Disappeared Into The Night

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Generic

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Woke up this morning to the door of one of my rooms wide open....
So I went downstairs to find that they had left the key. Their car is no longer parked on the street. I tried their card this morning and it is declined. No note, no email. They even arrived late last night. They booked three nights.
I'm still not sure what I will do. Do I pick up the telephone and call them? Do I take it on the chin and just write it off? Do I call the cops and have them charged with a financial crime? Am I at fault for not settling the bill when they arrived? Not getting them to process and sign? Do I protect my reputation and just let this go? All these thoughts are running through my mind.
Damn... when they arrive late I should do a pre-auth. Damn, damn, damn, damn.....
 
my guess is that the phone number is bogus, too. Didn't, by chance, get a license plate??? Without any solid identifying info, calling the police won't be effective either.
I feel for you. Damn! <--there!
DH says - be thankful that you were able to offer someone a night's rest and that they didn't take your key, too.
 
I would call then go for the financial crime if they were in the room there are bound to be finger prints to show identity and they get them that way. Thats how they caught the people that stole one of my TV's in similar circumstances DNA on the cups where they had drinks and finger prints so don't clean anything till they say whether they are sending a team out.
 
CALL THEM.
First..
After you call - if you cannot get hold of them and check the address, check to see if your city has a law about defrauding hotels/innkeepers. Here in Virginia a lot of people don't know this old law exhists. The authorities will go after them. A number of inns have used this law to get payment, and a number of hotels contacted the police who caught a fellow who was doing this at several hotels in Virginia Beach.
I have not had to do this yet - but one innkeeper used to keep a scan of a newspaper article about a person being arrested at work for this crime. He used to mail it to anyone who skipped and they would mail the money order right away!
RIki
 
I would call and act concerned ... be nice ... if they say something about an emergency express concern but still (nicely) state that if you cannot resell the room they will need to pay - and that they at least need to pay for the one night if you can't sell the others. Maybe they had a fight (not your issue I know but don't always presume the worst about people).
Check that anything valuable is still there. Google them and share their info with Inns around you
THEN start with the other procedures if you have the time, and learn from it. And move on. Not worth getting upset about although I KNOW it is upsetting.
 
If you get a voicemail let them know it is a felony, and to contact you or the authorities will be called.
poke.gif
 
This happen to us . As a result . We changed how we do things now. Over the phone when we book some one .The first thing we do is check their card and see if it goes through. When people arrive at their booking we have them pay the rest of their room fees up front also we have them sign in a information card with their name email address ,make of their car and plate number on the car. Their house address and phone number. They have to fill in the blanks. All in their hand writting.
 
Call first and then follow through with the advice of the others.
Maybe you do need to re-think your check-in procedures for late arrivals.
Perhaps you might need to do the following, if not doing it already:
  1. Run the card on the rez immediately when you find out they're arriving late. Then, if the card is declined, unfortunately you have to stay up to check them in yourself and get a good card or cash.
  2. Have all your guests sign a registration form at check-in which agrees to their charges and your policies. I did this (it was generated by my GM/rez program, and NO ONE ever objected. It's SOP for most hotels. Yes, it's more paperwork but it's a back-up for you.
  3. I also took payment at check-in and NO ONE batted an eye or questioned it. Again, it's expected and as one person doing the work around here, it was out of the way and I didn't need to worry about keeping track of who paid and who didn't. (There were a few exceptions to payment at check-in - guests of my corporate direct bill companies and repeat guests arriving after harrowing travel experiences.)
Sorry this happened to you...I hope it works out!!
 
Agree with Samster...
I do suggest to take payment prior to check-in if you are not taking a deposit (which I highly suggest) when they are a late arrival. NO PAY, NO STAY.
Sorry - they are JERKS!
 
Here is a good one to keep handy if you ever have someone skip...
today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33009765/ns/today-entertainment/t/randy-quaid-freed-bail-after-arrest-texas/#.TmuX7mpABIE
The couple face felony charges of burglary, defrauding an innkeeper and conspiracy......
The Quaids used a credit card at the resort that they knew wasn’t valid,.....
BUT this WAS Randy Quaid and the hotel KNEW he had money and would probably get it ... and it was $10K not just a few hundred (a lot to us I know so don't take that the wrong way)
You have to weigh your time, costs and possible success rate against the loss - don't just dive into the deep end, revenge is sweet but it can be $$
copperhead said:
Here is a good one to keep handy if you ever have someone skip...
today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33009765/ns/today-entertainment/t/randy-quaid-freed-bail-after-arrest-texas/#.TmuX7mpABIE
The couple face felony charges of burglary, defrauding an innkeeper and conspiracy......
The Quaids used a credit card at the resort that they knew wasn’t valid,....
 
I'm sorry these creeps took advantage of you! Hard lesson learned I supposed. Always charge the late check-ins before they arrive. Hopefully, you'll be able to fill the room the next two nights.
 
sad_smile.gif
so sorry!
i would try calling them, i assume you have. i would call the credit card co but this is a nightmare to recoup the money.
i took deposits and balance at check in. had to ...
doesn't help you at this point though. again, i'm sorry ... hoping for a better than bad ending!
 
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did.
 
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did..
Eric Arthur Blair said:
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did.
And perhaps that IS what happened. Perhaps they thinkthey are clear of being charged with anything (a person who stole the card) because they did not present the card to you. Or they only had numbers but no actual card to present.
 
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did..
That would be a good idea however methinks it's probably not their card ... but it would be a good deed for someone whose card it was if it has been stolen as you may be able to provide some identity of the thieves
Eric Arthur Blair said:
......
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did.....
 
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did..
Eric Arthur Blair said:
Well, I called and no answer. I left a message, but my guess is that they will dodge the calls and email. I will try to pass the charge if I can in the next few days.
I would hate to become untrusting because of one bad experience. I'm also not sure if I want to persue this with the police or just take it on the chin and accept it. I'll put it under our usual category of karma.
We usually do an AUTH only when it's a late arrival, but I didn't. Not much I can do about that, now.
I don't think I'm ready to go the route of the deposit, yet. Why change my policies because of one nasty set of people from Tucker, GA 30084.
I do wonder if I should call up the security department of their bank and tell them that someone attempted a fraud with their credit card number and get their CC suspended.... so they have at least that to deal with.... no! Bad karma for me to act like they did.
And perhaps that IS what happened. Perhaps they thinkthey are clear of being charged with anything (a person who stole the card) because they did not present the card to you. Or they only had numbers but no actual card to present.
.
Well, I'm not sure. So I called up Georgia United Credit Union and reported that the car was used fraudulently and let they take the appropriate action from that point. I'm done with it and with them.
Thankfully Elavon, our processor lets you look up the telephone numbers for the issuers and to call their security department directly. If it was used fraudulently, then they can take action. If it wasn't, then they will simply get a new card issued. And now I can just walk away from these awful people.
 
DH just postulated something and I'm going to chalk it up to this.....
They used their card to try to pay for dinner last night and found it that they are over their limit. Had an argument over how they are going to pay for the B&B considering that the bank is closed until Monday. And decided to leave as a consequence.
Anyway, it's just conjecture and let's just be happy that it is all in the past.
 
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