Hotels - normal procedure

[Raify]

The supposedly simple task of booking a hotel for a wedding is turning me into Osbourne Cox from Burn After Reading:

Problem #1: Hotel won't accept a one night booking, has to be the whole weekend.

Problem #2: I finally find a reasonable place that doesn't enforce rule #1, and they have charged my credit card for the full amount a month before my stay.



I have never heard of this happening, was happy to give my credit card to reserve the room understanding it was only to hold the room, not pay for it (like every other hotel room I've booked). Apparently it is "standard procedure" for this hotel.

Anyone heard of this before?

[sc4589]

Raify said:

The supposedly simple task of booking a hotel for a wedding is turning me into Osbourne Cox from Burn After Reading:

Problem #1: Hotel won't accept a one night booking, has to be the whole weekend.

Problem #2: I finally find a reasonable place that doesn't enforce rule #1, and they have charged my credit card for the full amount a month before my stay.



I have never heard of this happening, was happy to give my credit card to reserve the room understanding it was only to hold the room, not pay for it (like every other hotel room I've booked). Apparently it is "standard procedure" for this hotel.

Anyone heard of this before?

I partly run a guest house, and we don't do that. One night bookings we generally tack a £5 surcharge on (not my choice) if it's in advance, but if someone walks in and we only have that night then we give it to them for standard price.

Regarding that, we'd normally just take a deposit- nowhere near the full amount either.

Find a new hotel!

[Arese]

Some rooms (usually full price) can be 'held' with a credit card and paid upon departure. Some, usually for cheap rates, have to be paid in full at the time of booking.

[parakitaMol.]

This happened to us for the first time this year. Usually they just take card details and only charge you if you break the terms of their cancellation policy (most seem to be within 24hrs of arrival) - otherwise pay on departure. But this was for Edinburgh at the height of the festival so I guess I can understand it.

Are there any others in the area you could try?

[Raify]

I've just cancelled, the mardy receptionist got even moodier when I explained the situation.

It was on a list of places to stay on a wedding invite.... Back to the list I suppose

[mercfunder]

sc4589 said:

Raify said:

The supposedly simple task of booking a hotel for a wedding is turning me into Osbourne Cox from Burn After Reading:

Problem #1: Hotel won't accept a one night booking, has to be the whole weekend.

Problem #2: I finally find a reasonable place that doesn't enforce rule #1, and they have charged my credit card for the full amount a month before my stay.



I have never heard of this happening, was happy to give my credit card to reserve the room understanding it was only to hold the room, not pay for it (like every other hotel room I've booked). Apparently it is "standard procedure" for this hotel.

Anyone heard of this before?

I partly run a guest house, and we don't do that. One night bookings we generally tack a £5 surcharge on (not my choice) if it's in advance, but if someone walks in and we only have that night then we give it to them for standard price.

Regarding that, we'd normally just take a deposit- nowhere near the full amount either.

Find a new hotel!

Why the £5 surcharge for a single night? I don't understand that, a room booked in advance is surely better than relying on passing trade?

[Tom_C76]

Raify said:

The supposedly simple task of booking a hotel for a wedding is turning me into Osbourne Cox from Burn After Reading:

Problem #1: Hotel won't accept a one night booking, has to be the whole weekend.

Problem #2: I finally find a reasonable place that doesn't enforce rule #1, and they have charged my credit card for the full amount a month before my stay.



I have never heard of this happening, was happy to give my credit card to reserve the room understanding it was only to hold the room, not pay for it (like every other hotel room I've booked). Apparently it is "standard procedure" for this hotel.

Anyone heard of this before?

Lots of cheap hotels, or even better hotels offering special rates charge in full on booking. I've had this on places up to 4* on several occasions.

TC

[Arese]

Raify said:

I've just cancelled, the mardy receptionist got even moodier when I explained the situation.

It was on a list of places to stay on a wedding invite.... Back to the list I suppose

Why did you cancel? You need somewhere to stay, you found it, and paid for it. Aren't you now back to square one?

[Raify]

Arese said:

Raify said:

I've just cancelled, the mardy receptionist got even moodier when I explained the situation.

It was on a list of places to stay on a wedding invite.... Back to the list I suppose

Why did you cancel? You need somewhere to stay, you found it, and paid for it. Aren't you now back to square one?

Because I like to pay for services when (or just after) I use them, not a month in advance.

Because I don't like the idea of them enjoying a month's worth (not much worth admittedly) of interest.

Because every other hotel in the world (or just in my experience) has a perfectly reasonable system of payment on arrival or departure.

And mainly because it's soured my opinion of the hotel.

[Arese]

Raify said:

Arese said:

Raify said:

I've just cancelled, the mardy receptionist got even moodier when I explained the situation.

It was on a list of places to stay on a wedding invite.... Back to the list I suppose

Why did you cancel? You need somewhere to stay, you found it, and paid for it. Aren't you now back to square one?

Because I like to pay for services when (or just after) I use them, not a month in advance.

Because I don't like the idea of them enjoying a month's worth (not much worth admittedly) of interest.

Because every other hotel in the world (or just in my experience) has a perfectly reasonable system of payment on arrival or departure.

And mainly because it's soured my opinion of the hotel.

