And that's only one night!!
Decimal Glitch Spurs Hotel Overbill
Glitch Dropped Decimal From Thousands of Hotel Bills; $100 Charge Soared to $10,000
Nov. 1
Thousands of guests at Holiday Inns and their sister hotels were billed amounts that even room service, pay-per-view movies and a few stolen towels couldn't explain: $6,500 to $21,000 per night.
A credit processing error dropped the decimal point in bills for about 26,000 people staying at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza hotels last week. The guests were charged 100 times what they owed.
A charge of $100, for example, ballooned to $10,000, busting the credit limits of many cardholders and temporarily overdrawing the bank accounts of customers who paid with debit cards.
Atlanta-based Six Continents Hotels, which owns the three chains, said the glitch showed up on bills from Oct. 24 through Sunday. It affected roughly 3 percent of the chains' U.S. customers during that time, said spokeswoman Carolyn Hergert.
Room rates at the three chains range from $65 to $210 per night.
The hotels' credit processor, First Horizon Merchant Services of Englewood, Colo., said most banks had reversed the bad charges by Friday.
"This was no fault of Six Continents in any way, shape or form," said Vicky Nation, executive vice president of operations for First Horizon. "Basically it was a programming error."
Betty Williams of Columbus, Ind., paid for two rooms Saturday at a local Holiday Inn, where her granddaughter held her wedding reception. She said her receipt showed $176, but her credit card was billed $17,600.
She found out Wednesday while grocery shopping at a Wal-Mart, which rejected her card.
"I called my credit card company and they said I had an $18,000 balance," said Williams, 74. "They said there's a $17,600 charge from the Holiday Inn, and I said, `Wow, we only stayed one night!'"
Cardholders should not worry about the bad charges blemishing their credit, said Visa spokeswoman Janet Yang. "It wasn't the fault of the cardholder," Yang said.
Six Continents set up a hot line for customers with billing questions: (800) 621-0555. Callers should ask for Operator 28.
Overcharged guests will get two free nights at any hotel operated by the three chains, Hergert said.
Decimal Glitch Spurs Hotel Overbill
Glitch Dropped Decimal From Thousands of Hotel Bills; $100 Charge Soared to $10,000
Nov. 1
Thousands of guests at Holiday Inns and their sister hotels were billed amounts that even room service, pay-per-view movies and a few stolen towels couldn't explain: $6,500 to $21,000 per night.
A credit processing error dropped the decimal point in bills for about 26,000 people staying at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza hotels last week. The guests were charged 100 times what they owed.
A charge of $100, for example, ballooned to $10,000, busting the credit limits of many cardholders and temporarily overdrawing the bank accounts of customers who paid with debit cards.
Atlanta-based Six Continents Hotels, which owns the three chains, said the glitch showed up on bills from Oct. 24 through Sunday. It affected roughly 3 percent of the chains' U.S. customers during that time, said spokeswoman Carolyn Hergert.
Room rates at the three chains range from $65 to $210 per night.
The hotels' credit processor, First Horizon Merchant Services of Englewood, Colo., said most banks had reversed the bad charges by Friday.
"This was no fault of Six Continents in any way, shape or form," said Vicky Nation, executive vice president of operations for First Horizon. "Basically it was a programming error."
Betty Williams of Columbus, Ind., paid for two rooms Saturday at a local Holiday Inn, where her granddaughter held her wedding reception. She said her receipt showed $176, but her credit card was billed $17,600.
She found out Wednesday while grocery shopping at a Wal-Mart, which rejected her card.
"I called my credit card company and they said I had an $18,000 balance," said Williams, 74. "They said there's a $17,600 charge from the Holiday Inn, and I said, `Wow, we only stayed one night!'"
Cardholders should not worry about the bad charges blemishing their credit, said Visa spokeswoman Janet Yang. "It wasn't the fault of the cardholder," Yang said.
Six Continents set up a hot line for customers with billing questions: (800) 621-0555. Callers should ask for Operator 28.
Overcharged guests will get two free nights at any hotel operated by the three chains, Hergert said.
