CMR Questions and Comments

venus_ivy · January 23, 2009, 12:24:05 PM

Hi! Your friendly facilities manager here! I've started this thread so that you can post any questions or comments that you have for our housing agency, CMR. CMR and I will be monitoring this thread to try to help with any issues that may arise. Enjoy!

FanFicGuru · January 25, 2009, 06:19:16 PM

Just wanted to clarify something:

Every year so far at Fanime I have been charged a deposit upon check in. This deposit is a $50/night charge on top of the room fee in case of any incidentals. I have always accepted this fee and have received a refund within 2 business days of the convention, and if I didn't it was because of my card, not the hotel.

In any case, is the deposit allowed?

jdawson · January 26, 2009, 09:28:10 AM

Hello, my name is Jacy and I am with CMR. The deposit that you are asking about is basically to guarantee that you have enough available funds on your credit card to pay the hotel. The hotel will take an authorization on your credit card for the amount of the room plus tax and an additional $50-$100 per night of your stay to account for any possible incidental charges that you may incur (hotel restaurant, Starbucks, room service, etc.). If you use a debit card, the funds will actually be temporarily withdrawn or held in limbo so that they are inaccessible. If you would like to avoid this hold/deposit when you stay at a hotel, you can give them cash (equal to the amount of the room plus deposit) then pay at the end with a credit card and get the cash refunded to you. You can just pay in cash as well and not use a credit or debit card. This process is used by hotels so that they can guarantee payment from their guests. I hope that this helps!

FanFicGuru · January 26, 2009, 10:36:05 AM

Quote from: jdawson on January 26, 2009, 09:28:10 AM
Hello, my name is Jacy and I am with CMR. The deposit that you are asking about is basically to guarantee that you have enough available funds on your credit card to pay the hotel. The hotel will take an authorization on your credit card for the amount of the room plus tax and an additional $50-$100 per night of your stay to account for any possible incidental charges that you may incur (hotel restaurant, Starbucks, room service, etc.). If you use a debit card, the funds will actually be temporarily withdrawn or held in limbo so that they are inaccessible. If you would like to avoid this hold/deposit when you stay at a hotel, you can give them cash (equal to the amount of the room plus deposit) then pay at the end with a credit card and get the cash refunded to you. You can just pay in cash as well and not use a credit or debit card. This process is used by hotels so that they can guarantee payment from their guests. I hope that this helps!

Yes, thank you.

Aya Brea X · January 27, 2009, 05:18:50 PM

I just want to say "Thanks" for having the waitlist feature! It prevented the (paranoid) need for me to come back and check every hour to see if a new room has become available :) I ended up getting the room choice I wanted with minimal stress. Thanks again!

jdawson · January 29, 2009, 03:44:50 PM

You are very welcome! We are glad that we can be of service to you!

PassingTheBuck · January 30, 2009, 12:36:14 PM

Quote from: jdawson on January 26, 2009, 09:28:10 AM
Hello, my name is Jacy and I am with CMR. The deposit that you are asking about is basically to guarantee that you have enough available funds on your credit card to pay the hotel. The hotel will take an authorization on your credit card for the amount of the room plus tax and an additional $50-$100 per night of your stay to account for any possible incidental charges that you may incur (hotel restaurant, Starbucks, room service, etc.). If you use a debit card, the funds will actually be temporarily withdrawn or held in limbo so that they are inaccessible. If you would like to avoid this hold/deposit when you stay at a hotel, you can give them cash (equal to the amount of the room plus deposit) then pay at the end with a credit card and get the cash refunded to you. You can just pay in cash as well and not use a credit or debit card. This process is used by hotels so that they can guarantee payment from their guests. I hope that this helps!

Jacy, it's Craige. If the attendee elects to pass on use the phone or having the mini-bar removed from the room and pays for the all the nights in advace, why would they elect to give the hotel and additional $150? It's not a demand payment, right?

C.

jdawson · January 30, 2009, 01:56:23 PM

Hi Craige,

The hotels treat this as a security deposit as well. It is customary that either a deposit or an authorization on a credit card is taken. The hotel can decide to waive this, but it is unusual and is at their discretion.

Thanks,
Jacy

elfgirlkaname · February 07, 2009, 07:39:30 PM

So.. say I pay in cash for the room bill in cash minus the deposit when I arrive

and I give them my credit card will they actually charge me and then refund me the money?
what if I don't have enough money in my card? ???

thanks! :)

M · February 08, 2009, 03:19:40 AM

Quote from: elfgirlkaname on February 07, 2009, 07:39:30 PM
So.. say I pay in cash for the room bill in cash minus the deposit when I arrive

and I give them my credit card will they actually charge me and then refund me the money?
what if I don't have enough money in my card? ???

thanks! :)

(This is from my real world experience... Different hotels might handle it differently, so if Jacy comes by and tells me that they handle it differently, remember that Jacy > me)

It's not a charge per-say, but it is a hold (so you'll get your money almost immediately). Since it is a hold, that money will not be available for spending (one of my credit cards allows me to use money that is held, but if the hold becomes a charge I'll get a phone call from them).

