Hi everyone,

Just wanting to touch base and make sure we are all on the same page with credit cards and bonds. If the below is confusing or you don't understand why we do these things let me know so I can explain why we are so strict on this. We have had a few sneaky buggers drop through lately which is understandable as we are all still learning and getting used to the number of dodgy people there is that check in at all properties.

Wise wisdom from Marco: Treat everyone as a criminal, they need to prove to us they are whom they say they are!

Check-ins

As we have credit card fraud and dodgy guests it is super essential we are checking the name on the credit card and photo identification. If this doesn't match, you need to question it. If the credit card provided is not the one used for the booking, please ask the guest if they have the card that was charged and sight this card to check the name and the last four digits match. If they cannot provide the credit card charged you would need to refund the amount charged and charge a card they can provide that is in their name. If they can't do this, then they cannot stay with us.

Late arrivals

When we have late arrivals, you need to get the guests' cc and id selfie (synix bookings are the only exception) the next morning you need to get the guest to come down and sign the registration form and then show the photo ID and credit card in person. If they cannot provide the credit card charged, you are to refund the amount charged and charge a credit card that they can provide to you that is in their name (get this card in photo). If anyone is under the age of 50 and they are arriving late charge a bond, it states on all of our websites that we take a bond on arrival. If a guest won't provide cc and id selfie and pay a bond, then they cannot do a late check-in.

If anyone has an issue with this process, please tell them this:

As we have had credit card fraud in the past, we do this as a security precaution to protect yourself and ourselves from credit card fraud. We only need to see the name on the credit card and the last four digits, on the photo identification we only need to see the name and photo on the card and yourself holding these two cards. Once we have seen these details, we delete them permanently from our system. As we don't know who you are, we must follow these steps as we would with a routine check in within reception hours. If this is still an issue for you, we have a reception at our other hotel in South Yarra that is open from Monday-Friday 7am-10pm, and Saturday + Sunday 8 am - 9 pm where you are welcome to show your photo identification and credit card to check in. The address is 10 Claremont Street South Yarra 3141 VIC - District Apartments.

Bonds

BONDS! If you are unsure of whom to charge a bond to, start charging everyone a bond, then there is no way you have made a mistake. If a guest says, they didn't know when it is their fault for not reading the terms and conditions on the booking site. If you send out an ETA request when you enter a booking into the system, it also states that we take a bond here as well, so they can't argue that we haven't provided this information. Start sending ETA requests, if you aren't already, to guests when you enter their bookings into the system. If someone tries to pay less for the bond then there is something wrong, you need to tell them they must pay the correct amount to check in. Blame it on management if they kick up a fuss and say you have to follow these rules.

Take bonds from everyone, this is a definite must. Most young people are here to party on weekends, especially long weekends and its ten times easier to have a bond then to not have one!

Booking.com and Booking button same day booking late arrivals

We don't allow booking.com and booking button guests who book on the day of arrival to do late check-ins, if you can't get a hold of them by 6 pm and payment has been taken, call them and send through an email stating they need to check in half an hour before closing time, (9.30pm at DSY, 7.30pm PHA) mark the credit card as 'other' at 7pm.

If they haven't shown by the time stated you should then be able to mark the booking as a no-show in booking.com before you leave for the night. Please put in your late arrival email to the night manager if this has happened, so they are aware. Leave a note for the person on in the morning to process refund/forward on to a manager. 99.9% of the time if it is the same day booking and they want a late check in they are dodgy and have stolen someone's credit card or they will trash the room. If this does happen to you in the future and you are unsure or have questions about this process please call a manager so we can help you sort it out.