Just yesterday, a guest called and asked to return 3rd night stay because it was more than the 2nd night room rate. Guest booked the room online and had a confirmation email with a daily rate, signed a physical registration card that shows daily rate during check in but insisted that we are overcharging him. He thretened us with a chargeback.
I returned the money because fighting chargeback is a losing battle for us.
They booked 8 rooms as a group, and I basically told him, that they are not welcome here next year and he should explained that to his group why we won't let them stay. Also told him, I am going to call everyone in his group and tell them not to book at our location.
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A couple weeks ago, bank called and wanted to verify the charge. Bank wanted to know if the charge was valid. I told them it was charged through chip reader, and I have a video of the guest using the card. She is like, thats all I need. I m going to deny the chargeback.
A lot of guest book room, and when they forget to cancel they use chargeback.
Look into b4checkin for collecting payments. Should offer more proof of card owner’s consent in the transaction amount than most hotel brand companies’ half baked 30 year old PMS. The franchising company will not care because their cut is a portion of top line revenue, and chargeback loss is all on the hotel.
Why are the room rates so highly variable in the first place? Your guest sounds like a total jerk, no doubt. Hotels have also been quick to adopt the nickel-and-dime-customers-to-death business strategy, which adds up to a pretty big ding for folks paying out of pocket.
From a customer perspective, it feels like a stingy, one-sided relationship with all the hidden fees for what should be a relatively simple arrangement.
Still not defending your idiot customer who couldn't be bothered to read the presumably clear and well-intentioned agreement they signed.
Lots of hotel stays I do have non-uniform rates-- e.g. different weekend and weekday rates, cheaper rate for first day, cheaper rate past a certain length of stay... But basically all confirmations have clearly showed me my total charge and average daily rate-- and it's never really mattered to me that some of the days cost different amounts than other ones.
> Why are the room rates so highly variable in the first place?
A lot of reasons but mostly due to demand and supply. We are mostly busy on the weekends (Fri/Sat). Weekends rates will be higher than weekdays. If the majority of the rooms are booked 6 months in advance, rate will be higher for those days. Not having enough housekeepers to clean the rooms, increase the rate so that we have less rooms to clean.
> Hotels have also been quick to adopt the nickel-and-dime-customers-to-death business strategy
I would say, not really. Look at the hospitality reits. They have lowest returns compare to other reits.
Variable pricing is always because supply and demand are constantly in motion.
I see a sign on the Taco Bell advertising a $4 per hour premium ($21 per hour) for people who are willing to work late night and will stay to close the place up. I see a possibility of restaurants charging more for food at 11pm rather than 1pm. Which already happens at many places via discounts for “lunch specials” available only during noon hours.
Same reason for hotels to charge different prices for different nights.
You can throw in price discrimination / price segmentation and collect different prices from different people for the room night. Similar to how retail businesses give a lower price to people willing to spend their time finding coupons.
Just yesterday, a guest called and asked to return 3rd night stay because it was more than the 2nd night room rate. Guest booked the room online and had a confirmation email with a daily rate, signed a physical registration card that shows daily rate during check in but insisted that we are overcharging him. He thretened us with a chargeback.
I returned the money because fighting chargeback is a losing battle for us.
They booked 8 rooms as a group, and I basically told him, that they are not welcome here next year and he should explained that to his group why we won't let them stay. Also told him, I am going to call everyone in his group and tell them not to book at our location.
---
A couple weeks ago, bank called and wanted to verify the charge. Bank wanted to know if the charge was valid. I told them it was charged through chip reader, and I have a video of the guest using the card. She is like, thats all I need. I m going to deny the chargeback.
A lot of guest book room, and when they forget to cancel they use chargeback.