Qn regarding Debit Card Holds at Hotels

[mannej]

A few weeks ago I stayed at a certain Perth hotel for a special night with SWMBO.
She had booked to stay with her debit card, which had the amount frozen at check-in.
I paid with my card, and cleared the whole amount. Also after checking out, we decided to book dinner at that hotels restaurant, for which I also used my card to pay for.

A week later, it was discovered that there were two holds on the card, one for the accommodation, and one for the booking at the restaurant. Has anyone else with a debit card found that frozen funds take an exorbitant amount of time to clear, or was this slackness on behalf of the hotel?

Just as an aside, I can understand the room rate being held by the hotel, but I can't figure out why a dinner booking would be frozen off the card (without any authorisation) for 2x the most expensive item on the menu.

 

[markis10]

Holds take up to 7 days to clear, and some places dont use the offline mode and authorisation number when you do checkout, which results in more money being held. First time I have heard of a hold by a restaurant!

The hotel chain I use does a very inconvenient pre auth of $1

 

[mannej]

Holds take up to 7 days to clear, and some places dont use the offline mode and authorisation number when you do checkout, which results in more money being held. First time I have heard of a hold by a restaurant!

The hotel chain I use does a very inconvenient pre auth of $1

The restaurant was in the hotel, but that was the thing that annoyed me the most.
I was not aware of the time-period it would take to clear, as I have always paid with the same card that I swiped at check in

 

[markis10]

It can take a bit longer if the charge is late Friday, as these will clear the Tuesday morning a week later. I wonder if the restaurant would have been happy with a room number?

 

[mannej]

The booking at the restaurant was separate to the hotel booking. It was made for and booked after we had checked out.

If that was never put on hold it probably wouldn't have raised my curiosity


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[Krispy78]

Yeah, some banks take 10 days to release the held amount -- it really is a problem. I'm surprised there hasn't been a solution to this industry-wide, because debit cards are so common now. As a previous poster said, some hotels will keep the details offline in trust rather than processing them, but most will just keep pressing for a real credit card.

If you put your foot down, some hotels will take cash and give it back to you in cash when you check out, which is not a bad option if you have the cash to spare.

 

[Keith009]

Yeah, some banks take 10 days to release the held amount -- it really is a problem.

I've had it take about 2 weeks (HSBC Visa Debit). It is especially a problem if you have consecutive hotel stays in quick succession and as stated some places don't use offline mode. Hence why I cracked and finally got myself a credit card (well, other than the lure of the points et al ).

 

[mannej]

I spoke to one of the finance officers at the Hyatt. He was very apologetic and stated that it is Hyatt policy that holds aren't placed on debit cards. The Staff at the front desk should have debited the full amount (room rate) at check in.


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[markis10]

One of the reasons I like ICH hotels is the fact they pre-auth $1. Car rentals are another area that gets annoying, Hertz now charge up to $250 as an authorisation on top of the expected rental while Avis for their preferred customers just charge the expected rental cost with taxes etc.

 

[yohy?!]

I always use my Amex Charge to guarantee hotel rooms, the authorizing system is a lot more forgiving than having a fixed limit in place

 

[Keith009]

I always use my Amex Charge to guarantee hotel rooms, the authorizing system is a lot more forgiving than having a fixed limit in place

+1. And that is one of the main reasons why I'm hanging on to my charge card.