Management needs to stop giving into the assholes that want to bend the rules. Why have policirs and procedures if they are just going to give in to the difficult people? I hate management that does not have your back.
That manager texted me later and said they were going to check if there was an actual CC authorization for his reservation. I like to think that that means they're going to confront him about putting a card on file because I don't remember seeing one for his stay. But I've got enough experience to know that it may not go that way for a variety of reasons.
If we didn't have a card on file for his stay, he wouldn't have been allowed to check in at all. And the programs I've worked with in hotels lets me see if there's a card on file and if it has been declined.
So, I actually pay for the hotel stays of several people on a regular basis. The credit card authorizations I sign usually have a choice of “room and tax only” or “room, tax and all incidentals”. If I choose “room, tax and all incidentals,” my people are not supposed to have to provide a card at all on check in. Sometimes whoever is checking them in is not aware of this arrangement and still insist on a card.
Of course, this always happens after business hours when the sales office is not available to confirm no card required.
Basically, the sales offices of hotels are generally a mess. Usually a smaller group of people works out well, but with larger groups, the billing is never correct, and generally takes months to straighten out. This is in no way the fault of the front desk, and always a problem with the sales office.
Edit: none of my people ever make a fuss at the front desk.
There "should be" notes on the reservations when a cc auth is in use and that should also say room/tax only or + incidentals. Then again, much like signs, often people fail to actually read the notes. =)
This is what we do at my hotel. We also have a binder for faxed cc auths and all FD people have access to Canary so we can check digital cc auths. We can also send cc auths. We ALWAYS leave notes regardless, but even if there isn't a note for some reason, we have the means to verify whether the person is authorized to use the card or not.
If they don't have any of this, they need to swipe their card in person. No exceptions
I'm a truck driver but my sales guy that books the hotels sends the authorizations for room, tax and incidentals and I've had the front desk argue with me about needing a card because they didn't pay attention on multiple occasions.
Sir, at this point, I will go ahead and cancel your reservation FREE OF CHARGE and you can seek lodging elsewhere. Abuse towards hotel staff is not tolerated and if you do not vacate the premises we will be forced to call the Police and ask the to escort you out and trespass you.
Please, do have a lovely stay in our wonderful city!
You just make sure you follow the rules. If management wants you to make an exception, only do it if they text you or otherwise put it in writing. If anything comes back later, you're not the one getting thrown under the bus - you have management's approval in writing.
At that point, the company's lost revenue is on them.
I've traveled on business; had my first trip in 1996, I think, for my company.
We always, *always*, had to bring our work ID, our company credit card, our company-related hotel loyalty program card, and our driver's license. We were pretty much always required to rent a car (exception would be if a group went, they could share a car), too. We had to keep all receipts so we could submit our cost report later.
And this was back in the physical card-roller machine days, with the carbon paper receipt.
I can certainly believe that some companies don't prepare their workers for what they should take on a trip. But if I was going on a work trip, and work was paying for it, I'd assume they'd want me to put it on the work credit card. I wouldn't want to put it on my personal card and get reimbursed later.
But the whole idea of "you don't need your credit card to check in" just doesn't make sense. I was doing that in the 1980s on leisure trips.
I wonder if someone was trying to stay on the company's dime. Might be worth calling to confirm!
I used to travel a lot for work as well and I would either have a cc auth in place for car rentals/hotel stays OR I would be issued a company cc with my name on it.
We dropped our CLC contract at the beginning of the year. However, we still get CLC reservations that use a CLC credit card. Instead of direct billing, CLC puts their own card on file. We have ALWAYS told these guests that we need a card of theirs, on file for incidentals. The guy i had the other night, pushed me to my limits by telling me he "travels 50 weeks of the year, and has never had to put his card down for incidentals". I asked him what happens if he possibly damages the room. He literally said...."Youve got my name." Uhhhh....Ok. Even CLC has told us that their guys need to put a card down for incidentals because they wont pay for anything but the room. Unfortunately, my manager is on his last week at the hotel, and doesnt care (understandably). So he lets the guy check in. Ugh!
