nacho

I will be checking into a Marriott in Europe for a 2 months stay. I asked the hotel regarding payment and the reply was you pay the whole 2 months stay at check-in. I was shocked and wrote back and said it's not usual to pay the whole thing upfront. Then I got a reply saying that it's possible to settle partial payment if I have a valid credit card at check-in but without a concrete policy which I found it strange.

What's the normal way to handle this? I have a CC that has credit limit that will cover more than a 6 months stay in this hotel.

TIA!

skywalkerLAX

Strangest response from a hotel I've ever heard. Maybe a misunderstanding?

You most certainly don't pay in advance at the time of check-in. At least not at a major branded hotel.

If they insist on advance payments and that is a problem for you (I'd probably refuse out of principle) then maybe just pay weekly.

hhoope01

The few times I had longer term stays (i.e. months at a time), I worked it out with the hotel to get them to charge me every 2 weeks. That seemed to work well for both the hotel, my company and me. But just as mentioned, I was billed after each 2 weeks, not before them.

nacho

There's no misunderstanding - I asked to escalate to the manager but that staff just answered that I can settle with "partial" payment if I have a valid credit card - without telling me how it works.

It's not that I can't pay the whole thing upfront, but it's so weird that I paid the full amount without even seeing the room. I guess I'll write again to see if I can get another staff to reply.

MSPeconomist

Do you have a prepaid rate? Was it booked directly through the Bonvoy website? Through an OLTA?

Alternatively, do you have a corporate rate? From what you say, I'm assuming it won't be direct billed or charged to a master bill.

If you negotiated a special contract for an extended stay rate, how/when payment is to be made should have been specified in the contract, as well as whether the stay will earn nights, points, elite benefits, etc.

Otherwise, the norm for stays beyond a couple weeks seems to be that some hotels preauthorize the entire amount plus something for F&B etc. to be charged to your room and actually charge your card at check out while others tend to do preauthorizations and charges to your credit card on a weekly basis, but they sometimes forget and get it messed up.

xooz

If you have no experience at the hotel, I would be tempted to break the 60 nights into increments. I would not want to commit to a 60 night stay sight unseen, particularly if there are other viable options. Depending on cancellation policies, I would try for a week or 2 stay followed by the remainder that could be cancelled if the initial stay is unsatisfactory, This also breaks up the payments.

Perhaps this is a done deal or you have no choice, but if the hotel is wanting such a commitment and up front money, I would be leery.

skywalkerLAX

This is the best strategy. Also in the past SPG had a rule that stays beyond 30 days didn't count as elite qualifying and you always needed a 1 day break in between. I believe the Bonvoy program doesn't have this rule but I'd check again.

MSPeconomist

No such rule on the Marriott side premerger and no such rule now. In fact, the old SPG 30 night rule switched to 90 nights in about 2005, long before the merger, although going one night over meant absolutely no credits or points for any of the preceding nights either.

nacho

That hotel offers an amazing deal that is marginally more expensive than Airbnb - it's a moxy. Yes there are other hotels but they are all offering me rack rates (which is totally insane considering how dead the place is due to corona) and a reduced parking fee. I booked directly with the hotel via email and it's in my Marriott account but there's nothing regarding payment or anything like a deposit either.

This stay is totally out of my pocket, we need somewhere to stay because the kids will start school before our house is built.

skywalkerLAX

Two months at a Moxy. Jesus...

writerguyfl

It's actually not insane. Lots of hotels purposely avoid booking guests on long-term stays. Guests who become semi-permanent residents create operational challenges for hotels that are designed for transient use. You presented a perfect example. Something straight-forward like billing can become convoluted.

Other issues include long-term guests receiving mail and packages that result in extra labor costs, constant food deliveries that potentially compromise general security, and the potential that the guest will be noisy/messy/demanding. [I'm not implying that you will create any of those problems, by the way.]

Finally, some transient guests dislike the idea of having residents in a transient hotel. That's why many hotels shy away from long-term stays. None of the hotels I ever worked in wanted that business. We wouldn't say anything if you booked the regular rates. But, we always declined when an individual asked for a long-term stay deal.

Without question, COVID will certainly have some hotels rethinking their approach to long-term stays. But, an experienced General Manager or Director of Operations might weighs the pros and cons and still decide it's not a market segment worth pursuing.

DELee

Is this the place?



Moxy Copenhagen Sydhavnen

David

MarkCron

I would not do this. Never!

Bradhattan

Forgive if mentioned above (I skimmed) but are you sure the hotel is not simply referencing some sort of incidentals hold at check in vs full payment?

Also, agree that if you have never stayed at this hotel, why commit to 2 months? You say other hotels are rack rates; does that include shorter stays? If not, maybe four different properties @ two weeks each? Bit of scenery change? Regardless, i wish you well.

wrldwide1

Have to agree with the others, if it is the hotel pictured in the prior post, this is not a place I’d care to spend 2 months in alone, let alone with my family in tow. I could stand a segment done here, but I’d reconsider on 2 months.