If you don't have enough money on your card, they will ask for another credit card to be placed on file.

elfgirlkaname · February 08, 2009, 01:18:10 PM

ah...
okay I get it thanks for explaining! :D

jdawson · February 10, 2009, 12:07:50 PM

Hello All:

I just wanted to add something that may affect you. If you are using a debit card at the hotel and they place a "hold" on it (for the deposit) this will make funds in your checking account temporarily unavailable. So, if you have (for example) $100 in your checking account and the hotel decides that they want to place a hold for $75, you will only be able to access $25 in your account if you go to the bank or an ATM. After you check out of the hotel, the unused funds are generally available to you within 24 hours. The exception to this rule is that if you use a smaller bank like a credit union versus a large bank like Bank of America or something, it can take much longer for the hold to release. It can sometimes take up to 7 days for the hold to release unless you have the hotel contact your bank to manually release it. It's best to avoid using debit cards from non-major banks if you can help it.

FanFicGuru · February 11, 2009, 12:18:06 PM

Quote from: jdawson on February 10, 2009, 12:07:50 PM
Hello All:

I just wanted to add something that may affect you. If you are using a debit card at the hotel and they place a "hold" on it (for the deposit) this will make funds in your checking account temporarily unavailable. So, if you have (for example) $100 in your checking account and the hotel decides that they want to place a hold for $75, you will only be able to access $25 in your account if you go to the bank or an ATM. After you check out of the hotel, the unused funds are generally available to you within 24 hours. The exception to this rule is that if you use a smaller bank like a credit union versus a large bank like Bank of America or something, it can take much longer for the hold to release. It can sometimes take up to 7 days for the hold to release unless you have the hotel contact your bank to manually release it. It's best to avoid using debit cards from non-major banks if you can help it.

Whether it's debit or credit the effect is still the same, from what I remember. People just need to have a $50/night cushion, so that not being able to access that $50, $100, or $150 won't mess up their budget. It messed me up my first year...

M · February 14, 2009, 05:35:34 AM

Quote from: FanFicGuru on February 11, 2009, 12:18:06 PMWhether it's debit or credit the effect is still the same, from what I remember. People just need to have a $50/night cushion, so that not being able to access that $50, $100, or $150 won't mess up their budget. It messed me up my first year...

The hold still happens, but most credit cards will still allow you to use that money. Say you have a 100 dollar limit and the hold is 75 dollars. On a debit card, attempting to withdrawl more than 25 dollars will usually flag an overdraft (or not allow you to, if you have your bank do that), but on a credit card, most will let you go over your limit. That's why Jacy was talking about Debit cards only. It sucks when it happens so it's best to get the word out (esp. when you plan on spending that money :( ).

Moonblossom · February 14, 2009, 06:37:30 AM

The security deposit is yet another reason it's a really good idea to have an "ohcrap!" fund before going to a con. Figure out your ideal budget and then add at least $100 that you're not going to touch except in case of things like this, or some kind of emergency.

gackt_2003 · February 23, 2009, 07:56:33 PM

i hope this is the right place to ask this.

fanime has their own site setup to reserve hotel rooms. and it's just that, reserving a room. unlike the hotel's official site, it doesn't show the price it would be with the fees and taxes.
is there a way to figure or find out the fees and taxes to get a grand total of the nights one is staying?
i'd like to know so my friends know how much to pay and we'd rather have the closest number instead of guessing and have to pay a few dollars later.

thanks to whoever can assist me =]

BrightHeart76 · February 23, 2009, 08:27:13 PM

You can make an estimate to start. When you get your confirmation e-mail there is an estimated total on the e-mail. I've gone for several years and that estimated total has always been spot on.

Worst case scenario estimate high and have a few extra dollars when all is said and done. :)

(When budgeting don't forget to budget for the security deposit)

jdawson · February 25, 2009, 04:21:41 PM

Hello,

To calculate your room expenses, add the following together for each night:

room rate +
10.07% tax +
$2.10 per night San Jose tourism fee ($3.00 for the Fairmont)

Multiply the total by the number of nights that you are staying and that will give you an exact total for your stay.

Steve.Young · February 25, 2009, 07:42:45 PM

Quote from: jdawson on February 25, 2009, 04:21:41 PM
Hello,

To calculate your room expenses, add the following together for each night:

room rate +
10.07% tax +
$2.10 per night San Jose tourism fee ($3.00 for the Fairmont)

Multiply the total by the number of nights that you are staying and that will give you an exact total for your stay.

Tax is PER day?

KyraEnsui · February 25, 2009, 08:40:58 PM

Quote from: Steve.Young on February 25, 2009, 07:42:45 PM
Quote from: jdawson on February 25, 2009, 04:21:41 PM
Hello,

To calculate your room expenses, add the following together for each night:

room rate +
10.07% tax +
$2.10 per night San Jose tourism fee ($3.00 for the Fairmont)

Multiply the total by the number of nights that you are staying and that will give you an exact total for your stay.

Tax is PER day?

Looking my Hilton check-out folio of last year, I know they do charge tax per day because of city room, tourism, and some tbid assessment.