Your post made me curious, do you keep credit card information (in a PCI compliant format of course) in the event charges need to be applied after the fact?.
Yes, but you do realize that you don't legally have a right to charge a guest's credit card after the fact, according to the terms and conditions of the CC processing companies. MC, V and AX all specifically forbid you from charging a guest without explicit permission. It's in the manual.
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If money's owed for services rendered and provided such language is included in your payment guarantee/statement, charges can be assessed post-departure. In fact most every hotel in the world keeps payment details securely "on file" in case of theft, damage or folio charges that weren't assessed when a guest is on-property, i.e., if it's found a guest was smoking in a room, a fee will typically be assessed after the fact, once housekeeping discovers it. Happens all the time, and yes, it's completely legal to keep payment information provided it's in a compliant format.
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Read your merchant agreement. It specifically says that you can't. Doesn't matter what you write on the bill, contract, etc. Your merchant agreement says that you can't bill a client without permission.
I know hotels and B&Bs do it all the time... but it's forbidden and specifically laid out in your merchant agreement and you will LOSE the chargeback... 100% of the time.
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I don't mean to be a contrarian, but banks generally back up hotels provided they have the "we reserve the right to make a charge to the guest’s credit card" language in their guest billing agreement. You are absolutely correct, though, that hotels/inns/b&bs may not place unauthorized charges on a guest's tab, i.e., the hotel has to inform the guest when charges are being applied, but if a hotel has a policy in which they may bill for damages (or items left unpaid on a guest folio), they are within their rights to do so. Uncollected damages can go to collections and most guests don't want their credit ruined over a broken lamp, pet damage, "missing" towels, etc. I understand in some cases guests push back against these charges. Reputable banks will insist on a claim process for chargebacks, and more often hotels usually win these claims because they usually have supporting documentation (photos of damage, guest signatures on agreements, etc.)
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