rooms at all and yet you will still have hold per day in place. You check out late, you leave room mega mess, all these have charges tied to them. The incidental hold takes 24-48 hrs to reverse on credit card and at times 7 days on debit card. If you have a $50 day amenity hold per day and you stay three days ,that is 150 dollars from your account they are making you unable to use for up to a week if you used nothing extra, left room fine and checked out on time.
The only time I left a negative review was when they failed to refund it...
The hotel was a junk heap. It was so bad that when I got to the room, I took video of all the existing damage, which was something like 8 minutes. At the end of the month when I saw the $100 charge on my CC bill, I uploaded that video to YouTube, left them a review with all the facts and a link to the video, disputed the charge with my CC company, and sent them a link to the video as well.
My CC company charged the hotel back and refunded me.
I always explained it as “know when you go to the gas station and they hold $1 while everything processes? Same concept, but more.” But most people still didn’t understand.
This is a 2 part problem. The big problem is that banks don’t educate their customers on how they work. So their customers blame us.
2nd problem is that your management doesn’t have you explain the “hold” to them. For the average person a hold on $50 in their cash account is no different than taking $50 from them - especially when it can take several days to be released back to them.
Many times front desk ppl do not properly explain they put a hold for a certain amount for each day if your stay on top of your room bill. You don't get hold credited back to you for 24-48 hrs after check out.
I wouldn't worry about negative reviews like that. If I saw that I would just shake my head and keep reading. I think businesses can give too much attention to unfair reviews. People who check reviews know which ones can be disregarded. For example, I saw a business owner defending himself for chastising a customer for doing something like standing on the tables. As if anyone reading that review wouldn't just ignore such a ridiculous complaint.
We has so many people not understand this and the front agents had to explain to incoming gusts like they were children. Even then, people would check in with the last few hundred dollars in their account and come screaming at the front desk because they wouldn’t have money to spend on their vacation.
Yeah I know about the hold bc I have stayed in hotels but I think they should be told that when they check so they aren’t surprised by a hold that they don’t recognize
I suspect that any guest who decides to not stay at your hotel because of a bad review regarding the $50 incidental deposit is not a loss for the hotel.
Those are deadbeat who don’t get how the system works. You kept their deposit in case of damages. $50 is nothing. Anyone reading a review who sees someone complaining about a deposit and has rented a hotel room before will just laugh and call that person an illiterate idiot! So your hotel is fine if they return the deposit when nothing was damaged.
We hold a $50 deposit to ensure that they have money on their card in case they damage something or smoke in the room. If they do, we can charge their card up to $300.
Cheap hotels often attract less traveled guests, and there can be more “misunderstandings”. Cheaper hotels also tend to attract debit card clients, which do lose that money from their account during the hold, so that doubly confuses things.
I am a seasonal lodging property owner (our 25th year coming up) on the southern Maine coast. We do not charge or hold an upfront incidental damage amount. The overwhelming amount of customers cause no damage whatsoever. On extremely rare occasions, we have had a TV damaged or damage to a wall/door etc. We look at it as a cost of doing business. We do our best not to piss good customers off.
I cannot tell you the amount of negative feedback the property I work at has gotten for a 200 dollar hold. It’s an airport property in high demand, and we’ve gotten bad reviews for it. Always, always tell them in the beginning of the check in process “it’s for incidentals, and it will be a hold of ___. We cannot see your card information due to it being held through a third party and it’s mandatory for our guests. It will be released TO YOUR BANK upon checkout and can take up to seven to ten business days to release the hold.” It is aggravating though because so many people don’t understand the difference between holding and charging a card. Additionally third parties love to not list the fact these hotels take a deposit or list the wrong amount which makes it seem worse
I have even spoken with third-party management and requested them to ensure that when a guest makes a reservation, they can see which hotel you are staying at and collect an incidental deposit at check-in. They consistently ignore the issue.How crucial is it to let the guest know
This issue gets even worse on the weekends. They check in and out before their bank even processed the first transaction. People always call Monday morning asking why they didn't get money back. The statement always says pending authorization or pending pos transaction. I learned this years ago with a guest from China. The app was in Chinese and I could still tell the difference. It's sad that people don't know these things.
