Finishing up a 15-day trip.

I stayed 2 nights in Rouen and will stay 2 nights in Paris before returning to the US.

The Rouen hotel put €90 on my card for security charge. I don't recall seeing that before.

Then this morning, the Paris hotel which I will be checking into this afternoon charged €150 so I emailed them and they said it's a security deposit.

I don't recall seeing this practice before. Certainly they have your card number already so they can charge it for damage that they claim. But to preemptively charge the cards?

I stayed at a little family-run hotel in Fréjus during this trip and they didn't put a charge on it.

Don't recall this practice in other European countries either.

Oh and 2 nights in Paris, the taxe de séjour is almost €17.

But France is such a popular destination, I guess they can do these things.

No, that's actually not that unusual anymore. It's not just France either, this happens also in Germany.

Not every hôtel does this, but I would say in my experiences, it's more than half.

The amount of the deposit is only blocked, so the amount is reduced from your credit line. In this sense, it is no different from some self-serve petrol stations that block 120€ or 200 € before you pump the fuel.

It's surprising to read this from someone form the US ! US hotels have been doing this for decades. And it's not a charge, but a hold.

No the charges went through. They will have to reverse them.

Yes, it's just a guarantee, not a charge.

I've had this once in a UK hotel. I didn't mind as they agreed to refund to a different card, so I earned a few extra points.

​​​​​​​Not sure why they couldn't just do a pre auth though.

It tends to happen less if you have already paid for the room . If not I usually pay for the room on arrival at reception.

Well in both of these cases, they were nonrefundable ad prepaid months ago.

I stayed at a US hotel last night and a $150 hold was put on my card. I had to sign to acknowledge the charge. And this was on a prepaid stay. When I look at that card, it shows the charge as pending. It will be released on check out with the actual charge from my stay posted.

It's very common in the US.

It's best to use a charge card and not a debit card. I've read that it can take several weeks to get it back on a debit card.

What was even worse was when I went to the Swissôtel in Chicago this year. I had prepaid my stay but when I checked in they announced the "Urban Experience" fee which would add $25 to every night's stay. This was a bunch of bullcrap with a "credit" at the café, discounts at the spa and also a dry cleaning credit (yes, I always come to hotels with dirty clothes that need to be dry cleaned). I said I didn't want this fee or these services when I checked in; I repeated it when I checked out but of course I was still charged. I had to complain to Accor Hotels when I got home to finally get the charges cancelled.

Honestly, the US hôtels are the worst at egregious holds and money-grab charges. Resort fees at a regular hôtel, service charges, etc..... many hôtels in the US slide them all in and say "just sign at the bottom". I don't travel to the US much anymore, but I've pointed them out and they struggle to explain them all and eventually take them off before I sign anything. I've been charged for parking I didn't use, a "security deposit" of 200 USD that never got reversed, etc...... so honestly what the OP sees is completely within line.

"Viilata linssiin !"