Originally Posted by
Tim_T
I would disagree with swajames. Prepayments typically appear as a credit to your bill / folio on check out. If you stay after the VAT change but pay before, then you will have a credit as the charge for the stay occurs on the day of the stay. I would think of the payment as a deposit. I would be pretty sure you would get the credit back or it would offset any other charges you may have.
This assumes you booked thru Hilton and not a third party booking agent.
For VAT purposes, any prepayment generally does lock in tax at the rate in force at the time it's received by the supplier. Hopefully Hilton may well do what you describe (and there are some optional rules covering the rate change that might enable the lower rate to apply in cases like this) but the VAT treatment on prepayments is generally as I outlined. It could also, of course, depend on the specific terms upon which the payment was made and received.