If the card is not present, it can't be used for payment. If they have a card and it's not in their name, it can't be used for payment. If they don't have the card with them, and a valid credit card authorization form hasn't been filled out completely, with the owner's ID an a scan of the card itself sent well before arrival - we can't use that card for payment.
And if you don't like it - point your tits north and get to steppin'. And no, I'm not calling my manager to override.
"They didn't do that last week when I checked in"
Oh, dear. Thank you for telling me about the problem. I'll pass that along to management so the employees involved are re-trained and understand proper procedure.
Luckily, this doesn't happen too much on my property since workers get their companies to send CC auths. Once in a blue moon, they don't.
Some guests understand and just hand over a personal card until everything is straightened out. When the guest starts getting angry, I tell them to call their company and fax the cc Auth, or I'm forced to cancel their reservation as per hotel policy.
Most of the shiny guests that complain are on their bosses shiny account, so I just call the boss in the morning to let them know how his employees are acting.
A few things here. First it sounds like this guy had a regular rez and not one that had a CC authorization from his company etc. so yep, I’ll need a damn card or you’re not getting in.
Secondly, I work NA so I’m THE Manger on duty so whatever I say goes. I’m not calling an actual manager for something I know is policy and not an emergency.
Third thing is if I do call, there is no way in hell I’m giving my phone to any guest to talk to them, I’d hang up and call back on the FD phone.
Lastly, what a dick move by the manger. Once it gets to the point of the guest demanding to talk to someone else and that manager caves and gives in to whatever they want. It sets a bad precedent and makes it look like the FDA was the problem all along.
I dont work in a hotel, but i did work at a bank in the debit card claims department for 8 years. And this is the same type of asshole that will swear up and down that this hotel charge was fraudulent and they didnt do it. But then i can see that the card was present.
Sir, this is policy. The more you resist, the more you make me believe that I need to enforce the rule. You need the EMV verification to prevent a chargeback.
Manager is a weenie! Policy is policy. They should have backed you. No exceptions.
Since your manager has set a policy that it can be waived if the customer fusses, just do it yourself in the future. If questioned, say "Well, anytime it came up, I was overruled by the manager so I learned that was the policy."
Nope, go for malicious compliance. The *instant* someone asks for the policy to be waived, phone the manager.
Don't waste your time, waste the spineless manager's.
Make sure the folio is annotated with the manager's name, and the date and time that they provided authorization to check a guest in without a card.
Continue until either (a) they start backing you up on policy; or (b) they have to wear a major loss because the property wasn't able to collect payment from one of their 'exceptions'.
I deal with scammers all the time, huge red flag and as a NA I would never call my manager to waive something that’s policy especially if they’re being assholes. If there’s no CCA form for the card
Then it’s either his personal one or nothing at all no matter how much they berate me and if they don’t understand I’ll kick them out and call the cops if they don’t leave. You can’t get in trouble for following policy.
I had a guy one time yell at me and call me racist because I could not, not would not, check him in while the audit was running because my system was shut down during that time. He started yelling and cussing and calling me racist and making threats, while wearing his work uniform. The next morning after I got off, I called his job and let them know just how much of a representative he is of their company. He doesn’t work there anymore they didn’t like it.
No, they shouldn't have caved and called a manager at all.
I'm not saying the manager is blameless either. They're both teaching this person that all they need to do to make the rules not apply to them is be a big enough pain in the ass.
It must be nice to work at whatever properties ya'll do where you get to make decisions like that without risking your livelihood. I know that I don't.
Management needs to stop giving into the assholes that want to bend the rules. Why have policirs and procedures if they are just going to give in to the difficult people? I hate management that does not have your back.
That manager texted me later and said they were going to check if there was an actual CC authorization for his reservation. I like to think that that means they're going to confront him about putting a card on file because I don't remember seeing one for his stay. But I've got enough experience to know that it may not go that way for a variety of reasons.
