I nned a room for one night near downtown Sacramento. I got as very good rate for a room at the Holiday Inn Convention Center on Hotwire. The hotel and room were fine and I definitely was not expecting the Ritz; but here is my issue.
Upon checking in they asked for a deposit even though I pre-paid for the room. This is common practice and I don't have a problem with this. I usually pay cash and collect it back when checking out. But the desk clerk refused to accept cash and made me use a card or she would not check me in. So instead of collecting my money when checking out the next morning, my money is tied up for seven to ten days as an authorization hold on the card. That is unacceptable, BS, and downright theft and extortion! And the Holiday Inn had free use of my money for a week... And I almost had to spend another night in San Francisco due to a cancelled flight. If this did happen the money the Holiday Inn was holding could have come in handy...
I am going to write to the Holiday Inn corporate offices. Also, I have stayed at much nicer, and more expensive, hotels which did not have an issue with paying cash for the deposit. And while the room was decent enough at the Holiday Inn, it didn't have a mini-bar, spa, or other frills that a deposit is usuallyheld for, and like most people these days I have my own cell phone so I wouldn't be adding to the bill there.
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