Hotel Room Incidentals

Avoid Costly Overspending During Business Trips

Hotel room incidentals: after a long day of travel, your staff arrive at the hotel fatigued and without having had time to complete any work.

Thus, they turn on their PC, make an order for room service, and add pointless expenses to their hotel bill. Oops!

We aim to assist you in avoiding the numerous issues that such careless spending can cause.

They climb up to their room, exhausted. They had limited time to complete other work assignments due to their hectic trip day. In order to access high-speed internet, people turn on their computer and enter their room number.

They order room service after realizing they are ravenous and getting a few snacks and a drink from the minibar to tide them over.

They charge the cost to their lodging and travel to the business center the following morning to copy some materials for their presentation later that day.

The room service and minibar charges are not shown on your employee's printed hotel folio when they check out because those haven't been accounted for yet. The receipts don't match when their employer tries to reconcile the month's charges to their credit card, weeks later.

By now, if you work as an employer, you undoubtedly cringe.

In actuality, hotel incidentals are simple for staff to accrue, and some might not even be aware of it until it's much too late. Furthermore, it might be challenging to balance the charges because the hotel frequently completes them long after the guest checks out.

Consequently, these can pose challenges for businesses, impeding their ability to effectively allocate, oversee, and settle travel-related costs.

But our goal is to assist. This post will define hotel incidentals, discuss their purpose, and outline ways that both tourists and companies can stay away from pointless fees and inconveniences.

Incidentals at hotels: what are they?

Hotel incidentals, often just called "incidentals," are costs that visitors may have during their stay that aren't included in the rate for a regular room.

Laundry services, food and drink pre-stocked minibars in rooms, and high-speed internet are examples of incidentals. Hotels retain a refundable sum (sometimes referred to as a "security deposit" or "incidentals deposit") at check-in to cover these possible expenses.

Hotels keep an eye on incidentals by asking for room numbers each time a visitor pays for services or makes a purchase, as well as by looking for signs of damage to the room or the eating or drinking of food or drinks from the minibar.

In-room costs may be added later, however incidentals will appear on the final bill at checkout after they are finalized.

Final costs and any unused portion of the deposit return to the guest's credit or debit card balance often take several days after the trip. For business travelers, this waiting period may be difficult, particularly if they lack a company card.

Even then, in order to approve or reject the bill, subtract the charge from the appropriate budget, and refund or charge the employee, accounting teams must wait until all charges have cleared.

Fortunately, both the traveler and the company paying for their stay can avoid surprises at checkout by being aware of what hotels usually charge extra for.

What are common hotel incidental charges?

Many services and amenities don’t fall under a hotel’s standard room rate. Some of these might include:

• Parking and valet

• Restaurant and bar charges

• Business center services, such as copying, mailing or guest package storage

• Spa packages

• In-room movies and pay-per-view

• Use of in-room phones for long-distance calls

• Room service

• In-room bottled water, alcohol or mini-bar snacks

• On-site convenience store purchases

The cost of incidentals varies greatly based on the star level, location, and policies of the hotel chain; hence, the amount a hotel requests at check-in will also vary.

Hotel incidentals can range from $25 to $150 each night, depending on the length of your stay and the cost of your hotel.

Nevertheless, they typically cost $100 or $150 per night. However, those costs can soar in luxury hotels and during the busiest tourist seasons.

Why do hotels impose incidental fees?

Incidentals are usually charged for by hotels for two main reasons. To defend oneself comes first. In order to charge guests for the services they use and for any potential harm they may inadvertently cause, staff must have a credit card on file.

Before credit cards, hotels had no way of recovering money for repairs or replacements if they discovered damage or theft in a room after a guest had checked out and paid with cash.

Incidental or security deposits deter customers from stealing or damaging property while also helping hotels to pay the expensive expense of maintaining additional services.

Convenience for visitors is the second justification. Incidentals improve the quality of service a hotel provides to its patrons.

For example, getting room service or having business attire dry cleaned can enhance the enjoyment and convenience of a business trip. A guest is more likely to stay at the same hotel or chain of hotels again if they receive superior service.

Regrettably, incidentals may provide challenges for both travelers and the companies who pay for their trips.

What types of problems can hotel incidentals cause?

Let’s review a few common ways hotel incidentals create hassles for companies and their employees:

• Tying up your credit or debit card balance. Deposits may be fully reimbursed or partially repaid, depending on how much the visitors spend on incidentals. Estimating and monitoring reimbursements becomes challenging as a result, particularly for staff members who use their personal cards.

• Deposits vary drastically. Hotels have the option to request a $150 or $300 deposit. If employees must wait weeks to receive their deposit back or have spending limits on their personal or business cards, this discrepancy may cause problems.

• Personal vs. business card. Guests might need to use their own personal credit card if their employer does not offer a corporate credit card. In some situations, employees are forced to utilize a debit card because they do not even have personal credit cards, and the delays on these cards can extend up to 14 working days.

• Credit card authorizations. In order for hotels to accept business credit cards from their employees as payment, these businesses typically need to fill out credit card authorization forms. These manual forms take a lot of time to complete and process, especially as they are often needed for every room, and sharing sensitive billing information on a regular basis encourages fraud.

• Paying for incorrect incidentals. Incidentals could inadvertently be charged twice or to the incorrect room. It is the responsibility of the guests or their employers to thoroughly review each bill for errors.

• Complicated reconciliation. Every reconciliation is further complicated by incidentals, especially when certain expenses are made only after the customer has checked out. This lengthens the time needed to examine and process travel receipts and makes cost prediction challenging.

Processing incidentals takes up a lot of time in finance departments, time that may be better used for other, more strategic tasks. Businesses should reduce incidental expenses as much as possible and think about using tools to process them more efficiently.

What steps do you take to reduce or eliminate incidentals?

When visitors present their credit card to a hotel, they authorize the establishment to make incidental charges. Fortunately, there are a few strategies to steer clear of the operational annoyances caused by incidental costs, such as:

• Requesting that the incidental fee be waived. If you don't have a valid cause, hotels won't comply, therefore be sure to specify your request for the charge to be waived. Employees may only use debit cards, have extremely tight travel budgets, or your organization may have had a bad experience in the past with a hotel that delayed pre-authorization release.

• Requesting no incidental charges. If an employee doesn't pay using a personal card, most employers won't let them use the amenities. As incidental services are not needed, request that properties disable them.

• Join a hotel’s loyalty program. Hotels provide extra benefits that other guests might not be aware of since they recognize that high-status holders are loyal patrons. Loyalty members typically have an easier time asking for incidental costs to be waived or erased.

• Explore alternative services. Local gyms and laundromats could be significantly less expensive than hotel amenities. Companies should think about paying their staff a per diem for those services in order to exclude those costs from the lodging bill.

• Verify every single charge. Errors occur. Even though it may be tempting to go right away, visitors should take their time reviewing their receipts. Erroneously placed charges can be removed by the front desk.

Although it requires more work up front, communicating your travel policy to your workers and interacting with hotel personnel can ultimately save hours of processing time.

Conclusion

Incidentals at hotels are a frequent cause of annoyance for both tourists and business visitors. Incidentals can cause inconveniences and financial strain, but you can lessen them by knowing what they are, why they happen, and how to avoid them.

Examine the hotel's incidental policies prior to your trip. Request that the incidental fee be waived or that there be no incidental costs. If you can, sign up for the hotel's loyalty club to gain access to member perks.

Examine your receipt thoroughly after checking out and challenge any erroneous charges. Refunds should be kept on file, and any concerns should be brought up right away with your employer.