May I suggest either the evening before departure from a hotel or before boarding the bus the next morning to go onto another location that you just not drop your key off at the front desk but also check to make sure that you have settled your bill and even if you haven't put anything on a room bill to make sure that there are no charges. On arriving home from my first Trafalgar tour I was surprised to find that the Hilton Olympia in London had put nearly $300.00 in charges on my visa. On contacting the Hilton head office these charges were removed. Since that time in 2006 I never leave a hotel without checking to make sure my room has not been billed mistakenly. Purvis

Excellent advice and something I do when I travel in the US but wouldn't have thought to do it on a tour. I guess I thought those kinds of things would have been taken care of for us.
Newbie (that's me)

Good advice, Purvis. I usually ask when I'm dropping my key at the front desk if my bill is up to date because often I purchase Internet access the evening before.

Might I also suggest that you don't wait until the last minute to drop the room key at the front desk. Show up early! Often there are multiple tours departing around the same time and it a bad idea to be running out to the coach just in time to board before it departs.

We had problems on our first O/S trip - independent travel- due to the fact that the hotels put a block on a certain amount of money on your credit card so you cannot skip out without paying the bill. We had prepaid the hotel- this was just for extras you may have used and not prepaid for. This is fair enough but our bank takes days to lift the block and this adds up if you are going to a different hotel every few days. I noticed suddenly that over one thousand dollars was missing from my credit card I thought I had! It appeared again about a weeks or so later. This could get travellers into trouble financially! We were not aware this was happening until the 4th hotel explained it to us. I undestahnd the hotels have to protect themselves but it is so annoying.

quote:

We had problems on our first O/S trip - independent travel- due to the fact that the hotels put a block on a certain amount of money on your credit card so you cannot skip out without paying the bill. We had prepaid the hotel- this was just for extras you may have used and not prepaid for

This must have been a frightening thing to happen especially if you needed the money. Glad it turned out okay.

While this is very good advice.......wouldn't you in some cases be checking your bill just hours after you check in? If your bus gets in at 5pm and leaves the next morning at 8am, wouldn't possibly you be checking your bill just hours after you checked in???

Purvis I agree to always check your bill but I usually do it in the morning before checking out of the hotel I'm in. I realize you are rushed in the morning with breakfast, loading the bus etc.

2 day hotel stays present no problem checking the evening before.

As a newbie I may be missing something so if I am, I'm just confused

It has been suggested by those in the know, to not turn in the plastic room key cards or worse, leave them in the room...they contain all your personal data which in the wrong hands can contribute to identity theft. (They even contain times of your entries and departures).

Isujim, I'm not sure why you would want to check your hotel bill just hours after you check in when you are on a tour. At that point you would not have a bill since the room charge and breakfast are covered by Trafalgar. The only time you would have a charge would be for phone calls, internet, etc.

I suppose the advice to check for charges instead of just dropping off a key would be a good idea although I do not do it. We never use the phone or anything that there would be a charge for, but in 1999 on my first TT I got charged for a breakfast and had to write to the hotel. It was removed with no problem. So I guess checking would be a smart move.

I am not sure that I understand this. When you are on a tour and you don't register yourself at the hotel, how do they have your Credit card info? I thought that Trafalgar books all the rooms and at that point they don't have your credit card information. How does the hotel get it?

Saki I was wondering the same thing. I thought that since I was on a tour, I wouldn't need to worry about those kinds of things!

quote:

Originally posted by Saki:
I am not sure that I understand this. When you are on a tour and you don't register yourself at the hotel, how do they have your Credit card info? I thought that Trafalgar books all the rooms and at that point they don't have your credit card information. How does the hotel get it?

I think Gerry is referring at to when they check themselves, I have given my CC when I check in at the first hotel or if going earlier, never had a problem so far, but it's good to have that in mind.

In the middle of my last tour, after breakfast, I went back to my room and saw a tray by the door, a few minutes later I got a call from the front desk asking if I had received the room service, I had to go to the lobby to clear this up, by that time, the TD had been already notified, so he had to go as well and clear it. Mistakes happen.

It is always possible that someone orders a drink in the hotel bar or has dinner in the hotel's restaurant and your room number is charged. Mistakes happen so protect yourself by turning in your key card and at the same time check you bill balance. Also don't remove any items from the mini-frig unless you plan on paying for them even if you removed them for inspection and return the items to their original space as your room is instantly charged. Purvis

quote:

Originally posted by Saki:
I am not sure that I understand this. When you are on a tour and you don't register yourself at the hotel, how do they have your Credit card info? I thought that Trafalgar books all the rooms and at that point they don't have your credit card information. How does the hotel get it?

Trafalgar does provide the hotels with all of your pertinent information, but NOT credit card information.

As I mentioned previously, I often purchase Internet access when I'm in the UK so I usually pop down to the Front Desk and let them swipe my credit card so that they'll activate my Internet.

quote:

Originally posted by PURVIS 70:
It is always possible that someone orders a drink in the hotel bar or has dinner in the hotel's restaurant and your room number is charged. Mistakes happen so protect yourself by turning in your key card and at the same time check you bill balance. Also don't remove any items from the mini-frig unless you plan on paying for them even if you removed them for inspection and return the items to their original space as your room is instantly charged. Purvis

As Purvis mentions, mistakes can happen.

Most of the time the hotel knows which rooms have been booked by which tour company (especially if they have an electronic keycard system). I avoid charging drinks, food, etc to my room number because I would rather not have items randomly charged to my credit card without my knowledge, so I pay cash for these items. Internet access is another story however, you usually can't simply just pay for it unless the hotel is using a third-party Internet provider (like BT Cloud).

If the hotel has electronic tracking the first time you ask for something to be charged to your room, the server will check with the hotel database, notice that you're with a tour group, and ask you for a credit card swipe before allowing you to run a tab.

As for the mini-fridge, avoid it like the plague! For most of the rooms I've been in the hotel has emptied the mini-fridge before my arrival. Maybe they know me? Or maybe this is just standard practice when a tour group is booked into the rooms. I would have to be VERY thirsty before I would pay £5.50 for a bottle of Becks beer though...

Maybe they do know you but haven't figured me out yet. I have never found my mini-frig empty but like you avoid it at all costs. In London (Riverbank Park Plaza) a can of coke would be the equivalent of $5.00 Cdn . On returning from the London Wheel I noticed a mini-mart almost at the hotel's doorstep which sold the same can of coke for 70p. If you're out for the day touring pick up any snacks or drink and bring them back to the hotel. Purvis

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PURVIS 70,

Ok walk me through the procedure........

You get off the bus during your tour and get to your new hotel for the night.

Do you check in? Is it already done for you? Do you still have to give a credit card at the front desk if you plan to use the bar? If Trafalgar does not give the hotels your credit card number (and personally glad they don't).......I take it each person still has to check in at each stop?????

Remember I'm new at this for a TT. Please help clear up my mind.

Thanks to all in advance.

Jim