Hotels and deposits

poet123

hoxtonbabe wrote: »

The room was paid for by card, but there was only like a fiver left after and as they "hold" the money then there wasn't enough hence the cash deposit. The HIE in question said they "hold" £30 if they have a card and £60 if in cash so either way they would have been charged for something.

My point is that some hotels don't mind not leaving a card for incidentals as they have your details anyway should anything go wrong after check out and others insist on leaving say £30, £50 or £100 which they "hold" but the hotels that insist do not actually state this beforehand which is where it becomes unlawful, yes what is done is done now but that does not mean I should sit back and let hotels insist on money from me that I was not made aware of and basically leaving me in the **** due to having less spending money.

Regardless of if I pay by cash or card ( unless a prepaid rate) most hotels only need a card to guarantee the booking then you can pay by cash however it should still be made clear that £xxx will also be required upon check in for incidentals/deposits, to me it's just common sense and everyone knows where they stand so to speak.

I agree they should disclose the policy but few people would embark upon an overnight trip without a contingency either in the form of a card with a balance available of more than £5 or extra cash, or access to extra cash. I suspect it isn't really the actual issue but the principle which annoyed you.

wealdroam

It seems that each individual Holiday Inn Express has its own Terms and Conditions.

For example, here is a quote from the Canterbury HIE's T&Cs...

2.1 This Contract is conditional on the payment of a Deposit or the Customer supplying credit card or charge card or debit card details and the authority for charges to be deducted (including cancellation charges) on the payment terms outlined in the Schedule and the Holiday Inn Express Canterbury confirming the reservation to the Customer.

It goes on to say...

2.2 If the relevant condition is not met then subject to any outstanding obligation due to the Holiday Inn Express Canterbury from the Customer the Contract will cease to be of effect. The Facilities that are the subject of the provisional reservation will be released back into the inventory of the Holiday Inn Express Canterbury and may be resold without any further notification to the Client.

Is a prospective customer advised about these T&Cs at the time of booking?

Did you perhaps tick a box saying something like "I have read and understand the T&Cs"?

Which Holiday Inn Express did you visit?

hcb42

seems there are a few issues here.

THe "pre auth" is normally so you can go around the hotel at will, charging to your room. If you use a debit card, there can be a delay releasing the hold, if it is not all used, although that is not something hotels can control.

The reason there is inconsistency is although this is the industry norm, some hotels, especially smaller ones and independents are notoriously bad at protecting themselves.

I guess if you pay cash, there is no security whatsoever, hence the deposit, which hopefully is in the Ts and Cs. However if you pay in full for the room on arrival, on card, and dont open an account, I would think it exceptionally rare that someone asked for a deposit.

HI are often independently owned and have a miriad of different rules applied locally however!