Got stiffed big time

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mooseberry

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Before I vent, Good Morning all :)
Ok, here it goes....
Grrrrr...I am sooo mad.....
Full house last night, could have rented 4 more rooms if I'd had them.
One room is a now show, go figure.
Better yet, the CC gets declined too..
What do you do in these circumstances ?
Are there options besides fuming and sucking it up ?
Thanks
 
Suck it up. Sadly
I had one 2 weeks ago, booked 2 rooms, canceled within cancel period, I "graciously" said I would only charge for one room. Went to res nexxus to pull up the card and it is masked - so I click on it to get the full number - nothing. Check my security - I am owner, admin, cook, bottlewasher, floor cleaner etc etc
Seems like res nexus has implemented something that unless I ONLY log into my system from one computer I do not have access to the numbers. By the time I figured it out I just said oh %^&*( it.
I think sometimes the res systems co's are just covering their A$$es to the detriment of their customers and trust me I love res nexus but that is ridiculous
So I ate the charge.
 
FYI Moose you can call your cc processor and request the number of the issuing bank ....
 
You could also start charging a deposit or authorizing the card before you accept the reservation. That way you will immediately know if the card is good or not AND you will at least have the money for one night in your account.
If you don't want to take a deposit or authorize the card and just "trust" people to do the right thing....then you get what you get. In God we trust. All others cash!
 
Charging the card ahead is one option however whenever these postings are made I wish the following would be included
- Advance deposits are a liabilty on your books and officially needs to be declared as such in your taxes
- processing credit cards without swiping the card is generally a higher processing fee AND if you need to refund the card you incur a fee again
- if the customer is debating between an Inn and a hotel and one does not charge the card in advance, that MAY be a deciding factor
So although it works for many Inns, these are things to consider
 
Oops, edited to say this is addressed to goodman.
Give your Nexus rep. a call Yes they made some changes a few weeks back, but they'll tell you how to access the numbers you need. You just need to make a few administrative changes.
Nat
 
Thanks for your replies.
We have another res tonight for the same room but different people, 11 pm and still not here. Ran the card and got approved...lol
I called my merchant and all they said was to keep trying the card. That's nice....so I keep trying for a year and the card might be closed ? Right....
 
Thanks NW, by the time I figured it out it was like a week later and I just decided to eat the charge :(
 
Charging the card ahead is one option however whenever these postings are made I wish the following would be included
- Advance deposits are a liabilty on your books and officially needs to be declared as such in your taxes
- processing credit cards without swiping the card is generally a higher processing fee AND if you need to refund the card you incur a fee again
- if the customer is debating between an Inn and a hotel and one does not charge the card in advance, that MAY be a deciding factor
So although it works for many Inns, these are things to consider.
Hmm....
agoodman said:
- Advance deposits are a liabilty on your books and officially needs to be declared as such in your taxes
I don't see how. Our policies clearly state the charge is for the first night of the booked stay...by one week before check-in date, that deposit if forfeit - CLEARLY stated.
As for taxes - um, of course I pay them. Whether they show or not, I sold that time and space.
And frankly, we pay a really good accountant to navigate those particular waters for us.
- processing credit cards without swiping the card is generally a higher processing fee AND if you need to refund the card you incur a fee again
Yes, as I've posted before, BTDT, it stinks.
 
You could also start charging a deposit or authorizing the card before you accept the reservation. That way you will immediately know if the card is good or not AND you will at least have the money for one night in your account.
If you don't want to take a deposit or authorize the card and just "trust" people to do the right thing....then you get what you get. In God we trust. All others cash!.
This is what we do... at least for our online reservations (which is now the vast majority of them). We give a $10/night discount for online booking, so if people call to book I mention the online discount and also point out that this is a more secure way to provide CC info as no one will overhear them reading off their number or me repeating it back to them. The reservation form requires the CC info which I then process for the cost of the 1st night before I send them a confirmation. So far, no complaints... and we have had two no shows since we started doing this that we were able to collect on.
Besides, by doing online, they are required to acknowledge understanding of cancellation policies and I have 'in writing' their estimated arrival time and whether they have food allergies or special needs -- less chance of miscommunication or "I thought I mentioned..."
 
You could also start charging a deposit or authorizing the card before you accept the reservation. That way you will immediately know if the card is good or not AND you will at least have the money for one night in your account.
If you don't want to take a deposit or authorize the card and just "trust" people to do the right thing....then you get what you get. In God we trust. All others cash!.
This is what we do... at least for our online reservations (which is now the vast majority of them). We give a $10/night discount for online booking, so if people call to book I mention the online discount and also point out that this is a more secure way to provide CC info as no one will overhear them reading off their number or me repeating it back to them. The reservation form requires the CC info which I then process for the cost of the 1st night before I send them a confirmation. So far, no complaints... and we have had two no shows since we started doing this that we were able to collect on.
Besides, by doing online, they are required to acknowledge understanding of cancellation policies and I have 'in writing' their estimated arrival time and whether they have food allergies or special needs -- less chance of miscommunication or "I thought I mentioned..."
.
...also, if the CC doesn't go through, I email them that their card was declined and that their reservation is not confirmed until they verify the card info. Had someone enter wrong expiration year once... This way, we don't hold the room for a bogus reservation and at the very least have payment for one night if nothing else...
 
Start taking a deposit but instead of doing it at the time of booking, take it the last day to cancel... no need for refund charges - that money is yours whether they check in or not.
Here is my policy from my confirmation letter: I give them THE date they must cancel by so they can't whine over not calculating it right.
Cancellations/Changes must be made by date above, at which time your Credit Card on file will be charged a deposit equal to your first nights stay, which is non-refundable, with balance due on arrival. Cancellations made after the above date OR no-shows will be charged for their entire stay.

Processing without the card present is higher, but it does provide peace of mind, well worth it to me. If the card does not work, I contact them to give them the opp to set things right. (or me transposing a number) But if it does not work out, I then have additional time to rebook the room.
If the only thing between selecting between my B&B and a hotel is the deposit issue, let them stay in the 4 walls.
 
My neighbour charges in full at time of booking non refundable - but it does say it everywhere ie really clear be really sure you are comming cos you will not get your money back. Yes he is sure he gets his money and it does stop people messing you about (plus side) however on the negative side I would personally never book a place that did this and guests we have picked up from him really don't like it either.
As regards processing fees yes they are higher but I am sure the times that you would have gotten stiffed on runners etc would more than pay for the difference.
 
My neighbour charges in full at time of booking non refundable - but it does say it everywhere ie really clear be really sure you are comming cos you will not get your money back. Yes he is sure he gets his money and it does stop people messing you about (plus side) however on the negative side I would personally never book a place that did this and guests we have picked up from him really don't like it either.
As regards processing fees yes they are higher but I am sure the times that you would have gotten stiffed on runners etc would more than pay for the difference..
My neighbour charges in full at time of booking non refundable.
I wouldn't personally object to full charge up front (I'm planning to to pay it anyway , so no big deal to pay it up front and be done with it) but wouldn't like the non-refundable part. Non-refundable after a reasonable cancellation cutoff date is no problem, but sure wouldn't like it being non-refundable from the day the reservation is made.
 
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