Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

GUEST CHARGES, PAYMENT, AND CHECK-OUT
MODERN FRONT OFFICE ISSUES AND TACTICS
Debit Cards or “Where’s My Cash?”
More and more Americans prefer to make purchases using debit cards rather than credit
cards. In fact, some payment card companies now report that the number of their card-
holders using debit cards exceeds the number using credit cards.
Debit cards now rival cash and credit cards as the preferred payment form of travel-
ers, including those staying in hotels. Debit card advocates cite significant benefits, includ-
ing security and the fact that the cards help them maintain their budgets. Unfortunately,
however, an additional characteristic of the cards is the fact that blocked funds are not
available for spending. In some cases, it may take 3 to 10 days for blocked funds to again
become available for the cardholder’s use.
Prepaid cards are also gaining in popularity. With these cards, consumers “buy” a fixed
amount of money and then make purchases that are charged against the prepurchased funds.
FOMs must reexamine their preauthorization and blocking procedures for debit and
prepaid card transactions. Hotels need to be protected against possible fraud while not need-
lessly withholding funds from guests. What would you do if you thought you had money in
a debit account and then learned that a hotel’s blocking procedures “took” your money (even
temporarily)? The FOM or another staff member of the hotel would probably hear from you!