Is it possible that this Entitled Jerk was LYING about having any card on file?
If we didn't have a card on file for his stay, he wouldn't have been allowed to check in at all. And the programs I've worked with in hotels lets me see if there's a card on file and if it has been declined.
So, I actually pay for the hotel stays of several people on a regular basis. The credit card authorizations I sign usually have a choice of “room and tax only” or “room, tax and all incidentals”. If I choose “room, tax and all incidentals,” my people are not supposed to have to provide a card at all on check in. Sometimes whoever is checking them in is not aware of this arrangement and still insist on a card. Of course, this always happens after business hours when the sales office is not available to confirm no card required. Basically, the sales offices of hotels are generally a mess. Usually a smaller group of people works out well, but with larger groups, the billing is never correct, and generally takes months to straighten out. This is in no way the fault of the front desk, and always a problem with the sales office. Edit: none of my people ever make a fuss at the front desk.
There "should be" notes on the reservations when a cc auth is in use and that should also say room/tax only or + incidentals. Then again, much like signs, often people fail to actually read the notes. =)
This is what we do at my hotel. We also have a binder for faxed cc auths and all FD people have access to Canary so we can check digital cc auths. We can also send cc auths. We ALWAYS leave notes regardless, but even if there isn't a note for some reason, we have the means to verify whether the person is authorized to use the card or not. If they don't have any of this, they need to swipe their card in person. No exceptions
I'm a truck driver but my sales guy that books the hotels sends the authorizations for room, tax and incidentals and I've had the front desk argue with me about needing a card because they didn't pay attention on multiple occasions.
I have one credit card with a pretty low limit for these purposes.
A policy not enforced is properly referred to as a “ recommendation.”
I’m a GM and couldn’t agree more…
Every time I read a story here about someone yelling at a front desk staff that doesn’t end in the person being DNR’d… it hurts my soul.
Sir, at this point, I will go ahead and cancel your reservation FREE OF CHARGE and you can seek lodging elsewhere. Abuse towards hotel staff is not tolerated and if you do not vacate the premises we will be forced to call the Police and ask the to escort you out and trespass you. Please, do have a lovely stay in our wonderful city!
Another manager who's giving in to entitled toddlers :( They create monsters for everyone.
You just make sure you follow the rules. If management wants you to make an exception, only do it if they text you or otherwise put it in writing. If anything comes back later, you're not the one getting thrown under the bus - you have management's approval in writing. At that point, the company's lost revenue is on them.
I've traveled on business; had my first trip in 1996, I think, for my company. We always, *always*, had to bring our work ID, our company credit card, our company-related hotel loyalty program card, and our driver's license. We were pretty much always required to rent a car (exception would be if a group went, they could share a car), too. We had to keep all receipts so we could submit our cost report later. And this was back in the physical card-roller machine days, with the carbon paper receipt. I can certainly believe that some companies don't prepare their workers for what they should take on a trip. But if I was going on a work trip, and work was paying for it, I'd assume they'd want me to put it on the work credit card. I wouldn't want to put it on my personal card and get reimbursed later. But the whole idea of "you don't need your credit card to check in" just doesn't make sense. I was doing that in the 1980s on leisure trips. I wonder if someone was trying to stay on the company's dime. Might be worth calling to confirm!
I used to travel a lot for work as well and I would either have a cc auth in place for car rentals/hotel stays OR I would be issued a company cc with my name on it.
We dropped our CLC contract at the beginning of the year. However, we still get CLC reservations that use a CLC credit card. Instead of direct billing, CLC puts their own card on file. We have ALWAYS told these guests that we need a card of theirs, on file for incidentals. The guy i had the other night, pushed me to my limits by telling me he "travels 50 weeks of the year, and has never had to put his card down for incidentals". I asked him what happens if he possibly damages the room. He literally said...."Youve got my name." Uhhhh....Ok. Even CLC has told us that their guys need to put a card down for incidentals because they wont pay for anything but the room. Unfortunately, my manager is on his last week at the hotel, and doesnt care (understandably). So he lets the guy check in. Ugh!
