US hotels, security deposit madness. What's going on?
Discussion
I've been traveling with my family in the US. Hotels are very expensive. We normally book two rooms for the four of us. I've just checked in to a very mediocre Hampton hotel and I've had to pay a $500 security deposit for one night's stay. In Chicago I paid $800 deposit for four nights.
Apparently I'll get the money back in "4 to 10 working days".
What is this madness?
Apparently I'll get the money back in "4 to 10 working days".
What is this madness?
Yeah it can be crazy.
You can normally elect to go “pay as go basis” which drops the held amount a little (but not much)
They normally return it pretty quick though in the Hilton group IME (I’m at 92n in Hilton Honors for 2023 thus far) and the monies are often released within 12-24hrs tops.
You can normally elect to go “pay as go basis” which drops the held amount a little (but not much)
They normally return it pretty quick though in the Hilton group IME (I’m at 92n in Hilton Honors for 2023 thus far) and the monies are often released within 12-24hrs tops.
Perhaps they think you'll be raiding the mini-bar 
If you've got plenty of space on your credit card then it is not an issue, other than the hassle of checking you've actually got the money back.
That said, if you are travelling around and staying at multiple hotels for a night or two then they do stack up.
If the deposit is large because the hotel has bars/restaurants/spas/etc that they expect you to charge to your room, then definitely keep an eye on your bill in case they double charge anything.
If you've got plenty of space on your credit card then it is not an issue, other than the hassle of checking you've actually got the money back.
That said, if you are travelling around and staying at multiple hotels for a night or two then they do stack up.
If the deposit is large because the hotel has bars/restaurants/spas/etc that they expect you to charge to your room, then definitely keep an eye on your bill in case they double charge anything.
Truckosaurus said:
Perhaps they think you'll be raiding the mini-bar
If you've got plenty of space on your credit card then it is not an issue, other than the hassle of checking you've actually got the money back.
That said, if you are travelling around and staying at multiple hotels for a night or two then they do stack up.
If the deposit is large because the hotel has bars/restaurants/spas/etc that they expect you to charge to your room, then definitely keep an eye on your bill in case they double charge anything.
We've stayed in 4 hotels over 10 days, currently at $2500 in security deposits. It just seems mad.If you've got plenty of space on your credit card then it is not an issue, other than the hassle of checking you've actually got the money back.
That said, if you are travelling around and staying at multiple hotels for a night or two then they do stack up.
If the deposit is large because the hotel has bars/restaurants/spas/etc that they expect you to charge to your room, then definitely keep an eye on your bill in case they double charge anything.
What I meant was, is it a hold on your card for things you might charge to your room, bar, meals and so on ? i.e. so they know they will get their money even if you leave without setting your bill.
Or is for something else ? Like damage to your room ?
But in your example, $200 room, no minibar or restaurant, and a $900 hold on your card, i.e. there's nothing you can charge to your room anyway, so what is the $900 hold actually for ? What do they need it for ?
Or is for something else ? Like damage to your room ?
But in your example, $200 room, no minibar or restaurant, and a $900 hold on your card, i.e. there's nothing you can charge to your room anyway, so what is the $900 hold actually for ? What do they need it for ?
Ah, here we are:
https://www.hotelfandb.com/security-deposit-for-ho...
It says it's more for damage as opposed to additional room charges. So it's akin to paying a deposit when renting a house or whatever.
What a sad state of affairs that hotels are doing/have to do this now then. Or maybe it's just a wizard wheeze of some kind ?
https://www.hotelfandb.com/security-deposit-for-ho...
It says it's more for damage as opposed to additional room charges. So it's akin to paying a deposit when renting a house or whatever.
What a sad state of affairs that hotels are doing/have to do this now then. Or maybe it's just a wizard wheeze of some kind ?
Monkeylegend said:
They will be investing that money in the overnight markets, all financed by you, and making a good return for themselves, before returning the deposit to you.
Yes, hence my wizard wheeze comment, because surely people are not constantly damaging hotels room, are they ?The Mercure chain in France do this too. I was quite happy to pay my rate in full at check in, but no, they wanted much more than that, nearly double, which they would return a few days later (which they did). I was not happy about the policy, which I was unaware of when I booked. We were away touring in France for 26 nights, we didn't use them again. Their loss.
gotoPzero said:
Its for damages.
Hotel rooms can get absolutely trashed in the US and the police wont be interested.
So as a result they are charging somewhere from 3 to 5 nights as a security deposit.
I travelled quite a bit in the US and its not unusual any more.
I travel fairly extensively for work in the US and have never been charged a security deposit at any of the hotels I've used. Hotel rooms can get absolutely trashed in the US and the police wont be interested.
So as a result they are charging somewhere from 3 to 5 nights as a security deposit.
I travelled quite a bit in the US and its not unusual any more.
Monkeylegend said:
They will be investing that money in the overnight markets, all financed by you, and making a good return for themselves, before returning the deposit to you.
If it’s just a hold on a credit card, how would that work? Or does the OP mean they are actually charging his CC, then issuing a refund? Companies normally allow longer than a hold actually takes to drop off, to cover themselves.Edited by tim0409 on Saturday 4th November 20:41
tim0409 said:
If it’s just a hold on a credit card, how would that work? Or does the OP mean they are actually charging his CC, then issuing a refund? Companies normally allow longer than a hold actually takes to drop off, to cover themselves.
It's a charge, not a hold. Edited by tim0409 on Saturday 4th November 20:41
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