Early payment for rooms??

[babesboo99]

I believe I have asked this before but I can't find the answer anywhere. I would like to make payments or a full payment if possible not by fax if I call the hotel up directly can they take a payment over the phone? When i asked they said I would have to do it by fax and I didn't want to unless there was no choice

 

[macraven]

you can prepare for the hotel.
call the hotel and be transferred to accounting.

or tell the TM at the hotel that you want to set up pre payment.
i've done the prepayment before but don't anymore.
i order gift cards on line and use them to pay the hotel in full when i check in.


you can't just call the hotel and pay over the phone with a cc.



if you search this forum, you will find threads that talk about how others have done it.
faxing is the easiest way.

 

[babesboo99]

thank you.. I might just finish it off with the gift cards. If I did the pre payment do they take so much out a month?

 

[macraven]

i discovered that i come out ahead when i buy gift cards and use them for the hotel costs and for extras.

i get points on my cc and in turn can get a check back, credit on my account or make a purchase online on the cc site.

when i pre paid in advance for my room, no perks like i get now.


check with your cc company to see if you get points for future use if you decide to go the gc way.

 

[damo]

thank you.. I might just finish it off with the gift cards. If I did the pre payment do they take so much out a month?

I believe prepayment is done in one payment.

 

[babesboo99]

Thank you this answers everything

 

[sonofanarchy]

If Universal has an extremely weak point, this is it. Yes, we know it's technically Loews, but who cares? Universal needs to change this procedure. According to many of the operators, they agree.

When you book at Disney, you can pay as much of your reservation off simply by calling the main number as often as you want. If you decide for any reason to switch resorts, no problem. They simply change the reservation and apply the money you've paid to the new reservation. Done.

At Universal, all you can pay via phone is a one night deposit. To pay anything else you need to fill out an extremely long CC authorization form, make a copy (front and back) of your credit card, copy of your drivers license, then fax it over to accounting. Then, you need to call them to make sure they have received it. If you want to change resorts for any reason, you need to call BOTH Universal's main number to get the refund on the 1 night deposit, then call accounting to get the refund on the balance which you paid, both of which will come in at separate times. You then need to completely rebook the new hotel, put down the 1 night deposit immediately, and if you wish to pay it off in advance (which the majority of people do), go through the entire accounting procedure all over again.

It's a pain. It's not cohesive. It's plain stupid.

 

[macraven]

the Sonofanarchy brought up the hotel payment "fax" ..

glad he did.

i have done the prepaid many years back.
did it in payments, not one big payment.
too much paper/busy work for me.

this is the main reason i buy the gift cards to use for paying off the hotel room + extras. and i come out ahead.


With Loews, you pay the one night deposit and then don't pay anything else until the day you check out.
you put your cc down at check in.
don't have to put any money down at that time.

i do pay the estimated amount when i check in with gift cards.
it's my way of staying close to my trip budget and not over spend.
this might not be the way of others though.

with the motherland, it was different for me sonofanarchy.
when i switched due to a pin, i had to cancel the first ressie and then make another.
with that, the cm refunded my deposit and took it on the other new ressie.
this happened to me in March when i made the reservation for my fall stay there.
probably due to the coding process with hotel rates.
i chose to pay in fulll when i did the switch.

 

[babesboo99]

this all makes alot of sense. it is alot of paper work that's why I was wondering if it can be done over the phone in payments. and I think you are right they need to change this to make it easier . I told my husband last night about the gift cards and he is thinking of going that way we just like to have everything paid off before we go that way we do not have to worry about a thing just have fun.