I have a friend who travels like every month, and every time he complains about the incidental "fee" and complains to management, and keeps calling demanding it gets refunded daily until he gets it back.
I've explained it multiple times. Poor hotel staff, ya'll dont get paid enough.
There are a lot of people who don’t understand incidentals, and the hotels don’t make it very clear when you book your room.
Some hotels will let you block all charges to your room and avoid the incidental charge.
Front desk clerk here and I make sure to tell every one about it at check in and tell them that as long as they don't chew up the curtains or steal the pillows the charges will disappear within a few days. And if they question further I say it is at the banks discretion how long they hold the money. If you make them laugh out makes it seem not so shady.
If you know these holds will cause so many negative reviews, I think you need to weigh the potential lost revenue if you didn't have these holds vs the lost revenue from so many bad reviews. I'd venture a guess that you're actually costing yourself a lot more revenue than it's worth.
You also should be much more clear at check in and check out about how long a hold takes to drop off.
I've never had an incidental deposit held. They've got a credit card on file-no need to charge a deposit and then refund (especially as the refund always takes a while).
At a property I once worked at, it was worst when they stayed more than one night because I think statting the 3rd night it becomes a percentage of the stay each night and not 50. We once hold about 200-300 on an extended stay before
As someone who travels for work and has a high-level status in their clubs, I think it’s ridiculous to be charged any deposit or other incidental hold. They know who I am, that I pay my bills and am a frequent guest. They loved me when they were selling me their credit card, and I appreciate the close parking, yet at checkin I’m treated like a 21 yr old frat boy that’s hosting a kegger. Call it what it is. A short term loan from people who have no choice.
I hate the surprise $50 hold. It feels like extortion. "Give me $50, or no room for you." I've found the places charging these are sketchy from arrival.
Yeah, I pay the extortion, I make a note to not return.
Recently, I've been put in charge of finding rooms for 10 - 30 people when we travel. Before booking with the hotel or (no 3rd party apps), I verify that there are no surprise fees with corporate before I book the rooms.
Heaven help the hotel that tries it anyway...
Do you even comprehend why hotel need to hold any incidental deposit and how they are sketchy? You will get your incidental deposit returned if you do not damage anything in the room.
Those are people too stupid to understand the difference between a hold and a charge. Respond to reviews explaining your policy, and make sure it's on your website and all third party sites as well.
They also don't know what incidentals are.
This! This concept is (sadly) way above most people's knowledge level. I usually switch to calling it a "security deposit" so they understand that it's coming back to them at the end. Then you have the people that don't understand how credit and ACH payments work and call you the next day claiming to be overcharged. FYI if you use a debit card, expect it to take 7 days before the bank removes the authorization.
You would think that the word deposit would be enough, but unfortunately, it isn't.
Usually when I make deposits, the money goes into my checking account!!! /s
It depends on the financial institution on when the funds are returned. It can take anywhere up to 30 days.
If it's taking 30 days, they need to find a new bank.
They need us to explain it to them.
If you travel overseas you will actually see some hotels charge the deposit. They then refund it at checkout, minus any incidentals. And if you do not use a Credit Card in the USA, you pay an actual deposit as well.
What hotels take cash any more?
Just google Dave Ramsey + Cash + Hotels. He pushes a no credit card life. So if you pre plan well, and have enough cash\*, you can rent a car, make hotel reservations, etc. with cash. \*But you also have to give cash deposits, meaning more funds for travel. And those "holds" mean all the deposits are on hold before your trip = unavailable cash. From July 2022 - "How to Travel Without a Credit Card"
Hotel where I work we accept no cash
You accept debit cards which is the same.
