Paris Hotel Query

xsussax

Hi All

On Tuesday I booked a hotel in Paris for June. I specifically wanted one we had to pay on arrival for, and booked a 3* a friend recommended. I went on the website and made the booking etc and at no point, not even on the booking confirmation, did they inform me they were going to take 100 Euros and it wasn't until I checked my bank account I saw there was a pending transaction to this hotel for £83. I emailed the hotel and asked why they were taking the money and they quicky responded informing me that they take 100 Euros out of each booker's account to verify the account is active and then put it back in. I got in touch with my bank on Wednesday who confirmed that the money should be put back in my account within 72 hours of the payment being taken, but I've checked this morning and the transaction is still pending. I was lucky in that I had the spare £83 in my bank for them to take but I do think they should have warned me. I also think it's taking far too long for the payment to go through and be re-imbursed. I'd say 10 Euros would have been suffice or maybe even less. Anybody else had similar problems? I've cancelled the hotel and will be looking for another.

InsideInsurance

If its pending then they havent taken anything, they have simply gone for authorisation. This automatically drops off and it is down to your bank how quick this happens - normally 3-5 working days. A merchant can inform them that they want to release the authorisation but this can be a long and painful process due to the number of entities involved and often your own banks automatic release is quicker.

£$€100 is a fairly common sum to use, others will go for the complete cost of the room for your stay, some will go for full cost plus a daily sum.

One hotel I stayed at put through £1,500 per night as standard (though this is around their normal room rate - I wasnt paying anything close to this I hasten to add)

Hotels basically want to know you can afford to pay. The problem with using a very small value is that with some cards this will go through a different route and may be authorised even if there is no funds. What this sort of limit is will vary by country and so they choose a value high enough to go through full authorisation in most countries

xsussax

Thanks for your reply and for ascertaining that it is a common occurance this sum of money is normally taken. It would have just been nice if they gave me prior warning this was going to happen!

InsideInsurance

xsussax wrote: »

Thanks for your reply and for ascertaining that it is a common occurance this sum of money is normally taken. It would have just been nice if they gave me prior warning this was going to happen!

Its often hidden away in the small print that it may happen or that they reserve the right to do it etc.