It is pretty standard for some hotels to request payment up front for certain rates.

For example, if their standard rack rate is £200 they might sell the room on a pay-on-departure basis. They might also put aside 20 rooms for £100 on a pay-on-booking basis.

I can understand how it's annoyed you though if they didn't tell you that at the time of booking.

[oOTomOo]

Arese said:

Some rooms (usually full price) can be 'held' with a credit card and paid upon departure. Some, usually for cheap rates, have to be paid in full at the time of booking.

This - IME if you get a 'special rate' on a room you pay at the time of booking - which is non refundable if you cancel.
Part of the terms of getting a special rate.

T

[mercfunder]

Raify said:

Because I like to pay for services when (or just after) I use them, not a month in advance.

Because I don't like the idea of them enjoying a month's worth (not much worth admittedly) of interest.

Because every other hotel in the world (or just in my experience) has a perfectly reasonable system of payment on arrival or departure.

How do you manage when you go on holiday or buy airline tickets?
Try telling them you'll pay when the holiday/flight is over.

[Neil H]

Cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[Raify]

It wasn't a special rate, and I'm not talking about holidays, airlines, track days or any other thing that I'm quite happy to pay for at the time of booking.

I'm very specifically talking about reserving a hotel room in the UK for one night. Something I have never been asked to pay a month in advance for.

I was just asking if anyone had experienced this before, and it seems to only be associated with special rates.

[siwebster]

Neil H said:

Cutting your nose off to spite your face.

My thoughts too. I stayed in a travel lodge last week, booked it online and had to pay in advance. It's not unusual, I've paid in advance for a 5 star hotel before too, so it runs through the whole spectrum.

That might be the best/and or the only hotel in the vicinity that will do you a one night deal. Ok, they didn't tell you they were going to take it in advance, their mistake, you should have asked for a complimentary drink for your trouble. Now you've got to spend time and effort finding another hotel, or go back looking like a tt because you can't find anywhere else.

What do you think they're going to do with your £100 or so in a month. The staff will hardly be necking champagne all week at your expense will they?

[parakitaMol.]

mercfunder said:

Raify said:

Because I like to pay for services when (or just after) I use them, not a month in advance.

Because I don't like the idea of them enjoying a month's worth (not much worth admittedly) of interest.

Because every other hotel in the world (or just in my experience) has a perfectly reasonable system of payment on arrival or departure.

How do you manage when you go on holiday or buy airline tickets?
Try telling them you'll pay when the holiday/flight is over.

What an absurd analogy.

In my experience, the norm in the UK is for the hotel to take card details, upon which they confirm the booking and send you T&Cs which will usually have a 24 or 48 cancellation policy. Unless of course it's a big event, where more often you'll be asked for partial or full payment.

Raify asked a fair question. And in answer to his current dilemma of finding an alternative I would go to a good hotel/B&B finder website like Alisatar Sawdays and look for somewhere else.

[Raify]

Wow, the internet is angry today.

I was just curious whether this sort of thing is common, as I've never encountered it before.

Let's continue on with Mercfunder's amusing anaolgy, I like it: I might have a pub lunch this Sunday, shall I pay for that in advance whilst I'm booking the table?

Thanks for the concern about my nose, and that I might look like a tt. There's a list as long as my arm of B&B's + hotels to try before that happens.

Oh, and thanks for the Sawdays tip off, looks good.

[mercfunder]

parakitaMol. said:

mercfunder said:

Raify said:

Because I like to pay for services when (or just after) I use them, not a month in advance.

Because I don't like the idea of them enjoying a month's worth (not much worth admittedly) of interest.

Because every other hotel in the world (or just in my experience) has a perfectly reasonable system of payment on arrival or departure.

How do you manage when you go on holiday or buy airline tickets?
Try telling them you'll pay when the holiday/flight is over.

What an absurd analogy.

In my experience, the norm in the UK is for the hotel to take card details, upon which they confirm the booking and send you T&Cs which will usually have a 24 or 48 cancellation policy. Unless of course it's a big event, where more often you'll be asked for partial or full payment.

Raify asked a fair question. And in answer to his current dilemma of finding an alternative I would go to a good hotel/B&B finder website like Alisatar Sawdays and look for somewhere else.

How is it an absurd analogy? Read the first line quoted, 'tard.

The hotel is perfectly justified to ask for payment up front, how does the OP not know that the rate being quoted is a special for the wedding party, hence why they want payment up front.

[parakitaMol.]

How silly of me.

Reserving a hotel room in advance is exactly like a flight booking. Every reservation I make in future, I will insist on paying them in full up front. They aren't very bright these hotel types, they are 'tards too I expect.

[N Dentressangle]

A few hotels I've stayed in have charged up front. TBH, it hasn't bothered me - seems like a reasonable precaution against the guest changing their mind at the last minute to me. As someone else said, I have to pay at some point.

I did work in the travel industry many years ago: it's actually nigh on impossible to 'withhold payment' from a hotel because of poor service - difficult to prove definitively, the fuss ruins your holiday, hardly anyone actually says anything at the 'time of the offence' so the hotel does not get the chance to rectify things etc...

I've always just paid up for the reasons above, but Tripadvisor offers excellent revenge these days!