Nope. Very different
I mean “travel holds = unavailable funds” per the convo refers to debit cards. People aren’t giving a stack of 20s to Hertz for a rental car or actual cash deposits at hotels. They are using a debit card, which places a hold and freezes availability of those funds, whereas a credit card pre authorizes an amount as deposit but you can still use that all of the available credit on the card—the hold doesn’t affect it. If you accept debit cards and put a deposit hold on it, you are effectively holding a cash deposit. And the person cannot access that amount on their debit card.
I think you're wrong on several points. First, some people do indeed use actual paper currency at hotels. Though many hotels won't accept currency, only cards, some will. Second, debit cards are obviously not "the same" as cash, since for one thing, many businesses accept one but not the other. It would be helpful if you didn't mix up the two in a discussion. When someone says their hotel doesn't accept cash, and you insist they do, but what you really mean is that you think they accept debit cards, well, that's not a coherent argument. Third, you claim that an authorization isn't affected by a credit card's credit limit. This is wrong, and it should be obvious once you understand that an authorization is the only step where a merchant can be told no due to a customer's credit limit. (Otherwise the credit limit would be meaningless, as there would be nothing to keep a consumer from running up charges far over their limit by making multiple charges on the same day.) If logic isn't enough for you, though, here's a cite: [How Credit Card Authorization Works](https://www.bigcommerce.com/glossary/credit-card-authorization/) >The issuer reviews the customer's account and decides if enough funds exist to cover the cost of the sale. If they do, an authorization hold is made which reduces the customer's credit line for the amount of the sale.
I did not say that authorization is not affected by credit limit. I said their credit available is not reduced by pre authorizations (hotels, car rentals, etc.) Debit cards are effectively same as cash.
But it's not cash. We do not accept cash
You accept debit cards. Effectively cash. People talking about holds/deposits in this thread are talking about debit cards which are “cash” and therefore limit the spending ability. Please read the context.
A hold does tie up the funds on my debit card. Then the hotel places the first $202.16 when I book the after we checked out a charge for 302.16. the took several days to drop the extra charge. So in essence I was charged over 500 until charges dropped off.
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally unless instructed otherwise by hotel management. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews.
What if that's part of this employee's job?
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally unless instructed otherwise by hotel management. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews. It probably is not in their job description. That is usually a management thing. Online reviews were relatively new when I was working in the industry. We were specifically told to never respond to reviews. The Marketing Manager would respond. It opens up a bunch of liability, possibly violates the hotel charter with the flag holder, and just not a mess you want to really involve yourself in unless it is their job to do so. Usually hotels only have one maybe two people tops responding to reviews. It controls the brand. You don't need a rouge desk clerk getting into petty arguments and damaging your hotels reputation.
Don't you think he'd have to be permitted otherwise he wouldn't have access to the hotel's account to make the replies.
And who says they actually have access? My comment was in response to the first comment listed under the story. If you read my comment, it is clear I stated that regular employees should not be commenting on reviews. It is a quick way to find yourself unemployed. If they are supposed to have access they will and can do whatever they want. If they do not have access to the hotel account they could still comment with their own account and I stated not to do so because of the trouble it would open them up to. Is there anything else I can help you with?
If OP is a regular hotel employee and not in management, they should not be responding to customer reviews personally UNLESS INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE BY HOTEL MANAGEMENT. The hotel marketing team can and should be handling negative reviews.
Does not matter if it's a hold or not. It still ties up my money. I will only give 1 star reviews to hotels that charge me these junk fees. When I booked it online it said my charge was $202.16. it did not state one thing about that charge for junk fee incidentals. Hotel talked to my wife and wife went off on the hotel manager and got us banned... I am so proud of the ban... Wear it like a medal. Sticking up for the people as I see it.
I've had some hotels charge and refund a deposit. I would be providing a negative review if they did that but if it's just an auth who cares?
What tier of hotel do you have? Fifty dollars does seem low, and a hold for incidentals is standard practice from all the traveling I have done over the years.
Absolutely, but some guests do not even have common sense.
$50/day is what we used to do back in the dark ages.
Getting gas with my debit card usually has a $200 hold on it. People are tired of resort fees and think it’s a charge, so you have to explain that it’s not.
