I never said that I believed the front desk was trying to rip off the customer.

However, in my experience, double billing is NOT uncommon (especially with 3rd party billing). I don’t belive it is intentional, rather it has to do with complex computer systems and inattentive staff. Problem with paying cash is that if you lose the receipt, then there is NO proof, whereas if you use a CC or other electronic payment, there is a paper trail.

The take home message is :
1) REVIEW your bills carefully (both cards)
2) Don’t lose your receipt if paying in cash
3) Don’t be surprised if there is a billing error!

Use either an actual credit card, if you have one (where if there is an incorrect charge, you can dispute it with the card issuer, *and* you don’t have to pay the amount while the dispute is being invesitaged) or pay with cold hard cash (obviously, they cannot charge you incorrectly since *you* control counting the cash out of your wallet/purse)

I then turned to my useless CC company that told me they could not initiate a dispute with out proof of payment bases on MasterCard Rules. I wrote back to the CC company and ask them to please quote me the rule and section. They then sent up a dispute which the hotel never responded to. case closed and I did not get stuck with the charge.

I will never again use a CC to reserve a room unless I am going to pay for that room with that card.

There is also a pre-charge that authorizes when that person checked in to verify that the credit card has the funds available to pay for the room (this amount is held aside by the CC company until the final billing goes through)

The check in clerk would not know most of the time that the guest was planning on paying with cash upon check out. So the hold was run by the night auditor as a charge. The desk clerk at check out most likely was not paying attention to see that there was zero balance or as it happens more often saw the problem, saw a line, said to herself that she would fix it later and in the course of the morning check out just flat out forgot.

If the cash was recorded and the second billing was the credit card then no, the front desk people aren’t trying to steal money. By converse. If the lost billing was in cash, then who knows. Personally, I am disinclined to believe that front desk folks were trying to rip them off. More likely just an error.

Some may ask… why are 2 credit cards being used? Simple… I have a credit card on file. Due to promotions with the various cards (AmEx, Visa, etc), I will change the billing card when I get into the hotel. I can’t explain how or why both cards get charged, and its a simple correction, but it is still extra work that wastes time.

Other times, I will be using a pre-paid room (through a corporate contract or 3rd party billing) and the hotel will ask for a credit card for incidentals. On more than one occasion, the credit card was then charged for the full amount. The hotel often claims that “3rd party didn’t cover the room, and you are responsible for the charges” Often, the 3rd party DID cover the room, but proving to the hotel is sometimes a monumental task.

With regards to the above situation, I agree with Dang, that you should avoid paying CASH to hotels at all costs. If so, make sure you have a receipt (look at it carefully) and don’t ever, EVER lose it!

There are a lot of people in the US that don’t use credit cards. Unfortunately, its almost impossible to make a reservation now-a-days without using a credit card or debit card. I remember a few years ago when a woman in VT was denied a hotel because she only had cash. I suspect that the above couple didn’t ask for a cash receipt or have a cash receipt, hence the difficulties.