Cabana Bay - $100 per night charged to credit card?

[Mad Dog]

They've never asked for my credit card when I've checked out of Portofino. The bill is already prepared when I check out and they email the itemized billing. And I charge purchases at the pool to the room when I'm there. Check in & check out has always been very quick & the desk people have always been super helpful & friendly. I'm a You Too member & they've always been great arranging a good room & location.

 

[sierrak5]

You don't even need to go to the Front Desk to check out at most hotels unless you want to change your form of payment. Almost all properties have an express checkout of some sort: TV, telephone, email, etc.

 

[Mad Dog]

You don't even need to go to the Front Desk to check out at most hotels unless you want to change your form of payment. Almost all properties have an express checkout of some sort: TV, telephone, email, etc.

Yes, agreed. I only stop at the desk to double check everything has been OK and to thank the staff for a good stay.

 

[IzzyB]

Sorry, I should have rephrased. If they require a front desk check out then they swipe at checkout. But yes, the majority of places now you can just call the checkout.

 

[carah]

I also pay my card every month, and travel for pleasure twice a year and business 3/4 times a year so, as I said previously, I know hotels swipe your card upon check in and I'm fine with that, I had just never heard of this "hold" thing before. I would not be big in to room service etc, have only ever used it once, whatever hotel I stay in whilst away is generally just a place for me to rest my head at night, so I was just unclear about how the whole thing worked, added to that a very poorly worded trip advisor review, I was totally confused!

- - - Updated - - -

I've heard of a $100 hold, but not per night. 14 days at Universal? Wow.

3rd year in a row doing 14 days of Universal, and I'm still as excited

 

[Mad Dog]

Carah: We've been doing Universal 14 days the last couple of years also. Good to know that we are not alone & have fellow fanatics. This year we're actually doing a 7 day in two weeks and a 14 day in September. We love the onsite hotels & CitiWalk also, so we spend a lot of time relaxing at the pools and having a glass of wine on the piazzas, plus the entertainment at Pat O'Brien's, Bob Marley's and Marqaritaville in the evenings. There is just so much to do at Universal, especially when you take it at a slow pace to enjoy the ambiance & beauty of the entire resort...Enjoy your next vacation. Good to hear from a kindred spirit.

 

[Nitro_230]

Yeah, same here. I understand a 100 dollar hold, but not a 100 per night. That's 700 dollars for a week stay and 1400 for 2 weeks.

It's to cover room charges, the logic is the longer you stay there the more your going to charge to the room.

 

[carah]

Carah: We've been doing Universal 14 days the last couple of years also. Good to know that we are not alone & have fellow fanatics. This year we're actually doing a 7 day in two weeks and a 14 day in September. We love the onsite hotels & CitiWalk also, so we spend a lot of time relaxing at the pools and having a glass of wine on the piazzas, plus the entertainment at Pat O'Brien's, Bob Marley's and Marqaritaville in the evenings. There is just so much to do at Universal, especially when you take it at a slow pace to enjoy the ambiance & beauty of the entire resort...Enjoy your next vacation. Good to hear from a kindred spirit.

It's just the best isn't it :thumbs: I love even just walking around soaking in the atmosphere, my favourite place eace: enjoy your trips too, so jealous you get to go twice this year

 

[graspthesun]

Sorry, I should have rephrased. If they require a front desk check out then they swipe at checkout. But yes, the majority of places now you can just call the checkout.

More than likely they screwed up the initial authorization and need to get a new swipe of your card for fraud prevention and charge back purposes.

In New Orleans, a $50-100 authorization per day is common. Vegas is much more. If you use a debit card, your authorization is dropped by the hotel at check out, but it can take 3-30 days for the bank to process the reversal.

 

[Mad Dog]

When we went to Portofino in May, the procedure was different than past trips. At check in they asked me if I wanted room charging privileges and if I did it would be $200 credit card hold per day times the number of days we stayed (ex. seven nights $1400). So I would imagine this changed from previous policy since it was never mentioned previously.

 

[Johnaalexis]

Hi!, I was just reading your post after coming across the same trip advisor review, and I was just wondering how things turned out for you!

 

[carah]

Hey! It was perfect, have been twice since posting original question and never had any problems, they swiped card upon check in but as we don't use room service etc. it's never been an issue, and there was no "hold" placed on any money - hope this helps!

 

[Johnaalexis]

It does! Thanks for they reply! After I read that trip advisor review I started to get nervous and worried for the same reasons you did lol!

 

[carah]

Great! I'm thinking I should clarify a little because I was in work when I replied previously,they swiped card and asked if I would be availing of any in room services like charging in Park purchases etc. To which I said no and they just swipe card like any hotel does and let u on ur merry way!have an awesome time - I know I'm counting down my 240 :cry:days down to my next visit eace: