When the guest has a gift card that isn't yours?

[Morticia]

How do you handle a guest who shows up at the door with $300 in GC's that you don't accept? This was the first we knew the guest was even planning to use them. No comment was made about them when they booked. When we explained we don't take them, we were told 'you're on the website.' We asked if the guest had received any info with the GC and we were told they got a 'whole book of info.'

 

[seashanty]

is this b and b .com gc's? that's what i'm going to assume because it is NOT clear on that website that NOT all b&b's with listings on the site take the gc's. take a look at the site and you'll see.
so
you don't take them. guest made the reservation based on the assumption that you do.
guest wants to pay with what is basically worthless to you.
you invite guest to call other places that do accept them and guest leaves. because guest most likely was not planning to pay with credit card, maybe does not have sufficient $$ to pay with credit card, or/and will not want to pay with credit card, guest was planning to pay (mostly?) with gc's.
unless guest agrees to pay with credit card or cash, guest departs because if guest remains you have given free stay. you apologize profusely for the confusion and wave goodbye.
ps this happened to me and guest was sure i was 'absolutely crazy wrong'

 

[Don Draper]

Because we had this issue with last year's changes to the B&B.com program and we stopped accepting them, I added this policy to the list that has to be checked when guests book online:
GIFT CERTIFICATES: Please note that gift certificates of ANY type cannot be redeemed by booking online. To redeem a gift certificate you must phone the Inn at (123) 456-7890. Guests making a reservation using the online booking system will be UNABLE to use any type of gift certificate towards their invoice total.
So they have to phone to book and I at least know they are using a GC and I ask for the number. Otherwise, if they book online and use a credit card, they don't get to use the certificates when they arrive.
Edited to add: You can do what others here have suggested and just take the cards, and use them yourself for your next get-a-way...you don't eat any commission that way, just don't get the $$ now.

 

[muirford]

Sometimes it seems overly harsh to me, but I have 'WE NO LONGER TAKE BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM GIFT CERTIFICATES' on my website availability page, on my confirmation email,and in my policies that must be checked off. With the resurgence of selling them at Costco, for online bookings only - this is going to become a problem again. I think this will be my last year on their directory - I'm sorry now that I paid for a year.
What can you do? Stand firm with the guests and piss them off or take them and call banb.com to make them redeem them for you or use them yourself somewhere else. Supposedly there is a customer service number for the online bookings gift cards. You could try them.

 

[MTLLodge]

Thanks for sharing this problem, Bree. This is what I need to know, what directories to stay away from.

 

[seashanty]

ah ... but if you accept the gc to use yourself someday, you're not getting the much needed revenue.
am curious to know how this went down.
i liked b and b .com but i find the whole gc thing confusing on their site ... it says things like 'accepted at over 40,000 locations' .... and you might well think that their gc's are accepted every place listed on their site.

 

[Morticia]

Because we had this issue with last year's changes to the B&B.com program and we stopped accepting them, I added this policy to the list that has to be checked when guests book online:
GIFT CERTIFICATES: Please note that gift certificates of ANY type cannot be redeemed by booking online. To redeem a gift certificate you must phone the Inn at (123) 456-7890. Guests making a reservation using the online booking system will be UNABLE to use any type of gift certificate towards their invoice total.
So they have to phone to book and I at least know they are using a GC and I ask for the number. Otherwise, if they book online and use a credit card, they don't get to use the certificates when they arrive.
Edited to add: You can do what others here have suggested and just take the cards, and use them yourself for your next get-a-way...you don't eat any commission that way, just don't get the $$ now..

I thought about adding something like that to the policies, but it is obvious they never read the info that came with GC so why would they read my policies? They never mentioned even having a GC. This morning they were apologetic...they went to their room last night and read the info.
So, yes, they paid us to stay here. If the GC's were $50 I would have taken them and regifted. Not $300.