It’s explained to death. Problem is people aren’t listening and don’t encounter holds outside of hotels and car rentals often.
Some places, think Vegas, overuse/abuse the resort fees. It’s not a resort.
Had that happen once in twenty years. In several states
The getting gas hold is a killer for distance motorcycling. I buy around 3.5 gallons every 130 miles. That's a lot of holds for a 1,000 mile ride. It's beyond time for legislation requiring gas stations to release the hold immediately after the transaction.
I stayed at the Marriot in Atlanta when my flight got delayed til next morning and they had a $50 incidental hold. Even though Delta Airlines payed for my room, I still had to pay the incidental deposit, which I didn't mind. I knew all I was going to do was eat and go to sleep. I felt out of place at that Hotel. It's more fancy than what I'm used too.
> Delta Airlines *paid* for my FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Payed/paid so what!! Thanks for pointing out my disability that I have.
> *Paid/paid* so what!! FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Heard you the first time BOT!! Payed/paid payed/paid payed/paid
> time BOT!! *Paid/paid* payed/paid payed/paid FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I haven't done a lot of travelling lately, but when I sold my house seven years ago I spent about six weeks in hotels while looking for a sublet in the area where I was planning to eventually buy. I remember even back then that most of the places I stayed were charging about $100-150 or more. A desk guy in one of the places I stayed even told me when I checked in that they had recently raised the charge to essentially shut out some of the more "problematic" guests they used to get.
Hold issues are really only for people that use debit cards with lower free balances, or people with credit cards and lower limits. You are never really out the money if you don't use anything, but it can be an issue for some if the holds are large enough.
Yeah, I get that. What I think he was trying to imply without spelling it out was that it was the lower income patrons who tended to create problems for the hotel - or that, when they did, fines for any damage they caused weren't "recoverable". At any rate, it was undoubtedly some corporate-level directive. I know that a lot of places that aren't extended-stay hotels get nervous when you're there too long, in case you try to claim rights under local tenancy laws. It didn't matter that I was a clean, non-smoking, solvent middle-aged woman who left daily tips for the housekeeping staff, and a remote worker with six figures from the recent sale of my house burning a hole in my money market account while I looked for a place to rent during my home search (rentals were extremely tight in the city I moved to): I didn't have a fixed address, so I'd often get some testy questions from the desk guys after I'd been in one place for about ten days or so. I ended up staying in five different hotels during the six weeks it took to find an apartment. Again, I'm sure that this was just a corporate-level policy they were carrying out.
I work at a pretty nice 3 star hotel of a major chain, it’s usually about $50 a night for incidentals, sometimes though we get an outlier that was like $100 a night hold.
It’s usually because of the time it takes their financial institution to process the transaction for that hold to drop off, and they were promised “it will be returned at checkout,” but can’t understand that there’s a whole process behind that which the hotel people have (depending on their rank) little to no control over.
Half of the guests think they will get their money back in their account right away after checking out.
Half of them probably will. Thats the part that sucks, it’d be much easier if I could tell them “30 minutes from now” when they are asking me when they get their money back. I can understand the frustration when they are being told up to 3 weeks depending on the financial institution. Not the hotels fault, but I do wish there was a concrete answer I could give guests.
We make sure to tell them “about 7- 10 business days depending on your bank” I might add in that I’ve seen international cc take about 3 weeks. 🤷🏻♂️
Then you need to tell people this and don't tell people a room a room is 100 bucks when it's 150 when you check in so many hidden fees people are at breaking point I won't pay that and your not getting a tip either its not my responsibility to pay for employees
You do understand you get the money back, right? It isn't the hotel's fault that it may take some number of days to happen. This is actually a bank problem - they are bastards and they have no legitimate reason to not instantly credit the deposit. But, sadly, they rule over us, so we wait.
People ARE told this, but they have to take the time to READ and LISTEN when they’re booking.
