Paying cash on arrival for resort

[andysomma1]

In March I reserved this past weekend at Beach Club. I put down the deposit of one night on my debit card. I was traveling with my sister and she was going to pay the other night when we got there using cash.

The morning of our arrival my debit card was charged for the second night before we arrived to check in at the resort. When we got to the front desk to pick up our room keys I asked the manager why my debit card was charged for the second night before we arrived and he said it was to expedite the check in process.

So a heads up to those of you wanting to pay off the rest of your stay with cash or gift cards when you arrive. They may go ahead and clear your charges with the card number they already have.

 

[DebbieB]

In March I reserved this past weekend at Beach Club. I put down the deposit of one night on my debit card. I was traveling with my sister and she was going to pay the other night when we got there using cash.

The morning of our arrival my debit card was charged for the second night before we arrived to check in at the resort. When we got to the front desk to pick up our room keys I asked the manager why my debit card was charged for the second night before we arrived and he said it was to expedite the check in process.

So a heads up to those of you wanting to pay off the rest of your stay with cash or gift cards when you arrive. They may go ahead and clear your charges with the card number they already have.

That's dangerous with a debit card, they could have overdrawn your account.

 

[saskdw]

That's dangerous with a debit card, they could have overdrawn your account.

I agree. You pay with credit card because of the assurances the CC company provides. I'm sure it would be an extremely rare thing for someone to want to pay cash for their room.

 

[minnie mum]

I agree. You pay with credit card because of the assurances the CC company provides. I'm sure it would be an extremely rare thing for someone to want to pay cash for their room.

I don't think it is extremely rare for someone to want to pay cash (or use another form of payment other than credit card) at a Disney resort. We do it all the time. Others prefer to use gift cards or debit cards.

Room only reservations are payable at the time of check in. NOT before you check in. If this had happened to me, I'd be tearing the manager a new one.

When we checked into our resort in April, we had no problems paying the balance with cash. And then leaving our credit card number on file for room charges.

I wonder if the OP did online check in. The CMs response of doing this "to expedite the check in process" makes me think so. Another reason to add to my list of why I don't do online check in.

 

[mickeynut1]

I wonder if the OP did online check in. The CMs response of doing this "to expedite the check in process" makes me think so.

This was my first thought as well. We've never done online check in, but I have read reports that you must put in a cc otherwise it won't let you advance to the next screen. It seems it would make sense to charge the cc on file prior to arrival so the guest can pick up their folder and go without having to pay a balance. But since we've never done online check in and I've always paid a room only reservation ahead of time, I'm not sure if this is how it works or not .

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

If I'm paying cash at the resort for my balance due I don't do online check in because I don't want it going on the card I used for my deposit. I plan on hopefully using Disney gift cards to pay balance for our planned trip in October.

 

[nkereina]

I am willing to bet that the front desk could have reversed the charges and then allowed OP to pay cash. It would have been inconvenient waiting for the funds to be returned to the card, yes. But its not uncommon for guests to pay in cash, so they must have a way to allow for this when they charge cards ahead of time. Same with gift cards.

 

[andysomma1]

I don't think it is extremely rare for someone to want to pay cash (or use another form of payment other than credit card) at a Disney resort. We do it all the time. Others prefer to use gift cards or debit cards.

Room only reservations are payable at the time of check in. NOT before you check in. If this had happened to me, I'd be tearing the manager a new one.

When we checked into our resort in April, we had no problems paying the balance with cash. And then leaving our credit card number on file for room charges.

I wonder if the OP did online check in. The CMs response of doing this "to expedite the check in process" makes me think so. Another reason to add to my list of why I don't do online check in.

Alas, I did do online check-in. It did not state anywhere during the process though that my card would be charged before arriving at the resort. I had to enter a credit/debit card or I could not move forward with the process. I had done this many, many times in the past and never gotten charged before I arrived at the resort though. Of course this was my first time staying at the Beach Club, so this may be one of their policies. Next time I'll know.

I am willing to bet that the front desk could have reversed the charges and then allowed OP to pay cash. It would have been inconvenient waiting for the funds to be returned to the card, yes. But its not uncommon for guests to pay in cash, so they must have a way to allow for this when they charge cards ahead of time. Same with gift cards.

You are right, the manager did offer to reverse the charges and have us pay in cash. He would have reversed it right there but I had no idea how long it would take my bank to reverse it so I left the charge on and my sister gave me the cash.

 

[DebbieB]

Alas, I did do online check-in. It did not state anywhere during the process though that my card would be charged before arriving at the resort. I had to enter a credit/debit card or I could not move forward with the process. I had done this many, many times in the past and never gotten charged before I arrived at the resort though. Of course this was my first time staying at the Beach Club, so this may be one of their policies. Next time I'll know.

That explains it. Online check-in is not supposed to involve any interaction at check-in. They process your check-in before you arrive.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

This happened to us in 2010 at CR - was due to on line check in.

In our case:

• Caused major problems with my bank account
• Manager was HORRIBLE - refused to reverse the charges so we could change the payment tender despite me standing there waving a wad of cash in her face
• Ended up having to drive 40 minutes in each direction to find a branch of our bank so I could deposit the cash in order to prevent a very important bill payment from being returned (ATM deposit would have taken days)
• I swore there was nothing in the terms & conditions but when I went back to read the super fine print there actually was (much to my dismay) so...

