Swipe that debit card carefully: Hotel holds can tie up your money
— -- Think carefully before handing over a debit card at a hotel front desk.
After saving for a San Francisco vacation, Manhattanite Lauren Hopkins checked into the Oakland Marriott City Center in August and was asked for a card to cover incidentals she might incur, such as meals, Internet connection or minibar snacks.
Hopkins, 23, who doesn't use a credit card to avoid overspending, thought she had more than $600 in her account until her debit card was refused at a restaurant that night. It was over the limit, she says, because the hotel mistakenly billed her again for two nights' lodging even though she had prepaid for the room through an online travel agency, plus held another $300 for possible incidentals without her knowledge. Because her card is tied to her checking account, she was broke.
And consider the experience of Scott Huelskamp, editor of a trade publication for rehabilitation professionals. He checked into The Red Rock Casino Resort Spa outside Las Vegas for a conference and was asked for a card to cover what he calls "the dreaded incidentals" he wasn't going to use. He pulled out a debit card and later discovered that the hotel was holding $150 for each of the two nights he was there.
Back home in Wayne, Pa., his wife tried to use their account, leading to overdraft fees. Although the $300 was credited back, it took a few days.
It was "just like I spent it," he says. "You feel helpless."
Though hotels routinely put a hold on a card for room rate and tax when a reservation is made to protect themselves from those without money to pay and to avoid losing revenue for no-shows, "there is no standard industry practice" for guaranteeing incidental payments, says lawyer Banks Brown, general counsel for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Some hotels place no holds on guests' cards for incidentals; others might hold $50 a day or more. "The practice makes sense because (hotels) know from statistical data how much people tend to spend on incidentals and want to ensure they are paid," Brown says.
Popular Reads
ABC News Live