Most hotels, these days, will not allow you to book a room with cash. They insist on card payments.
From the guest's point of view, the down side of this is that charges could be added to the card without the cardholder's knowledge or consent and he only finds out about them when he gets the bill.
Are there any ways to avoid this happening by using a pre-paid card where the cost of the hotel room is all that is available?
That's precisely why they do it. From the guest's point of view, that also allows them to complete the checkout process quickly (or even not checkout as such at all, which is common in minimal-service motels such as the Travelodge chain) as they don't need to wait for their room to be checked and other bills to be added up before they leave. So it's not entirely a one-sided benefit.
No, because they'll want to check that there are also enough funds to cover any additional fees that are likely to be added.
Mark
I've booked Travelodge rooms on the internet using a Cashplus card with just enough credit to cover the cost of booking...No problems... When I arrived at the hotel, they didn't ask to check my card again (even though the website suggested they might)...They just checked the printed documentation and gave me the keys...
I had a hotel try it on with me before - I simply said to them - "The bill is X. If you want these [extras] added on, I will still pay your bill, but after I leave, you can take it up with my card company. That seemed to do the trick
If the hotel is in an area with lots of other hotels, then the managers are generally very flexible and open to negotiation, as they know you'll just walk and go to the next hotel up the road if they piss you off.
Do hotel staff not still have the traditional culture of 'discretion' toward "Mr and Mrs John Smith?"
Travelodge don't have extras that can be charged to the room in the same way that other hotels do. That's why it works there.
That makes sense I guess. In all honestly, I can't afford to stay in hotels any posher than the likes of Travelodges and Premier Inns ;-)
I have a gut feeling that it is also to do with making it more difficult to stay in a hotel anonymously.
Like some people do with web sites that don't even work in the way the customer specified?
You could try that but, unless the hotel can "block" additional credit on the card, they're likely to do as any sensible person should do with you and tell you to f*ck off.
-- -
Culex -- the Infamous Culex
why would hotels want to do that (apart from the revenue protection aspect)?
tim
My suspicion is that it originates from a government recommendation, or some other form of pressure from our Big Brother in Downing Street.
Probably overly paranoid. I *did* say it was merely a gut feeling rather than anything evidence-based. It just feels like the sort of thing that a government would *want* to do.
Hotels used to have the right to hold on to a guest's luggage until he has paid his bill. They probably still have that right. Now it's much easier to be able to charge his debit/credit card though. The last time I stayed in an hotel they charged me again for my stay about a week later. I eventually got refunded, by cheque! They said it was an error, but if you think about it if they did that with every guest there's bound to be a certain percentage who don't bother to claim the overcharge.
Stay in pubs and B&B.
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