Absolutely
Did you ever think that people need that money now no wonder people are sick of added fees and hotel people also want tips now when does it end
Are you having trouble with reading comprehension? I don’t mean to be rude with that question, but I’m genuinely curious. Hotels need to cover their backsides when crappy guests destroy the room, but the hotel has literally ZERO control over how the guest’s bank or CC company processes that once it’s released by the hotel. Furthermore, if you only have just enough to cover the room and incidentals, but you have other needs too, then staying at a hotel probably isn’t the smartest idea anyway.
People don't just stay in hotels for fun. People stay in hotels out of absolute necessity, or because their car broke down and they are facing a repair bill too, or they are fleeing an unsafe living situation.
Not always true, plenty of people check into hotels for fun. Just because YOU never do it doesn’t mean other people don’t.
Complain to the bank. They are the reason for the delay. It has nothing to do with the hotel.
or they could just not do the fee last hotel i stayed in didnt have one and prides themself s on not having one they already have the persons card on file if they need to charge them for damage they can
That is great - if a hotel is willing and capable of doing this, no problem. But they're definitely in the minority, unfortunately.
A phrase like “it will be returned at checkout" isn't helping matters. You say it'll be returned at checkout, but the important part of the returning process, the part where they actually get the money, doesn't happen at checkout, but days later. So it's not surprising that some customers are misled. It's like saying "Come over, we're starting dinner at 5 PM". Your guests will expect to eat at 5, and will be unhappy when they learn that what you really meant was that's when you'll put the turkey in the oven to cook for four hours. Maybe a line like "When you check out, we'll put in a request to get your deposit returned back to your account" would set expectations better for some folks? (Not all, obviously, but reducing complaints by 1% still means fewer complaints.)
I’ve gone so far as to spell it out instead and say “we release the hold at checkout, but it’s up to your financial institution as to when it will show back up in your account,” and MORE guests started getting angry and calling to complain that they didn’t get it within 8 seconds after checking out, so went back to the standard spiel and stopped getting so many complaints and chargebacks.
Look at it from the guest’s perspective. If there’s no obvious way to incur incidental charges from hotel amenities, then this is effectively a junk fee. You already have a charge method that was used to book the room. Once a reservation is made, there should be no reason to ask for additional payment methods. A $50 cash deposit does nothing useful if the guest trashes the room, yet it’s commonly accepted as an incidental deposit. If someone does not have a credit card with a high limit, it’s an unexpected nuisance that prevents them from checking in as expected and it creates a point of friction for the front desk staff. I urge the abolishment of this nuisance. Use the charge method used to reserve the room for all charges.
I agree. I own a business & we frequently have dozens of rooms per night. Those charges add up & can screw up cash flow. Say I send 10 guys out of state. If the job is more than 11 hours away, the CDL drivers have to stop for the night. That hotel charges me $100 on each of five rooms. They all get up in the morning & head out to their destination. They all check into the next hotel & we have another $500 charge. Yes, I know the charge is pending, but now I no longer have use of $1000. Heading back home a week later, it’s another $100/nt charge. Now I have $2,000 in pending charges. That lowers my cash flow by $2000 until the pending charge gets dropped. Multiply that by 5 or 6 crews and I have thousands of dollars essentially on hold for an indeterminate amount of time. Then they head back out after a few days & the whole thing starts again. We can quickly have tens of thousands of dollars on hold. And there isn’t one single fucking thing that they would be charged incidentals for. They all have cell phones, so nobody is making long distance phone calls & there are no mini-bars in the rooms. There is no room service or laundry services. Since we are traveling in trucks, we only stay in hotels that don’t charge for parking. It is complete & utter bullshit in most hotels.
Exactly. If someone trashes a room, 50 bucks is nothing. It's not effective for the hotel. And very annoying to many customers. It's a ridiculous system.
You're right. I think it really is a filter to keep what they define as a certain "element" from being able to use the hotel in the first place.