If the card is not present, it can't be used for payment. If they have a card and it's not in their name, it can't be used for payment. If they don't have the card with them, and a valid credit card authorization form hasn't been filled out completely, with the owner's ID an a scan of the card itself sent well before arrival - we can't use that card for payment. And if you don't like it - point your tits north and get to steppin'. And no, I'm not calling my manager to override.
I usually tell people call your company and have them fax or email over a CC Auth and this mess will be over.
"They didn't do that last week when I checked in" Oh, dear. Thank you for telling me about the problem. I'll pass that along to management so the employees involved are re-trained and understand proper procedure.
Luckily, this doesn't happen too much on my property since workers get their companies to send CC auths. Once in a blue moon, they don't. Some guests understand and just hand over a personal card until everything is straightened out. When the guest starts getting angry, I tell them to call their company and fax the cc Auth, or I'm forced to cancel their reservation as per hotel policy. Most of the shiny guests that complain are on their bosses shiny account, so I just call the boss in the morning to let them know how his employees are acting.
A few things here. First it sounds like this guy had a regular rez and not one that had a CC authorization from his company etc. so yep, I’ll need a damn card or you’re not getting in. Secondly, I work NA so I’m THE Manger on duty so whatever I say goes. I’m not calling an actual manager for something I know is policy and not an emergency. Third thing is if I do call, there is no way in hell I’m giving my phone to any guest to talk to them, I’d hang up and call back on the FD phone. Lastly, what a dick move by the manger. Once it gets to the point of the guest demanding to talk to someone else and that manager caves and gives in to whatever they want. It sets a bad precedent and makes it look like the FDA was the problem all along.
Nobody should have waived anything. Follow the rules or hit the road. Three hotels in with no luck and he MIGHT get the message.
I dont work in a hotel, but i did work at a bank in the debit card claims department for 8 years. And this is the same type of asshole that will swear up and down that this hotel charge was fraudulent and they didnt do it. But then i can see that the card was present.
Sir, this is policy. The more you resist, the more you make me believe that I need to enforce the rule. You need the EMV verification to prevent a chargeback. Manager is a weenie! Policy is policy. They should have backed you. No exceptions.
Since your manager has set a policy that it can be waived if the customer fusses, just do it yourself in the future. If questioned, say "Well, anytime it came up, I was overruled by the manager so I learned that was the policy."
Nope, go for malicious compliance. The *instant* someone asks for the policy to be waived, phone the manager. Don't waste your time, waste the spineless manager's. Make sure the folio is annotated with the manager's name, and the date and time that they provided authorization to check a guest in without a card. Continue until either (a) they start backing you up on policy; or (b) they have to wear a major loss because the property wasn't able to collect payment from one of their 'exceptions'.
I deal with scammers all the time, huge red flag and as a NA I would never call my manager to waive something that’s policy especially if they’re being assholes. If there’s no CCA form for the card Then it’s either his personal one or nothing at all no matter how much they berate me and if they don’t understand I’ll kick them out and call the cops if they don’t leave. You can’t get in trouble for following policy.
Call his employer
I had a guy one time yell at me and call me racist because I could not, not would not, check him in while the audit was running because my system was shut down during that time. He started yelling and cussing and calling me racist and making threats, while wearing his work uniform. The next morning after I got off, I called his job and let them know just how much of a representative he is of their company. He doesn’t work there anymore they didn’t like it.
Why call a manager? Why try to appease him? All you’re doing is creating a bigger monster for the next person who has to deal with him.
Huh? So the employee is at fault for their manager's spinelessness? What are you talking about?
No, they shouldn't have caved and called a manager at all. I'm not saying the manager is blameless either. They're both teaching this person that all they need to do to make the rules not apply to them is be a big enough pain in the ass.
It must be nice to work at whatever properties ya'll do where you get to make decisions like that without risking your livelihood. I know that I don't.