mlhall

I've just been forced to provide a credit card for incidentals at a Holiday Inn in Pittsburgh even though I am on a business trip where my employer has prepaid the room charges. Has this happened to anyone else?

IC Expert

This is a normal course of business. This is incase you watch movies, order room service or make phone calls.

sdcarver

It has been common practice at the hotels I have stayed at for incidentals.

sdcarver

Camino1

I just give the card without question, but remember sometime in the past that they gave the option of not leaving my card but then the phone, etc. would not work.

1worldtrader

This is common practice....

docklander

I've noted sometimes they dont even bother taking a credit card for incidentals.I assumed it was something to do with being a PC member....and PC members would never dream of doing a runner with the mini bar.

Shareholder

Even with prepaid stays, and always with award stays, I have been asked for a credit card at every brand of hotel on every continent. However, I have noticed that in some countries (20) years ago this was never the case: South Africa, Argentina. However, one was always asked for a passport when travelling outside NAmerica.

IAMORGAN

I can't remember a single hotel I have ever stayed at where they HAVEN'T required a cc swipe at checkin. Essentially, they authorize/block a certain amount of funds so that if say you drank the minibar dry, ran up a bar bill and had 5 courses at the restaurant then left without settling, they could take this off your cc. When its not a pre-pay stay, they often need the CC if you want express check out. If you don't have a cc then they will accept a cash deposit instead normally (about £150GBP roughly $300USD.

mlhall

No minibar in the suite, so that's not the reason. It hasn't happened at many of the other IHG properties that I stayed at while PC Platinum in the past two years. Any other possible explanation?

Happy

When they already have a credit card information in their file - especially in properties aboard award stays - they did not ask for credit card, because the info was already in file for booking the award. Dont think for a minute they do not need your CC - the info is already there, and they automatically process a request for authorization.

I had an award stay at a HIX at Edinburgh actually requested FULL authorization (the room rate) on my credit card in the booking info, but never asked me for a credit card swipe when check-in. Without billing to offset it, the authorization took almost 20 days to drop off my card.

Most recently in New Zealand and Australia award stays, only one location asked for card swipe, but all locations requested for small authorization for incidentals. On this trip I used Schwab Visa for overseas to avoid the nasty foreign transaction fee, and all the authorizations show up in details online, easily identifiable. (OT, this is a great feature for the Schwab Visa, none of my Citi / Chase cards have such feature - you only see the available credit comes down and you have to call to find out what authorizations were there.)

Last year at IC Le Grand Paris, they even calculate the incidentals are based on one person would be 90 euro and 2 of us would be 180 euro per day for authorization on our card, for a 5 nights award stay.

There has not a single hotel (all chains included) we stayed at, be it pay or award, that did not requested for authorization from the info on file or requested for swipe of CC at check-in. Platinum or not, does not make any difference. I am Platinum over 2 years as well.

Happy

They already have your CC in file when booking a stay online, esp award stays. No need to ask again if the info is recorded in the system and is billable card.

docklander

Right.I had a feeling it may be stored.I just didnt question it at the time


Hotels in Japan usually dont ask for payment upfront.Not many ICGH properties there mind you.Pity

biggestbopper

True, it is common practice. But, that doesn't make it right.

I have, several times, had problems with hotels making unauthorized charges on my personal credit card even though the stay was prepaid and there were no additional charges due.

Appears to be quite the profit center for some hotels.

Thanks to Heaven for credit card charge back laws. ^

mkt

Except to protect the hotel in the cast of a dispute

Happy

Agree. That is why I always make an effort to ask for a check-out statement, even it is a $0 award stay or a prepaid stay. Some hotels gladly generate one despite the 0, some hotels insist the system wont print one if there is no $. Given the contradiction happened within the same chain(s), my guess is, the system allows the front desk to print, but not the "usual way" - it depends on the individual hotel management (general manager and front desk manager) is willing to properly train their staff to provide this service or not.

OT: It was like pulling tooth from tiger's mouth to get one printed at IC Le Grand - but guess what? At CDG check-in, the security check you have to go thru before reaching United check-in counter, demanded to see a hotel statement! Of course when she saw there was $0 there, despite I showed her the reservation printout that was an award stay, she fleaked out. After 4 of them had a small conference for 10 minutes, the employee came back and tagged shocking-pink labels on every piece of our belongs and we got the SSSS BP at the counter. We went thru extra scrutiny 3 times, with the last one at the Jetbridge, AFTER we already passed 2 body-search and inside-out examination of our carry-on. They repeated the same search at the Jetbridge. The plane was delayed by 1.5 hours because about 2 doz passengers were searched at the Jetbridge.
The irony was, our check-in bags were not opened at all - someone at CDG signed off the pink tag, ditto the TSA at IAD. How stupid!