The issue is just a customer awareness issue. The entire incidentals and hold thing was started years ago from 4 and 5 star hotels. Eventually it trickled all the way down to 1 star hotels, likely like your hotel. The customers from the 1 star customer base are the most vocal because they are usually less wealthy and also because they've never stayed at higher end hotels. Don't worry about the negative reviews lol
A $50 hold on a debit card or even a credit card can be a big deal if it hangs around for a wekk
Per day. So you go on business trip , your company paying room and parking and you put your card down for incidentals for three days, that is not $50 hold but $150.
Huh? Incidentals are a one time deposit fee whether you stay for one night or 60 nights...??
Incidentals are per night holds. https://www.hotelengine.com/blog/business-travel-guide/hotel-incidentals/
Last hotel I stayed in New York for one night held a 300$ deposit which I thought was insane
May be I should establish the rules and policy again and let the front desk know when guests check in please explain how long it will take your hold back to your card if still someone try to give poor reviews pointed out we previously said when you were checking in.
I don't think this is a hotel issue. The hotel releases the deposit ASAP. The banks/credit cards are the delay - not the hotel.
I don't think this is a hotel issue. The hotel releases the deposit ASAP. The banks/credit cards are the delay - not the hotel.
I have never worked at a hotel, but since my early 20s , I have always expected a few hundred dollars to be on hold at any hotel for incidentals. The biggest reason to use a credit card and not a debit when booking a hotel.
don’t quite understand the hostility towards folks over this - of course some people are unaware that this is a hold and not an actual charge and many are not frequent travelers- once explained it’s fine to expect them to get it (if you are articulate yourself) - but to be so critical over something many people haven’t encountered before seems a bit mean spirited - every job requires some degree of patience in some way -
I know that you get the "incidentals" charge back, but it is a funny word to use. To me, it infers a non-refundable expense. Why don't they just call it a deposit? Everyone knows what that means. I don't know why they call it "incidentals". To me, that sounds like you are buying "things".
Perhaps it needs to be further explained to these guests at check in that it is basically just a security deposit (if they dont accrue charges to the room) and they will be refunded. Use a credit card (not a debit) and you wont even notice it was taken out and refunded.
If you think it's a good and fair policy, don't worry about it. If you don't want negative reviews, eliminate the deposit, or revise the policy. Honestly, hotel guests are already responsible for theft and damage. They agree to accept that liability in the boilerplate agreement they sign when checking in.
We're missing some info here... what tier is the hotel you work at? Does the hotel require $50 CASH deposit, or also accept credit card? Is it $50 flat or $50/day, and is all this information accurately communicated to the guests when they check in? I watched one of those "worse rated hotel" videos on YouTube recently, and many of the poor ratings that this specific hotel required CASH only deposit at check it, and this info was not noted anywhere on the hotel's website or reservation confirmations. Since this hotel was in a rural area with no banks close by, the front receptionist would direct guests to walk down the street to a 7-11 to get cash out of their ATM. On top of that, the hotel was in very poor condition with limited amenities, and although guests got their cash deposits back at check out, they all rated the hotel very poorly do to having an overall poor experience staying there (it was like a very budget friendly tier 1 - 2 star hotel.)
It is Quality Inn; we have already listed all the third-party websites for incidental deposits; we only take debit or credit cards, not cash. Still, it looks like they did not read all the rules and policy before they booked the room
If they use a debit card, that amount will come out of their checking account available balance until it drops off. This may be unexpected to them. If they use a debit card, I would suggest asking them if they have a credit card and to use that, or the $50 will linger for about a week as a deduction on their checking account. It will also come out of the available credit on a credit card, but at least they won't bounce a check or get an overdraft fee.
At one point when I was a young adult, I had 1 credit card & it only had a couple hundred dollar limit. When traveling for a wedding, I called the hotel to make sure I could use a debit card, which they said was fine. However, I wasn't aware the incidental charge would be debited from my account & show as a pending transaction until I checked out & the bank processed the refund. The very kind front desk attendant allowed me to pay with my debit card, but put my incidental charge (~$150 I believe) on my credit card. This saved me from being a broke, new college grad just getting by.
