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Just got a call from a lady who booked on line last night. She says in 30 yrs of staying at B&B's there is no deposit taken or a small amount, not 1 night as I do. She says some B&B's hold her card but to money taken till she arrives. I said yes this is done in motels/hotels. All sorts of questions...etc.etc. Asked her 3 times if she would like to cancel..."No" not feeling good about this as it sounds like a lady who called 4 yrs ago them wrote TA...very ugly. Says she has never heard of TA, I mentioned it as she asked me what guest thought about my B&B ....etc. etc. What kind of deposits do you all take ...if any ? ?
 
We take first two nights now (two night minimum) but very soon we're going to change to 50%. This lady was a refund troller... I'd bet she's going to be a nightmare checking out, complaining about everything and asking for refunds...
 
She's blowing smoke. Yes, B&B's take deposits. Some take the full stay. Others take 50%. Others take 1 night. If she were staying here she would have paid one night.
 
And she sounds like every guest who has ever walked thru the door and tried to convince me that NO hotel takes payment in advance. Hey buddy, what do you think you just signed for before they gave you the key to the room?
 
We take first two nights now (two night minimum) but very soon we're going to change to 50%. This lady was a refund troller... I'd bet she's going to be a nightmare checking out, complaining about everything and asking for refunds....
Just got a e-mail from this guest. No comment from me,... they will be here next month.....maybe... Mary
 
I did not take deposits because I wanted to encourage cash and checks rather than credit cards. ALSO I have never had the cancel/no-show problems some have. I have had more cancels in the last 2 months than in all my other years but it is still not a problem - YET.
 
I think we had a poll on here before with this question, and i believe it was about 50/50. The other 50/50 was taking the balance on check-in or at check-out.
Some people are just not confident in this department, many times I thought I was awaiting a really needy guest to check in, but they weren't. The issue is so many B&B's have so many different policies. Within one road trip they will encounter so many and be confused as to what they paid or didn't pay, They should keep a folder or itinerary with them checked off tho, of course.
For this reason, if I find an inn with an extreme cancelation or booking policy I will work around it and find somewhere else to stay. I am not the only one, I am mentioning so people get what happens...and why they might opt for a hotel with a simpler policy.
 
I think we had a poll on here before with this question, and i believe it was about 50/50. The other 50/50 was taking the balance on check-in or at check-out.
Some people are just not confident in this department, many times I thought I was awaiting a really needy guest to check in, but they weren't. The issue is so many B&B's have so many different policies. Within one road trip they will encounter so many and be confused as to what they paid or didn't pay, They should keep a folder or itinerary with them checked off tho, of course.
For this reason, if I find an inn with an extreme cancelation or booking policy I will work around it and find somewhere else to stay. I am not the only one, I am mentioning so people get what happens...and why they might opt for a hotel with a simpler policy..
I do try and get people to pay on arrival as we can have up to 24 for breakfast at full capacity and if we are trying to do breakfast (with a team of me and DH) I cannot be messing about taking payments during breakfast.
If it is quiet ie 2 or 3 sometimes I let it slide - and it also depends if i am in the middle of something like having lunch!
 
Smoke blower! With as many years of traveling B&B's as she claims, I bet at least 1/2 take deposits. More so in the last few years though. She booked with the deposit so it was just an effort not to pay 'now'.
 
We certainly take deposits, no deposit, no confirmation. We take £10 per person per night, and it's strictly non refundable and non transferable.
About half of the places we've stayed in recently have taken a deposit. All have asked for at least a credit card number.
 
We take one night deposit when they reserve. Sometimes, we opt not to run their card if they are calling in the morning (or day before) and will be in that night. The processing fees are higher if we key in the card information instead of having the card in our hand to swipe, so we opt to do that if it's close to their arrival. But, we have their information at least if they should no-show or have damages when they leave.
 
There are plenty of B&Bs who don't really take a deposit for "regular" guest stays, even though their policies say they do (I was one of those...in case I felt like I needed to take the deposit, the policy was there). In my case since I was doing everything in the biz, it was just easier for me to charge the entire stay at check-in. Even with online booking & GMS, it seemed to make my life easier in the paperwork department.
But, I did take a deposit for extended stays! Too many nights blocked off with them to not do it.
As a guest, I have to say that I've found that smaller B&Bs/inns rarely take a deposit. They usually have much stricter cancellation policies though. So, I guess I get this caller's comment to Mary.
 
We take one night deposit when they reserve. Sometimes, we opt not to run their card if they are calling in the morning (or day before) and will be in that night. The processing fees are higher if we key in the card information instead of having the card in our hand to swipe, so we opt to do that if it's close to their arrival. But, we have their information at least if they should no-show or have damages when they leave..
if people ring from the road I process straight away as find many keep on looking for "something cheaper" and never turn up and you end up waiting for the no show and possibly turning away other business
 
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