Hotel have taken all my spending money ...ridiculous?

[whatshardknock]

I'll currently at a hotel in London (Piccadilly circus )
I'm here for 4 nights (checked in yesterday)
I'm meeting friends who I haven't seen in years.
It's been a bit of a treat it's a lovely hotel and I've spent £1000 on the hotel (which I never do )As a treat after a shit year.
I booked on booking.com
I checked my bank the £1000 has came out and also a pending £800
I spoke to downstairs and the £800 will be refunded after I leave.
That's pretty much all my spending money.
Aibu to think booking.com should have said and also £800 deposit for a 4 night stay is mental surely.

I don't think that £800 will ever debited from your account. It's a bit like the £1 pending you get when you fill up with petrol using pay at pump. As long as you keep away from the mini bar and room service, you can spend your money as you had planned.

@Miner49er No she can't.

THe money has been pre-authorised. It's not available for her to spend now...

The authorisation always used to be to cover incidentals at the hotel. Such as meals and drinks. £200 a day is very steep. Ask them what the funds are for and can they justify why it is so high.

Explain the you don't plan to eat/spend anything more at the hotel and ask them to release the funds. They will have to charge your card using the authorisation code and then refund it otherwise the funds will stay blocked.

@whatshardknock

I don't even intend on using the mini bar or room service

The hotel don't know that though.

It's a steep deposit to take, but if it's in the t&C's then I'm not sure what can be done.

If your booking allows, you could check out early and go to another hotel, see if you can have a temporary overdraft as another poster said, or borrow money on a very temporary basis from someone?

Personally I'd play merry hell, demand a manual refund and tell them to empty the mini bar.

When you say 'pending', does that mean the money will come out regardless or does the hotel need to do something additional to charge the £800? As others have said, would speak to the bank ASAP as they be able to provide £800 overdraft free of charge

Then ring your bank and tell them the situation.

what bank are you with? and what kind of account do you have (is it a normal current account or a restricted basic account?)

if you can arrange for an overdraft to be authorised, you will still be able to spend your spending money and unless you actually DO clear out the minibar, live on room-service or trash the hotel room, you will not actually go overdrawn at all. The hotel haven't taken the money, they have just asked your bank to guarantee that if they need to make an additional charge, the bank will not refuse. in turn, the bank will therefore not authorise other transactions if that would put you overdrawn if the hotel make that charge.

by arranging a £1000 overdraft facility, you release up the spending money for spending now, but it won't actually cost you a penny.

I had to do something very similar a few years ago when the deposit for a house purchase needed to flit briefly through my current account and there was a minor risk that if something had gone wrong I might have been £8000 overdrawn for a day. It was resolved by applying for an £8000 overdraft authorisation which was agreed but never actually used so it didn't cost me a penny.

£1000 for 4 nights, wow are you in the ritz hahaha

I'd demand the 800 there and then. What will you do to food and so on OP. What a palace. It's nice to treat yourself. But if you stuck to premier inn, you could have had more money to treat yourself. I love london and used to go all the time as I'm only 45 mins away by train. And even lived there for a short while. I'd love to stay in a fancy shmancy hotel too but I'd prefer more cash to spend and treat myself too. Have a nice trip but stay firm with the hotel. I can appreciate it could Be in their terms and conditions but that seems like a lot. £200 a night deposit. Bloody hell. Is there gold taps and a fridge rampacked with luxury food and chocolate. Should have stayed somewhere else.

Contact your bank, explain the situation, ask for an overdraft (extension) for same amount

Yes the deposit is usually taken as a open authorisation on a credit card so it's not actually "real" money and gets cancelled/refunded when you leave. Many people don't even realise it's been done.

Unfortunately it sounds like you used a debit card which means actual money has been blocked from your checking account.

Sometimes you can ask for the minibar to be removed and to have to pay for any room service at the time. Might be worth checking with reception to see if they can do that and remove the block?

Sorry should be pay for room service at the time you order it instead of adding to the room.

This is an argument in favour of a credit card.

Get a credit card for future use in this situation. Set up a direct debit to pay it off in full each month so you never pay any interest.

Use it for situations like you have described here.

I don't even intend on using the mini bar or room service

But the hotel don't know that, and lots of people do use these things. They have their bar and restaurant bills charged to their rooms, too, and other hotel services.

And at London hotel prices, I suspect that even a lightweight like me could probably eat and drink my way through £200 a day.

I have a current account with Halifax.
I can't remember my telephone banking details so I will have to go in branch I think ??
They have said it's to cover in potential damage to the room.

I’ve had this with debit cards and hotels too. Now I always reserve on Booking.com with a credit card.

I stayed at the taj in NYC for 2 nights and it was the same as yours, 400 per night. Its a pain in the arse

While it is a huge amount of money for a security deposit. You have said it states £200 per night. There really isn't anything you can do if you have agreed the t&cs.

Can you get an emergency overdraft ?

I wouldn’t have known this either, OP as I’m a Premier Inn regular too.

Hope you can sort this out.

you would probably be better off phoning but press the option to talk to someone and explain you can't remember your telephone banking details - they will be able to identify you with asking lots of questions, and you can then explain the situation. going into a branch would be the same process but with the added stress of the covid situation making it all worse.

Wait... do the hotel have ring-fenced 800 of your money in anticipation of you spending on the room?

What happens when you check out and you have spent, say, 100 on room service.

Do you have to pay the 100 at check out and wait for the 800 to be refunded later (and be 800 down for however long it takes) or do they just refund you the difference at a later time?

I’ve been to a lot of hotels that do this, I think it’s quite normal

Have a look on r/talesfromthefrontdesk - unfortunately this is standard practise because idiots who trash rooms do exist. You will get your money back, but in future you need a credit card to use for the deposit so you don't end up in this situation again. Like you, I'm a premier inn girl and would not have known about this except for reddit!

So after one night there are only three left so does that mean they will no longer expect the £200, and tomorrow another £200 so that frees you up £200 a day?

I don’t know how these things work either I’m afraid! I’d be in the dark like you OP as I never go anywhere!