Don Draper
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- Aug 10, 2008
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I agree with this perspective...we would never be able to operate without taking a deposit. Being different is not always a bad thing. I think you undervalue yourself by NOT taking a deposit...honestly, if I'm looking at booking and I see that a deposit is required it just makes me realize that I'd better have my plans firmly set before booking.I'm not fond of the advance deposit, primarily because no other B&B in this area does that. I do not want to lose prospective guests because I charged a night's stay three months in advance. They'll just go to the next B&B that does not do this. I guess my thought is...if you still do not understand what an authorization is, even after I've explained that it "holds" your money six days prior to your stay, then that's your problem. After these last two no shows/cancellations, I'm not a happy camper. My thinking is...if you don't have the funds in your account during the penalty phase of the cancellation period, then your intent to show up is not there.Also you could just do it for the big money stays as an extra layer of security and that would save you money..
This is the best way for me to do things right now, but I was looking to ensure that the verbage in my confirmation letter to the guest made sense.
.How do you know they will? Absence of proof and all that. Being the one Inn that's different catches a guest's attention, and can work in your favor. We are one of the few in our area that charge a deposit, and if you look at our availability calendar, you'll see it doesn't seem to hurt us any...and sometimes that deposit money comes in darn handy in advance. Of course, to each his own...Banana said:I'm not fond of the advance deposit, primarily because no other B&B in this area does that. I do not want to lose prospective guests because I charged a night's stay three months in advance. They'll just go to the next B&B that does not do this.
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While I think the authorization approach is logical from your end, I agree that guests just plain do NOT get what this means. I fear it would create more confusion than anything else.