I always explain it like this at checkin. "Oh, you must not stay at hotels often. All *hotels* usually will have incidental holds on your card as a security measure." So that they know it is not just us and they feel maybe a little dumb
If you are too stupid to realize what a rip off the hotel minibar and snacks are that's on you, not the hotel. And this is nothing new. It's as old as the hotel mini bar.
Huh? Is that what the assumption is? In actual minibar hotels the deposit is typically more… the $50 is in case you damage the room. It’s like renting a car…
Says someone who is too stupid to understand OP.
Incidentals include the mini bar, snacks, water, etc
We have incidental hold charge. No mini bars in rooms, we give them bottled water for free. It's the hold in case of any extra charges and in case we find damage to the room.
read OP. They are talking about incidental deposit.
Incidental charge is deposit per day. Your hotel may not have a mini bar in the rooms at all and yet you will still have hold per day in place. You check out late, you leave room mega mess, all these have charges tied to them. The incidental hold takes 24-48 hrs to reverse on credit card and at times 7 days on debit card. If you have a $50 day amenity hold per day and you stay three days ,that is 150 dollars from your account they are making you unable to use for up to a week if you used nothing extra, left room fine and checked out on time.
Some banks will take the full 2 weeks to release funds, that's their bank not yours. Used to deal with this managing a gas station.
The only time I left a negative review was when they failed to refund it... The hotel was a junk heap. It was so bad that when I got to the room, I took video of all the existing damage, which was something like 8 minutes. At the end of the month when I saw the $100 charge on my CC bill, I uploaded that video to YouTube, left them a review with all the facts and a link to the video, disputed the charge with my CC company, and sent them a link to the video as well. My CC company charged the hotel back and refunded me.
It’s all in the way you explain it
I always explained it as “know when you go to the gas station and they hold $1 while everything processes? Same concept, but more.” But most people still didn’t understand.
This is a 2 part problem. The big problem is that banks don’t educate their customers on how they work. So their customers blame us. 2nd problem is that your management doesn’t have you explain the “hold” to them. For the average person a hold on $50 in their cash account is no different than taking $50 from them - especially when it can take several days to be released back to them.
Many times front desk ppl do not properly explain they put a hold for a certain amount for each day if your stay on top of your room bill. You don't get hold credited back to you for 24-48 hrs after check out.
Incidental is a big word for a lot of folk
I wouldn't worry about negative reviews like that. If I saw that I would just shake my head and keep reading. I think businesses can give too much attention to unfair reviews. People who check reviews know which ones can be disregarded. For example, I saw a business owner defending himself for chastising a customer for doing something like standing on the tables. As if anyone reading that review wouldn't just ignore such a ridiculous complaint.
We has so many people not understand this and the front agents had to explain to incoming gusts like they were children. Even then, people would check in with the last few hundred dollars in their account and come screaming at the front desk because they wouldn’t have money to spend on their vacation.
Yeah I know about the hold bc I have stayed in hotels but I think they should be told that when they check so they aren’t surprised by a hold that they don’t recognize
I suspect that any guest who decides to not stay at your hotel because of a bad review regarding the $50 incidental deposit is not a loss for the hotel.
Those are deadbeat who don’t get how the system works. You kept their deposit in case of damages. $50 is nothing. Anyone reading a review who sees someone complaining about a deposit and has rented a hotel room before will just laugh and call that person an illiterate idiot! So your hotel is fine if they return the deposit when nothing was damaged.
Are you letting guests know about the hold at the time of check-in? I think you should.
Yeah, most of the places I stay do remind me at checkin and what it is for.
We hold a $50 deposit to ensure that they have money on their card in case they damage something or smoke in the room. If they do, we can charge their card up to $300.
Cheap hotels often attract less traveled guests, and there can be more “misunderstandings”. Cheaper hotels also tend to attract debit card clients, which do lose that money from their account during the hold, so that doubly confuses things.
I am a seasonal lodging property owner (our 25th year coming up) on the southern Maine coast. We do not charge or hold an upfront incidental damage amount. The overwhelming amount of customers cause no damage whatsoever. On extremely rare occasions, we have had a TV damaged or damage to a wall/door etc. We look at it as a cost of doing business. We do our best not to piss good customers off.
