Credit card woes (again)

[figgyx]

When I arrived for my audit shift Saturday night there was a reservation in our system for two rooms under the same name.

Later the guest arrives to checkin and I ask for drivers license and credit card. The name on the drivers license is different but the credit card matches the name on the reservations.

At this point I have to refuse the credit card. We must either have the person in front of us with ID matching credit card or a fax authorizing use of the credit card. This is to prevent fraud. Anyone can check in and later the credit card owner can claim fraud - we would have no signature on file matching the name on the credit card and would have no choice but to do a refund.

I try to explain to the guest why we can't just use this card and she gets on her phone and puts me on with someone (husband of credit card owner) I explain this to him and he is ok with it. I ask if he has access to a fax machine and he does but at this point sucky guest asks if she can just pay with cash.

I discount each room by 20 bucks (a 40 dollar saving) and waive our deposit as a way of making up for the dillema. She still walks away upset.

Later she calls me and asks if we have cots (and we don't) leaving me to wonder how many people she has in two rooms with two beds in each room.

[taxguykarl]

I don't like the sound of that.....

[thatcrazyredhead]

Very generous of you to give her a discount. I don't understand how people can think it's ok to pay with someone else's credit card. I mean, I know that there are plenty of people who do think that's ok, but I'm at a loss as to how they can be that stupid and still manage to dress themselves in the morning.

[Sarlon]

question...

When mom and I travel together, dad usually makes the reservation, on his credit card. mom drives and I walk in to check in with credit card in hand. They ask for my ID which I of course give....and that's that.

is someone dropping the ball somewhere?

[Draco]

question...

When mom and I travel together, dad usually makes the reservation, on his credit card. mom drives and I walk in to check in with credit card in hand. They ask for my ID which I of course give....and that's that.

is someone dropping the ball somewhere?

Yes, technically. The only authorized user of a card is the person (or people) whose name is on it. Anything else would technically be a form of fraud, I believe.

[figgyx]

Yes dropped ball

question...

When mom and I travel together, dad usually makes the reservation, on his credit card. mom drives and I walk in to check in with credit card in hand. They ask for my ID which I of course give....and that's that.

is someone dropping the ball somewhere?

When you go to the desk to check in and present the clerk with your dad's card you are technically commiting fraud. That desk clerk has no way of knowing whether you are authorized to use the card. (even if you are related) If your dad gets his bill in the mail and sees a hotel bill on it and he decides to call his credit card company to dispute the charge the hotel would have no recourse but to reverse the charge simply because it has no proof (like a signature on file matching the credit card) that this was authorized. Less honest people could do this everywhere they go and never pay for anything. If you arrive to check in with your dad's card and really want to use it your dad should have faxed the hotel an authorization consisting of a copy of his drivers license and a simple statement saying my son (insert name here) has my permission to use my card - and a signature to match the back of the card. If this is done then no fraud is commited. We even have forms on file here that we can fax to guests to fax back.

[Jester]

Later she calls me and asks if we have cots (and we don't) leaving me to wonder how many people she has in two rooms with two beds in each room.

I'm gonna guess 3-5?

Honestly, to me this is the least sucky part of the whole thing. (The rest of it, yeah, she sucked.) Because I can totally relate to this part, having grown up always sleeping on a cot in a hotel room.

Why? Family of five. Mom, Dad, two sisters, and me. Yep....I always got the cot. I was an adult on my own before I ever slept in an actual hotel bed.

I love a good hotel bed. The last few I've been in in Fort Lauderdale and Houston were awesome.

[Tash]

When you go to the desk to check in and present the clerk with your dad's card you are technically commiting fraud. That desk clerk has no way of knowing whether you are authorized to use the card. (even if you are related) If your dad gets his bill in the mail and sees a hotel bill on it and he decides to call his credit card company to dispute the charge the hotel would have no recourse but to reverse the charge simply because it has no proof (like a signature on file matching the credit card) that this was authorized. Less honest people could do this everywhere they go and never pay for anything. If you arrive to check in with your dad's card and really want to use it your dad should have faxed the hotel an authorization consisting of a copy of his drivers license and a simple statement saying my son (insert name here) has my permission to use my card - and a signature to match the back of the card. If this is done then no fraud is commited. We even have forms on file here that we can fax to guests to fax back.

At my hotel we've recently switched to paperless, so we actually don't even get a signature from the guest. Actually now that I think of it, we don't check IDs of anyone that is above a certain status level, as it's part of their "benefit" as members of our loyalty program.

[Librarian]

hm i didn't know that.
My parents don't have nor want a credit card, but many hotels require one for booking. so every holiday they've had that involves a hotel has been as follows:
i book online with my card and state their names as guests
i give them my card and pin-nr
they go to the hotel and either pay cash or use my card (with pin nr) without any problem. They never have to sign though, i think legally the pin counts as signing in most EU countries?

[Gizmo]

They never have to sign though, i think legally the pin counts as signing in most EU countries?

It also means that the check in person never handles the card. Its done all by the customer. Therefore they don't know what name is on it.

[BroSCFischer]

I'm gonna guess 3-5?

Honestly, to me this is the least sucky part of the whole thing.

Well there are a few problems with that:

#1) if there is a fire, or other emergency requiring evacuation of the hotel, the only way we'd be able to accurately determine that everyone had gotten out safely is going by either the registration cards, or a printout (which among other things would show the total number of guests on property. If a room only has 1 registered guest, and there are 3 persons in the room, either the extra people in the room will end up in danger (at the very least) or it could endanger people in another room, because the headcount would match the printout number.

#2) Many hotels charge on a per adult basis. Especially when it comes to people who are workmen or truck drivers, as they are already getting a reduced rate. Many times we have found guests circumventing the additional charges by not declaring the actual number of people in the room. When this is discovered, often times it is the person who checked them in that gets in trouble.

#3) Almost all hotels have a strict limit on the number of people that can safely stay in a room. This is due to fire codes, and is a legal restriction. If more than X people are in the room, the hotel could get fined for violating these codes.

SC

[wolfie]

If you arrive to check in with your dad's card and really want to use it your dad should have faxed the hotel an authorization consisting of a copy of his drivers license and a simple statement saying my son (insert name here) has my permission to use my card - and a signature to match the back of the card. If this is done then no fraud is commited. We even have forms on file here that we can fax to guests to fax back.

If dad is really sharp, he'll include in the fax that he authorizes the use of the card for ONLY room rental and appropriate taxes, and that he does NOT authorize the use of the card to pay for room service/other food billed to the room, purchases from the minibar, phone charges, and pay-per-view movie charges.

Do your forms on file have a section showing optional items, where the cardholder can either allow or refuse permission to have those items billed to the card (i.e. the person staying would need to pay for them in cash)?

[Sarlon]

I trhink its more that its just holding the reservation for the hotel that dad uses. and we use mom's when we get there, not dads. Mom has a hard time walking so often I go in, check in, get the room and find out where it is then help mom inside.