Doubletree refuses to release $6k in cc authorizations
Dec 18, 2012, 1:43 pm
#16
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an update
There has been no communication from the hotel management. I would have thought that a good general manager would have reached out to me given the information I provided to Guest Assistance. However, one of the authorizations was released today, so we're under $3100 in open authorizations now.
The team I am working with is well aware of this situation. As a group, we have spent $40k at the hotel this month. The incompetence of the hotel in resolving my issue will likely result in our similar spending next month going to one of the competing hotels down the street.
The team I am working with is well aware of this situation. As a group, we have spent $40k at the hotel this month. The incompetence of the hotel in resolving my issue will likely result in our similar spending next month going to one of the competing hotels down the street.
Dec 18, 2012, 1:58 pm
#17
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There has been no communication from the hotel management. I would have thought that a good general manager would have reached out to me given the information I provided to Guest Assistance. However, one of the authorizations was released today, so we're under $3100 in open authorizations now.
The team I am working with is well aware of this situation. As a group, we have spent $40k at the hotel this month. The incompetence of the hotel in resolving my issue will likely result in our similar spending next month going to one of the competing hotels down the street.
The team I am working with is well aware of this situation. As a group, we have spent $40k at the hotel this month. The incompetence of the hotel in resolving my issue will likely result in our similar spending next month going to one of the competing hotels down the street.
Dec 18, 2012, 2:35 pm
#18
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Dec 18, 2012, 4:14 pm
#19
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The team I am working with is well aware of this situation. As a group, we have spent $40k at the hotel this month. The incompetence of the hotel in resolving my issue will likely result in our similar spending next month going to one of the competing hotels down the street.
Dec 18, 2012, 4:18 pm
#20
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But, as I've said, don't threaten to do it. Do it and then tell them you already did it. The world is full of people who threaten properties every day with the loss of business. When they don't do it, it only reaffirms to management that it can do a poor job and suffer no consequences. Or, in a worst case scenario, they buy back loyalty with a free drink coupon or somesuch.
Dec 18, 2012, 5:24 pm
#21
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But, as I've said, don't threaten to do it. Do it and then tell them you already did it. The world is full of people who threaten properties every day with the loss of business. When they don't do it, it only reaffirms to management that it can do a poor job and suffer no consequences. Or, in a worst case scenario, they buy back loyalty
with a free drink coupon or somesuch.
with a free drink coupon or somesuch.
I told them the next time I was coming to that city, I wouldn't be staying with them -- a true statement because I already had reservations for two nights later with a different chain and was going somewhere else in between.
I told them when I checked out that I was going to dispute the charge and wound up getting them to lower the rate if I sent them a fax and they eventually made good on it.
I haven't stayed with them since and rarely stay at that chain anymore.
In the OP's case, I'd get a different credit card.
Bob H
Dec 19, 2012, 1:58 am
#22
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What's the credit card got to do with anything? OP mentioned that AMEX have been very good at dealing with this.
I support moving your business elsewhere and letting the hotel Mgmt and Hilton know about this. Hilton chain needs to keep their hotels responsible for such screw-ups. You are obviously a person who spends more than 10-12k/year with Hilton, and if they don't care about you, that tells a lot about their focus...
I support moving your business elsewhere and letting the hotel Mgmt and Hilton know about this. Hilton chain needs to keep their hotels responsible for such screw-ups. You are obviously a person who spends more than 10-12k/year with Hilton, and if they don't care about you, that tells a lot about their focus...
Dec 19, 2012, 2:57 am
#24
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Dec 19, 2012, 6:41 am
#25
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The merchant is to blame for putting them through, Amex is to blame for not releasing them in some amount of time.
Dec 19, 2012, 12:18 pm
#26
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The merchant normally does not "release" authorizations. They put it through and if a charge follows then the charge takes the place of the authorization, if no charge follows, the credit card company has a policy of how many days it will take to release. In this case, it appears Amex is seven days.
The merchant is to blame for putting them through, Amex is to blame for not releasing them in some amount of time.
The merchant is to blame for putting them through, Amex is to blame for not releasing them in some amount of time.
An additional update - The last of the authorizations has dropped off of my card. However, there still has not been ANY communication from the hotel management. When I was a fast food manager in college, I was taught better management principles than has been exhibited by this hotel senior staff.
Dec 19, 2012, 12:40 pm
#27
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While this is largely correct, when a merchant contacts Merchant Services at AmEx, they can request that an authorization be removed immediately. When the merchant does so, the release is almost instantaneous. In this case, the merchant (hotel) couldn't be bothered to take that small step.
While they could have, I bet they pretty much decided not to at this step
They pretty much decided when you "go ballistic" that they were going to do nothing at all for you, deciding then that it would be left till it rolled off on it's own.
Dec 19, 2012, 2:50 pm
#28
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While some have implied that I should have had a higher credit line, or that these things just happen, I have a hard time swallowing the concept that it is in any way reasonable for a hotel to tie up over $10k of my credit line for a stay of less than $3k (unless, of course, I was touring with a band and they feared I would trash a room
)
Dec 19, 2012, 8:43 pm
#29
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Dec 20, 2012, 10:26 am
#30
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Since there has still been no response from the hotel management, I felt obligated to share a glowing review of the property on TripAdvisor.