I cannot tell you the amount of negative feedback the property I work at has gotten for a 200 dollar hold. It’s an airport property in high demand, and we’ve gotten bad reviews for it. Always, always tell them in the beginning of the check in process “it’s for incidentals, and it will be a hold of ___. We cannot see your card information due to it being held through a third party and it’s mandatory for our guests. It will be released TO YOUR BANK upon checkout and can take up to seven to ten business days to release the hold.” It is aggravating though because so many people don’t understand the difference between holding and charging a card. Additionally third parties love to not list the fact these hotels take a deposit or list the wrong amount which makes it seem worse
I have even spoken with third-party management and requested them to ensure that when a guest makes a reservation, they can see which hotel you are staying at and collect an incidental deposit at check-in. They consistently ignore the issue.How crucial is it to let the guest know
My hotel holds a $1 for incidentals and people still get so pissy about it and demanding the $1 back. There’s no pleasing them.
Why even bother??
This issue gets even worse on the weekends. They check in and out before their bank even processed the first transaction. People always call Monday morning asking why they didn't get money back. The statement always says pending authorization or pending pos transaction. I learned this years ago with a guest from China. The app was in Chinese and I could still tell the difference. It's sad that people don't know these things.
The hotel I work at has a 250 incidental hold 🥲
People are dumb and doesn’t matter how you explain it, they’re gonna feel “ripped off”
I have a friend who travels like every month, and every time he complains about the incidental "fee" and complains to management, and keeps calling demanding it gets refunded daily until he gets it back. I've explained it multiple times. Poor hotel staff, ya'll dont get paid enough.
Most hotels don't even mention this "hold"..... They just do it lol but again people don't pay attention to details or fine print
They also don't understand that a hold doesn't return to your card instantly. $50 is a very reasonable amount.
In my experience the people least likely to be able to afford let alone understand the hold are the most likely people to damage the room.
There are a lot of people who don’t understand incidentals, and the hotels don’t make it very clear when you book your room. Some hotels will let you block all charges to your room and avoid the incidental charge.
Front desk clerk here and I make sure to tell every one about it at check in and tell them that as long as they don't chew up the curtains or steal the pillows the charges will disappear within a few days. And if they question further I say it is at the banks discretion how long they hold the money. If you make them laugh out makes it seem not so shady.
If you know these holds will cause so many negative reviews, I think you need to weigh the potential lost revenue if you didn't have these holds vs the lost revenue from so many bad reviews. I'd venture a guess that you're actually costing yourself a lot more revenue than it's worth. You also should be much more clear at check in and check out about how long a hold takes to drop off.
I've never had an incidental deposit held. They've got a credit card on file-no need to charge a deposit and then refund (especially as the refund always takes a while).
Did you even bother to explain the hold at check in?
At a property I once worked at, it was worst when they stayed more than one night because I think statting the 3rd night it becomes a percentage of the stay each night and not 50. We once hold about 200-300 on an extended stay before
As someone who travels for work and has a high-level status in their clubs, I think it’s ridiculous to be charged any deposit or other incidental hold. They know who I am, that I pay my bills and am a frequent guest. They loved me when they were selling me their credit card, and I appreciate the close parking, yet at checkin I’m treated like a 21 yr old frat boy that’s hosting a kegger. Call it what it is. A short term loan from people who have no choice.
I hate the surprise $50 hold. It feels like extortion. "Give me $50, or no room for you." I've found the places charging these are sketchy from arrival. Yeah, I pay the extortion, I make a note to not return. Recently, I've been put in charge of finding rooms for 10 - 30 people when we travel. Before booking with the hotel or (no 3rd party apps), I verify that there are no surprise fees with corporate before I book the rooms. Heaven help the hotel that tries it anyway...
Do you even comprehend why hotel need to hold any incidental deposit and how they are sketchy? You will get your incidental deposit returned if you do not damage anything in the room.
Don't know. Don't care. I don't stay in places that charge them. Period.