Hotel doesn't accept debit cards? Help!

[Jobs4kids]

I have tried emailing the hotel but no reply so far so grateful for advice while I wait.

I booked an Ibis hotel through booking.com using my debit card. Booking.com are scheduled to take the full payment a few days before I arrive. I just re-read the booking.com confirmation email and spotted the following at the bottom and had a panic as I don't own a credit card!

Important Details
Please note that this hotel is no longer accepting cash payments, only card payments.

Please note that guests can not make a reservation with a debit card.

Please note that 3 rooms are available upon request for guests with reduced ability.

Please note that guests are required to show the credit card which has been used to make the booking, upon arrival. If this is not possible, guests should have an authorization form, signed by the credit card holder if he/she is not travelling along.

However, my rational head tells me that this is for people who have booked with them direct and plan to pay on arrival. I will have already paid! I see booking.com have copied the wording directly from the hotel website.

I travel next week so have little time to find another hotel or apply for a credit card (that I don't want!). Please tell me it'll be OK and I won't be turned away 🙏

Thanks!

That is genuinely bonkers. Card providers usually charge about 35-60p per transaction for debit cards, and the charge for credit cards is a percentage of the sale. So only accepting credit cards will cost them more.

Either that or they are in financial difficulties and want customers to benefit from the credit card refund thingy if it goes tits up.

It's not. Or it wasn't. It used to be the norm back in the day, particularly abroad.
Debit cards don't guarantee the payment. Credit cards do. So the company would rather spend a small amount more to ensure that the money comes through, than risk the payment being declined after the customer has left.

Payments probably go through more speedily now, so it might not be so common. But it's the norm in some areas, particularly car hire, where the company is taking quite a risk.

I stayed in an ibis last weekend.
I paid in full in advance. They asked to see a bank card as id on check in. They didn't demand a credit card.
A lot of hotels are card only now. I just use my debit card.
You will be fine.

Deposits are to protect the business from being unable to charge for extras and so on. They can be authorised either as extra money on top of the planned transaction amount or entirely separately.

That’s not a deposit, they temporarily hold a credit card incase of thefts or damages etc

My debit card has the Mastercard logo and IBIS accepted mine.

Hotels often want a credit card on file for “damages and incidentals”. In lieu of a credit card they will sometimes place a hold on funds in your bank account via your debit card. That means the money isn’t available to you for the duration of your stay and until both the hotel and your bank process the release of the hold. People inevitably get upset when their money disappears on holiday. Carrying a credit card prevents this issue.

Holding an amount pending in case of extra charges is a deposit.

@saraclara
"Debit cards don't guarantee the payment. Credit cards do."
I don't understand this. My debit card only works if I have money in my account.
Credit cards get paid off when the person feels like it - or sometimes never at all.

I explained it upthread, but it's because a business can charge any amount of money on a credit card if necessary, whereas a debit card will only let you charge up to the value of the available balance.

@NewMagicWand I've only ever paid for hotels in advance so I can't really understand how they could essentially take your credit card number for "extras" after you've already paid.

I love the typo - wounding, but accurate.

They don't give a monkey's when anything goes wrong.

I paid recently up front on booking.com and had to pay 150 deposit which I got back yesterday

So if the hotel takes a deposit, they'd authorise an amount on your card, say £100. Then that would stay in your account but become unavailable to spend. Then say you smashed the hotel room up and they wanted to charge £1000 for damages. Assuming this is covered in their contract, they can then charge £1000 to that credit card and even if you only had a £50 balance available it would still go through.

That's the reason they take credit cards on arrival. Otherwise they have to find another way to bill you. Debit cards would only let you take the authorised amount plus whatever balance was available.

I stayed in an Ibis last month, I booked on booking.com with my credit card. When I arrived they asked for a card and I gave my debit and they never said anything. I wasn't aware it needed to be debit.

But they don’t hold an amount, they hold the card details incase they need to make charges

Yes and for debit card this pending often is taken against what is available and the bank will keep the funds ringfenced

It depends on the place. They might be happy with just having a card behind the desk. But any pending authorisation made on the card is a deposit.

I understand what your saying but it isn’t a deposit it’s a hold, a deposit you don’t get back

Yes because they hold a card which is why a credit card is best for this so you can continue to spend

That's not my understanding of the word deposit.

It is a hold or a pending transaction, but that's because it may or may not be charged.

When you intend to buy something, it may be the case that you are asked to 'pay a deposit'. This normally means that you make an advance payment – pay some money beforehand to show that you are serious about buying it or to guarantee you will be buying it. …. That’s just off google to define a deposit for you.

@NewMagicWand I've never paid a deposit for a hotel though.
Just book in advance and pay the total. Then turn up and check in.
If the self check in machines at the Premier Inn I sometimes go to were working I could check in without even speaking to a human.

I'm using the word correctly. If you rent a car, they'll authorise X amount on your card as a security deposit.

From Enterprise's UK T&C's:
(c) Owner may require a security deposit, as stated in the Rental Agreement Summary, at the
commencement of the Rental Period which can be used as security for any future claims which
Owner has against Renter in connection with the Rental Agreement.

It depends on the place. Some do, some don't.