How much money should be put on hold during a stay
May 18, 2009, 5:46 pm
#16
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: MLB
Programs: some
Posts: 459
Nothing has been charged from OP's CC. It is an authorization that will clear in few days or weeks depending of the OP's bank. This has nothing to do with the hotel itself.
Normally if OP had charged something at the hotel the charge that the hotel would have put through at the end of the stay would have cleared the pending authorization.
It is modus operandi for hotels and car rentals always authorize more than the actual hotel stay. Depending of the hotel this could be extra $200 per night or more.
OP should just get a higher credit limit from his/her CC so that there would not need to worry such insignificant thing like when a credit card authorization will lapse.
Normally if OP had charged something at the hotel the charge that the hotel would have put through at the end of the stay would have cleared the pending authorization.
It is modus operandi for hotels and car rentals always authorize more than the actual hotel stay. Depending of the hotel this could be extra $200 per night or more.
OP should just get a higher credit limit from his/her CC so that there would not need to worry such insignificant thing like when a credit card authorization will lapse.
Thanks.
JBa
May 18, 2009, 6:23 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 85
As previously stated: Authorization is held by the bank, not the hotel. Once you check-out our cc system sends a signal to the bank that we've secured what we need and to release the rest. Some banks do it immediately, some can take up to ten business days if not more. Every hotel I've ever worked it was standard policy to approve 20% over the cost of the room and taxes.
May 18, 2009, 11:38 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Moscow
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I can see every single transaction (approved, declined, charges, credits, cancellations) for my credit cards online and through SMS, but all hotels I have stayed so far never bothered to cancel pre-authorizations. Also most of the time they do NOT reuse an authorization code received during check-in. Right now I have about $3K hanging in various holds after my recent trip to the States.
May 19, 2009, 5:44 am
#19
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May 19, 2009, 6:15 am
#20
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May 19, 2009, 1:50 pm
#21
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May 19, 2009, 3:05 pm
#22
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That is absolutely normal. I have had Budget authorizing $1000 over the charge for two day rental that I made in Chiang Rai earlier this year.
May 19, 2009, 3:20 pm
#23
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May 19, 2009, 3:45 pm
#24
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Standard hotel authorizations.
Most hotels will authorize a credit card at check in for the remaining amount due. This equation can be decided by a number of factors.
A. CC held reservation where no previous advance deposit was posted. In this case, the hotel will generally secure room+Tax X the number of nights of the stay. A 15-25% authorization is added to this amount to cover incidentals.
B. Checking in with a previously posted advance deposit. The hotel will secure the remainder of the balance pluse the standard 15-25% for incidentals.
C. Checking in on a prepaid ( PL, Hotwire, Expedia, etc.) Hotels tend to authorize anywhere from $25-$100 per night. This is often the case on a comp room as well.
The authorization is held until one of the following occurs:
A. A posting is made against the pre authorization. Someone at the desk posts a payment to the card, most commonly at check-out.
B. Check-Out. If the guest has charges, the payment is posted and the system will send the unused funds back to the financial facility. If the gues has no charges, some property management systems will automatically release the auth, while some will prompt the user to release the auth. If the hotel has an old stand alone unit, the front desk clerk will have to manually release the authorization.
C. The authorization expires. This usually takes 14 days plus to occur.
ONCE THE AUTHORIZATION IS RELEASED BY THE HOTEL, THE UNUSED FUNDS ARE ANNOUNCED TO THE CREDIT CARD HOLDER'S FINANCIAL FACILITY. This process will usually occur the night of check out or after the payment posting occurs.
It can take the financial facility 5 to 15 business days to release this authorization back to the card holder. Granted a fax from the hotel can speed this
process up, but please note that it is usually the bank that is holding up the authorization on the card.
DEBIT CARDS ARE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ANIMAL. If you use a debit/check type card at check in, even with the little VISA / MC logo, the systems will generally remove the funds immediately from the card holder's account. In addition, the incidental authorization will also apply. The problem here is that when the payment posting occurs, the funds are actually removed AGAIN. The original funds will eventually be released back, just as in the pre-authorized credit card. However, it may take 5-15 business days for this to occur.
If you must use a debit / credit card, I always advise my properties to treat this as cash and post it as a payment up front. This will prevent the double fund retrieval issue. However, guests would not have charge privilages in the outlets. Sometimes a separate deposit is required.
I know this goes along with some of the OP's comments, but I wanted to write this out in full form. I deal with this on a daily basis. I hope this helps.
A. CC held reservation where no previous advance deposit was posted. In this case, the hotel will generally secure room+Tax X the number of nights of the stay. A 15-25% authorization is added to this amount to cover incidentals.
B. Checking in with a previously posted advance deposit. The hotel will secure the remainder of the balance pluse the standard 15-25% for incidentals.
C. Checking in on a prepaid ( PL, Hotwire, Expedia, etc.) Hotels tend to authorize anywhere from $25-$100 per night. This is often the case on a comp room as well.
The authorization is held until one of the following occurs:
A. A posting is made against the pre authorization. Someone at the desk posts a payment to the card, most commonly at check-out.
B. Check-Out. If the guest has charges, the payment is posted and the system will send the unused funds back to the financial facility. If the gues has no charges, some property management systems will automatically release the auth, while some will prompt the user to release the auth. If the hotel has an old stand alone unit, the front desk clerk will have to manually release the authorization.
C. The authorization expires. This usually takes 14 days plus to occur.
ONCE THE AUTHORIZATION IS RELEASED BY THE HOTEL, THE UNUSED FUNDS ARE ANNOUNCED TO THE CREDIT CARD HOLDER'S FINANCIAL FACILITY. This process will usually occur the night of check out or after the payment posting occurs.
It can take the financial facility 5 to 15 business days to release this authorization back to the card holder. Granted a fax from the hotel can speed this
process up, but please note that it is usually the bank that is holding up the authorization on the card.
DEBIT CARDS ARE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ANIMAL. If you use a debit/check type card at check in, even with the little VISA / MC logo, the systems will generally remove the funds immediately from the card holder's account. In addition, the incidental authorization will also apply. The problem here is that when the payment posting occurs, the funds are actually removed AGAIN. The original funds will eventually be released back, just as in the pre-authorized credit card. However, it may take 5-15 business days for this to occur.
If you must use a debit / credit card, I always advise my properties to treat this as cash and post it as a payment up front. This will prevent the double fund retrieval issue. However, guests would not have charge privilages in the outlets. Sometimes a separate deposit is required.
I know this goes along with some of the OP's comments, but I wanted to write this out in full form. I deal with this on a daily basis. I hope this helps.