How NOT to enjoy your stay at my hotel

[Silent-Hunter]

I am curious, is there any alternative for people who haven't got a credit card? Can hotel/motel take state ID/driving licence photo and then sue/bill them if they trash the room?

[eltf177]

I am curious, is there any alternative for people who haven't got a credit card? Can hotel/motel take state ID/driving licence photo and then sue/bill them if they trash the room?

Trying to sue probably would be far more troublesome than it's worth...

[WishfulSpirit]

Debit cards or those prepaid things are a way around it. If we can't get at least a $50 authorization for damages with your cash payment, you aren't getting a room at my hotel. No arguments. No card no room.

[Tash]

I am curious, is there any alternative for people who haven't got a credit card? Can hotel/motel take state ID/driving licence photo and then sue/bill them if they trash the room?

The only way we'll take cash at check in is if they have a card that will authorize for the full stay as well, which negates giving us cash in the first place. With the experiences I've had with cash paying guests, I totally understand the policy. Plus, if they complain and want a refund, then they have to wait for our GM to cut and check and then mail it to them.

[Slave to the Phone]

My Mom is coming to visit in a few days. She's allergic to cats, and while our home is clean and we always put clean linens on the bed just before she visits, our cats are sneaky beasts who delight in freshly washed blankets.

I booked a motel room close by for her a couple of weeks ago and went to pay for it today. As usual, the desk clerk gave my ID shifty eyes because the hotel is only 4 miles away from our home. Before I came to this forum, I didn't know why that was.

I offered up our credit card, told the clerk that the room was for my mother who was allergic to cats and we discussed our furry overlords and mothers who would be as sneaky as cats when it came to paying the bill.

So, thanks everyone who educated me about this. I only book a room there every couple of years and always wondered why they didn't want to rent one to me. The transaction was much easier for everyone involved now that I've learned.

[Mr Hero]

At my hotel the policy is $200 deposit plus the room and tax. We check the room before you get your $200 back. There are a few regulars who are exempt from this rule, but each exception has to be approved by the GM.

Slave's situation really shouldn't be anything that unusual to hotel employees, especially around holidays. We get people on a regular basis that have a local address, but are paying to have a relative stay in the room.

[WishfulSpirit]

Imho, the "locals" thing only applies to certain areas. My guess is larger cities would have fewer problems with locals staying. At least in Denver, where I live, we have lots of guests who live nearby. Sometimes they're just getting a romantic night away (though that doesn't happen here as often as it does the full service places downtown). We do get a LOT of people who have had something go wrong at their home and they need a place with working heat / hot water / exc until the issue is fixed. The address on the ID card could be literally right down the street. As long as the guest's credit card clears, nobody here would bat an eyelash.

One thing to be aware of, though. If you book a room for a relative, but you book it in your own name (as many members of our rewards program do), call the hotel before your relative arrives and get their name(s) added to the official guest list. For security reasons, we aren't supposed to let anyone who isn't on the guest list in, and if we can't get ahold of you, they'll be hanging out in the lobby until we do.

Also, if there was a fire or some other evacuation emergency, and only one guest was on the list, rescuers wouldn't know how many people to look for. I shudder to think what might happen if there were actually two people in a room and the one who wasn't on the list got trapped in a bathroom during a fire. I assume the firefighters check every area of every room, but I don't know that for sure, and I bet a lot depends on the perceived safety of the scene. If it's iffy but we know someone is missing, they'll probably go in a lot more readily than if we think everyone is accounted for.

[mathnerd]

We do get a LOT of people who have had something go wrong at their home and they need a place with working heat / hot water / exc until the issue is fixed.

We had to stay in a hotel for a week in September, not because anything was wrong with the house, but because major heat wave, plus no a/c in the house, plus recently post-op kid with a cast over a surgical incision = huge risk of infection. Nasty things can happen skin when casts get wet, and the surgical incision was just another layer of risk. We had to get the kid into air conditioning until the weather cooled enough that the house cooled down at night so he wouldn't sweat so much.

[WishfulSpirit]

Poor minion. Hope he is doing better.

[mathnerd]

Thanks. He's kind of sort of doing better. The ends of the bones they operated on aren't healing. We're trying one more last ditch attempt to stimulate bone growth, but if there's not enough progress by January 4th, they have to go back in and do a bone graft.

[Seshat]

Oh honey. Best wishes for the minion's healing!


On topic for the main thread: when I was a munchkin, I was terrified of fires for a while. I asked my parents at one point what would happen to us if our house burned down; and Mum told us we'd stay at (local hotel/motel where we sometimes had restaurant meals) while the insurance company built us a new house.

Somehow, that solved all my munchkin-worries about a fire. I knew the hotel/motel, I knew we'd have someplace to stay. It didn't occur to me that I might lose all my treasures - and I certainly didn't think of issues like smoke inhalation or other injuries. I just wanted a home.

[greensinestro]

Well, even if the check-in time is 3pm, I've sometimes been able to get in before that, but only an hour earlier. If the room is not ready, well, I read the disclosure on check-in times, and know I'll have to wait. I politely just say "OK", and go off to grab a bite to eat, or check out the local shopping.

Cash is good, but I can see these places needing a credit due to others trashing their rooms, or smoking in the rooms when they're not supposed to. The hotels, unfortunately, had to come up with this to avoid financial burdens like that. Some of them have put an advanced $100 deposit on it, which I always get back anyway.

As for out of control kids, definite hot button. Please, hotel patrons, control your kids!

[greensinestro]

Another rule you should put in there....please do not march over to the desk and gripe about how you can't figure out the cable channels on your TV set! Use the card that we provided on top the TV!

[Racket_Man]

Well, even if the check-in time is 3pm, I've sometimes been able to get in before that, but only an hour earlier. If the room is not ready, well, I read the disclosure on check-in times, and know I'll have to wait. I politely just say "OK", and go off to grab a bite to eat, or check out the local shopping.

!

Had this happen when I was in IT before/during Y2K. My flight got in early afternoon and I arrived at my hotel and the desk informed me my room was not ready yet so I went across the street to a chain burger place and had lunch and killed about an hour.

[BlaqueKatt]

MoonCat, I have NO problem with people who ask nicely. I almost always have rooms ready early, and I'm more than happy to let people in. In fact, if you're nice AND apologetic about arriving early, <snip> I've also been known to "forget" to charge those cookies to your room, or just maybe you'll be staying in one of our suites tonight (I can only do that if we aren't full, but if it's slow and I like you, I'll do it).

I want to stay at your hotel.

We once called ahead to let the front desk know we'd be late, we got there 30 minutes after check in and the front desk person had given the room to "one of his friends that came into town for *convention*" sorry, but "at least I didn't charge your card"

We did find a cheaper(like $40 night cheaper-so $120 savings!), nicer, closer hotel though.