Marriott Policy on Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) on Prepaid rates
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Boston:NW Plat, SPG Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 200
Marriott Policy on Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) on Prepaid rates
How many times this has happened to me in the past, I'm not sure, but I'm going to be far more conscious of checking it in the future.
I booked a prepaid rate at the JW Marriott Kolkata (India) for two nights. The hotel dutifully charged my card the next day. It caught my eye mostly because I was expecting an issue with how they calculated the GST on the stay, since one night was under the INR 7500 and one was over INR 7500 (meaning two different tax rates applied).
Well, lo and behold, they charged me in dollars (not rupees). This caused my overall rate to be more than $20 more than it should have been if I was charged in local currency.
I complained up and down and the hotel management seems to feel that this is being done as "courtesy" to guests who appreciate being billed in their home currency. My gosh I was so annoyed at that ridiculousness...
Anyways, in my case they are giving me a refund and "we will notate your account that you prefer to be charged in INR". Yeah, whatever. Thanks.
It seems the hotel should be obligated to ask in advance if they want to pursue the DCC scam with their customers. Otherwise they should just charge in local currency (or finalize the billing on check-out). I've had so many stays in the past where on checkout, the agent says "you paid in advance, so you don't owe anything", and then I just don't take the receipt and leave. Not anymore.... at least not internationally.
I'm curious if Marriott has a stand on how this type of situation should be handled?
I booked a prepaid rate at the JW Marriott Kolkata (India) for two nights. The hotel dutifully charged my card the next day. It caught my eye mostly because I was expecting an issue with how they calculated the GST on the stay, since one night was under the INR 7500 and one was over INR 7500 (meaning two different tax rates applied).
Well, lo and behold, they charged me in dollars (not rupees). This caused my overall rate to be more than $20 more than it should have been if I was charged in local currency.
I complained up and down and the hotel management seems to feel that this is being done as "courtesy" to guests who appreciate being billed in their home currency. My gosh I was so annoyed at that ridiculousness...
Anyways, in my case they are giving me a refund and "we will notate your account that you prefer to be charged in INR". Yeah, whatever. Thanks.
It seems the hotel should be obligated to ask in advance if they want to pursue the DCC scam with their customers. Otherwise they should just charge in local currency (or finalize the billing on check-out). I've had so many stays in the past where on checkout, the agent says "you paid in advance, so you don't owe anything", and then I just don't take the receipt and leave. Not anymore.... at least not internationally.
I'm curious if Marriott has a stand on how this type of situation should be handled?
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,165
I doubt it is a policy Marriott wide, but rather the hotel trying to scam a few extra bucks from foreign clients. This can be avoided by using AMEX wherever possible. I've switched all my hotel spending to the AMEX green card because of this issue.
#4
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Bronze, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,431
How many times this has happened to me in the past, I'm not sure, but I'm going to be far more conscious of checking it in the future.
I booked a prepaid rate at the JW Marriott Kolkata (India) for two nights. The hotel dutifully charged my card the next day. It caught my eye mostly because I was expecting an issue with how they calculated the GST on the stay, since one night was under the INR 7500 and one was over INR 7500 (meaning two different tax rates applied).
Well, lo and behold, they charged me in dollars (not rupees). This caused my overall rate to be more than $20 more than it should have been if I was charged in local currency.
I complained up and down and the hotel management seems to feel that this is being done as "courtesy" to guests who appreciate being billed in their home currency. My gosh I was so annoyed at that ridiculousness...
Anyways, in my case they are giving me a refund and "we will notate your account that you prefer to be charged in INR". Yeah, whatever. Thanks.
It seems the hotel should be obligated to ask in advance if they want to pursue the DCC scam with their customers. Otherwise they should just charge in local currency (or finalize the billing on check-out). I've had so many stays in the past where on checkout, the agent says "you paid in advance, so you don't owe anything", and then I just don't take the receipt and leave. Not anymore.... at least not internationally.
I'm curious if Marriott has a stand on how this type of situation should be handled?