Lesson learned the hard way to not do on line check in if I wanted to pay cash on arrival.

 

[MKFan-PR]

Remember that the balance of the room reservation (if it's a room only) is due on check-in. So, when you do online check-in they will charge the balance right then, beacuse you are actually checking in. If you wish to pay the balance in cash, you should check-in at the front desk on arrival. It's a little detail that they don't explain properly (if at all!).

Also, it's my experience that they sometimes ask on the phone when I'm making a reservation or a payment if I want to leave the card that I'm using on file. It makes the check-in at the front desk easier, but it's something that may be 'convenient' for some but not for all.

 

[AndreaDM]

That happened to us at CSR last year too, I had paid one night deposit on my Visa but wanted to pay the balance on gift cards I had bought. They had already processed it, but were able to reverse it so I could use my gift cards, but it was a bit of a hassle.

 

[andysomma1]

Remember that the balance of the room reservation (if it's a room only) is due on check-in. So, when you do online check-in they will charge the balance right then, beacuse you are actually checking in. If you wish to pay the balance in cash, you should check-in at the front desk on arrival. It's a little detail that they don't explain properly (if at all!).

Also, it's my experience that they sometimes ask on the phone when I'm making a reservation or a payment if I want to leave the card that I'm using on file. It makes the check-in at the front desk easier, but it's something that may be 'convenient' for some but not for all.

Not true. I did online check-in about two weeks before we arrived. They didn't charge my debit card until the morning I was due to arrive. Like I said I have done this MANY times and had never had my card charged before I was actually standing at the desk.

 

[DebbieB]

Not true. I did online check-in about two weeks before we arrived. They didn't charge my debit card until the morning I was due to arrive. Like I said I have done this MANY times and had never had my card charged before I was actually standing at the desk.

That's correct, they make up the packets either during the night or on the morning of check-in, I guess depending on how busy they are. They are supposed to just hand the packet to you with everything already processed.

 

[MKFan-PR]

Not true. I did online check-in about two weeks before we arrived. They didn't charge my debit card until the morning I was due to arrive. Like I said I have done this MANY times and had never had my card charged before I was actually standing at the desk.

You are right. The charge would be on the actual day you check-in. My apologies . The fact is they charge the card that you put in online check-in. I believe they previously would ask you when you were at the desk if you wanted to use that card, or another method of payment (you still have to go to a front desk to get your KTTW cards, etc). Charging the card 'automatically' on check-in day may be convenient to some, but not everybody.

 

[saskdw]

I don't think it is extremely rare for someone to want to pay cash (or use another form of payment other than credit card) at a Disney resort. We do it all the time. Others prefer to use gift cards or debit cards.

Not really relevant to this thread, but I still disagree. Just because you do something doesn't mean that alot of people do it. I think it is rare in this day and age for someone to be paying at a resort of anykind with cash. You have a habit of wording your opinion like it his fact on this Forum. Reality is neither one of us has factual statistics to back up our opinions, so they will remain opinions.

 

[danceintherain]

There isn't a requirement that you have to submit payment info in order to do online check in. The potential is for the convenience of the "guest."

I bypassed the option during our last trip, and handed over my debit card when I got up to the desk for final payment and room charge. I don't think the charge posted until a few days into the trip.

I actually don't remember a final payment portion during the online check-in process, only a portion where you can add a card for room charge. The page was glitchy before my trip, so I opted to skip it.

Honestly, I doubt we'll do online check-in again, because there's no real benefit for us, and under normal circumstances, I'd probably be holding up the line.

OP - It's definitely odd that they would charge you before arrival, but I wonder if it's in the fine print of the Online Check-In terms and conditions somewhere.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Not really relevant to this thread, but I still disagree. Just because you do something doesn't mean that alot of people do it. I think it is rare in this day and age for someone to be paying at a resort of anykind with cash. You have a habit of wording your opinion like it his fact on this Forum. Reality is neither one of us has factual statistics to back up our opinions, so they will remain opinions.

I think that a lot of people do pay.with gift cards for Disney. I get gc's for fuel rewards and as a savings tool for our WDW trips. I also receive them as gifts since all my friends and family know its a safe bet lol.

I would never use cash but gc's I think are pretty common for Disney which is why I don't do online check in for room only if I want to use gift cards to pay that balance.

No idea how common but I sure do see a lot of disboarders making mention of using gc's to pay for rooms and pkgs on threads.

 

[saskdw]

I think that a lot of people do pay.with gift cards for Disney. I get gc's for fuel rewards and as a savings tool for our WDW trips. I also receive them as gifts since all my friends and family know its a safe bet lol.

I would never use cash but gc's I think are pretty common for Disney which is why I don't do online check in for room only if I want to use gift cards to pay that balance.

No idea how common but I sure do see a lot of disboarders making mention of using gc's to pay for rooms and pkgs on threads.

You are probably right about the gift cards. I just don't think too many people are pulling a wad of bills out of their pocket when they check-in...lol

 

[Amy&Dan]

You are probably right about the gift cards. I just don't think too many people are pulling a wad of bills out of their pocket when they check-in...lol

I agree!