jwhuffman

Good Day All,

Have any of you come across Hilton's requiring a deposit for a room, when the rate booked is not a prepaid rate? I recently booked the Hilton Atlanta for 09DEC19 and they already charged my credit card for the full amount of $155.81. I have only ran across deposits when have group reservations or booking at particular beach destinations. Just thought was odd for downtown Atlanta.

Jwhuffman

MissJ

There is a Falcons game on the 8th. It's against the Panthers so I guess they expect a lot of people to drive over. I've seen this a lot when booking for sporting events, but usually those come with much higher rates. I've had to pay for rooms for F1 races nearly a year in advance, no prepaid rate, just deposit of full amount required.

smmrfld

It happens. Nothing unusual if high-demand date/location.

writerguyfl

Deposits help discourage speculative reservations. As you mentioned, jwhuffman, this practice is fairly common at leisure-oriented properties. Beaches, theme parks, and Las Vegas are all examples.

But, on certain dates, "regular" hotels might institute deposit policies if nearby big events target leisure travelers. Sporting events and concerts are the biggest examples for that second category.

It's also possible the hotel has a large in-house group that hadn't ever held a large meeting before. (Hotel Sales Managers sometimes contact hotels were groups stayed in the past to check if the group created problems, paid on time, filled their room block, or other things.) If the group didn't have a history, the hotel might have required payment in full prior to the stay. In that scenario, adding a deposit requirement for "normal" guests would make sure none of the group members book outside their room block to avoid the pre-payment. But, that's just speculation.