I booked a prepaid rate at the JW Marriott Kolkata (India) for two nights. The hotel dutifully charged my card the next day. It caught my eye mostly because I was expecting an issue with how they calculated the GST on the stay, since one night was under the INR 7500 and one was over INR 7500 (meaning two different tax rates applied).
Well, lo and behold, they charged me in dollars (not rupees). This caused my overall rate to be more than $20 more than it should have been if I was charged in local currency.
I complained up and down and the hotel management seems to feel that this is being done as "courtesy" to guests who appreciate being billed in their home currency. My gosh I was so annoyed at that ridiculousness...
Anyways, in my case they are giving me a refund and "we will notate your account that you prefer to be charged in INR". Yeah, whatever. Thanks.
It seems the hotel should be obligated to ask in advance if they want to pursue the DCC scam with their customers. Otherwise they should just charge in local currency (or finalize the billing on check-out). I've had so many stays in the past where on checkout, the agent says "you paid in advance, so you don't owe anything", and then I just don't take the receipt and leave. Not anymore.... at least not internationally.
I'm curious if Marriott has a stand on how this type of situation should be handled?
Like others here have mentioned though, if you can use AMEX, that's the best solution.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Boston:NW Plat, SPG Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 200
I didn't even realize that about Amex! Great advice, thank you. Usually I use Citi Prestige for all my hotels, but I have a sock drawer Amex Bonvoy from when it was an SPG that I can pull out for international Marriott stays!
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Boston:NW Plat, SPG Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 200
Yes, I agree with you, I was thinking more about whether or not Marriott had a policy "against" something like this... Though as a different poster also mentioned, they are supposed to have your consent before charging in $'s anyways, so there is likely not a policy per se (though there should be!).
Last edited by Boston Elite; Jan 14, 2020 at 8:00 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,123
In some countries (common in Asia and certain developing countries), hotel credit card transactions are processed using a separate stand alone credit terminal (as opposed to an integrated module in the Property Management System).
There are situations when a prepaid reservation is made online (or via a GDS or Marriott Central Reservations), the credit card details are transmitted to the property. Once received, the transaction is manually keyed using the credit terminal. If the credit card is a Visa/Mastercard, the terminal in most cases might prompt the user to select the local currency or the currency for the country (DCC) where the credit card is based. Most of the time, due to laziness (or direction from management), the person doing the keying by default would choose the DCC option. In some countries such as China, the credit card terminal doesn't even have the option to choose!
It might help if you contact the hotel (not Marriott Central Reservations or Bonvoy) immediately after you make the prepaid reservation and tell them to choose the local currency when processing the payment.
There are situations when a prepaid reservation is made online (or via a GDS or Marriott Central Reservations), the credit card details are transmitted to the property. Once received, the transaction is manually keyed using the credit terminal. If the credit card is a Visa/Mastercard, the terminal in most cases might prompt the user to select the local currency or the currency for the country (DCC) where the credit card is based. Most of the time, due to laziness (or direction from management), the person doing the keying by default would choose the DCC option. In some countries such as China, the credit card terminal doesn't even have the option to choose!
It might help if you contact the hotel (not Marriott Central Reservations or Bonvoy) immediately after you make the prepaid reservation and tell them to choose the local currency when processing the payment.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Clearwater, FL
Posts: 1,006
DCC and Restaurants in Barrie, Canada
I apologize for hi-jacking this posting. I just found out last night that DCC is alive and well in Barrie, Ontario. I encountered it in a restaurant in Barrie (The Symposium). After I left the restaurant, I realized that I had opted to pay in US dollars instead of Canadian dollars. My fault! Silly me for not recognizing it. I was kind of taken by surprise. Anyway, DCC still raises its ugly head where you least expect it. Again, my apologies ........
#10
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,820
I apologize for hi-jacking this posting. I just found out last night that DCC is alive and well in Barrie, Ontario. I encountered it in a restaurant in Barrie (The Symposium). After I left the restaurant, I realized that I had opted to pay in US dollars instead of Canadian dollars. My fault! Silly me for not recognizing it. I was kind of taken by surprise. Anyway, DCC still raises its ugly head where you least expect it. Again, my apologies ........