Hotel Deposit?

Bellaluna · Post by **Bellaluna** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:00 pm

Hey I was just wondering if anyone has run into the same problem as me. I reserved my hotel room at the Sheraton a while back and I got the e-mail confirmation but it said that:

"USD 190.00 deposit is due on Mon, Jan 26, 2009 and will be charged to the credit card provided."

But nothing has been charged to my card. Has anyone else had this problem?

Lonesurvivor · Post by **Lonesurvivor** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:56 pm

Yea i have too. Earlier this month i called Sheraton HQ about the deposit, and it was explained to me that the $190 will be taken out btwn the end of April to the begining of May. So its best to keep the amount in your account from April 26 - May 9. They didn't give me an exact date

.

Bellaluna · Post by **Bellaluna** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:15 am

Great. Thanks so much for letting me know. It was really confusing me for a bit.

basharoftheages · Post by **basharoftheages** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:37 am

Most hotels have items in their fine print suggesting that they can taken an initial deposit from your credit card ahead of time if they deem it necessary. Prior business with the hotel, the hotel's financial situation, the time frame's risk factors (i.e. how many people they expect to drop out at the last minute and how much of a demand there is for the time frame in question), and indicators of your credit level (i.e. if you have a platinum AMEX card, they're not going to consider you a risk) are all taken into account as to whether or not they'll actually do that.

Since this is a crowded weekend in Boston (note the fact that many people have posted that they're finding hotels completely booked already) and we're in a part of Boston with $300+ a night hotels, the hotels are potentially loosing a lot of money if you decide to cancel your reservation just before the con. They want to get something out of you if you do and "hook you in" so you don't decide to change your mind.