What are hotel incidentals?

What counts as an incidental

Incidentals are anything you consume at the hotel that was not part of the room rate you booked. The usual list:

• Food and drink charged to the room — restaurant, bar, room service, the minibar.
• Spa treatments, laundry, the business centre, paid parking.
• Pay-per-view, premium wifi where the basic tier is free, phone calls from the room.
• Damage, deep cleaning, or a smoking fee in a non-smoking room.

Some things that feel like incidentals are not. A resort fee, a city or tourist tax and a cleaning fee are usually mandatory charges attached to the stay itself, not optional extras. They are collected at the property in most places, which is why they can appear at checkout even when you prepaid the room. That is a different thing from an incidentals hold and it is worth keeping them separate in your head.

The hold and the charge are two different things

This is the part that causes almost all of the confusion, and it is worth being precise about.

A hold — properly, a pre-authorisation — is not money leaving your account. It is your bank agreeing to set aside an amount against your card at the hotel's request. Your available balance drops. Your actual balance does not. Nothing has been paid to anyone.

A charge is the hotel actually taking money. At checkout the property settles what you genuinely owe and releases the rest of the hold, or lets it expire.

If you spend nothing, the usual outcome is that the hold is released and no charge is ever made. Your statement may show the hold and then show it disappear, which looks alarming and is normal. It is also the commonest reason people think they have been charged twice.

How large is the hold?

The honest answer is that it varies enormously and we cannot give you a reliable number.

What we can tell you is how it is usually constructed. Properties typically set it either as a flat amount for the stay or as an amount per night, and they size it against what a guest could plausibly run up: a resort with three restaurants and a spa holds more than a budget property with a vending machine. Some hotels hold nothing at all and simply take a card imprint. Some ask for a cash deposit instead.

We are not going to publish a "typical" figure, because we would be inventing it. The hold amount is set by the individual property, and for most hotels it is not something we are told in advance. The only source that knows it is the hotel. If it matters to you — and it does if your card is close to its limit — email or call the property before you travel and ask two questions: how much do you hold, and per night or per stay?

Debit cards, credit cards, and why the difference matters

The mechanism is the same. The consequence is not.

On a credit card, the hold eats into your credit limit. Unless you were already near the limit, you will barely notice it, and you are not deprived of your own cash.

On a debit card, the hold ring-fences your actual money. It is unspendable until released. That is real: a large hold on a debit card the day before a long trip can leave you short for the trip itself.

Some hotels decline debit cards for the deposit entirely, or accept them and hold more. Some will not accept prepaid cards, virtual cards or a card in a name other than the lead guest's. A few still want a physical card rather than a phone at the desk. None of this is universal, all of it is the property's decision, and the safest assumption is that a credit card in the lead guest's name will be accepted where anything is.

If you booked a pay-at-property rate, remember the hotel may be holding for the room and the incidentals, which makes the number larger than you expected.

When is it released?

The hotel usually releases the hold at checkout. Your bank is the one that decides when the release shows up in your balance, and those are not the same moment.

Typically a released hold clears within a few working days, though it can take longer with some issuers, and a weekend or a bank holiday extends it. If the hotel has released it and your bank has not reflected it, the hotel cannot speed that up — only your card issuer can.

Two things make a hold linger unnecessarily:

• Checking out without settling the folio. An express checkout where you leave the key and go is fine, but ask for the final bill by email so you have a record of what was actually charged.
• Paying the final bill with a different card. Now there is a hold on card A and a charge on card B, and card A's hold has to expire on its own. Use the same card throughout unless you have a reason not to.

What we can see, and what we cannot

We can see what was charged for your booking through us. We can see the rate and its terms. Those live in your trips.

We cannot see a hold your hotel placed on your card, we cannot see your bank balance, and we cannot release a hold. That transaction is between the property and your card issuer, and we are not a party to it. Anyone who tells you they can "cancel the hold" for you at a hotel they do not operate is guessing.

What we can do is confirm what we took, which is often enough to establish that the mystery line on your statement is not us. Email bookings@bookthebed.com with the booking reference and the amount and we will check it against our record. For anything about the hotel's own deposit policy, the property is the authority — who to contact about your booking sets out the split.

Four things that stop this being a surprise

1. Ask the property what they hold, before you travel. One email. It is the only reliable source.
2. Use a credit card at check-in if you have one, even if you paid for the room on a debit card.
3. Decline the minibar and the room-service tray if you are watching the number. Incidentals are the only part of this you fully control.
4. Get the final folio in writing at checkout and compare it to your statement a week later, once the hold has had time to drop off.

Common questions

Is a hotel incidentals hold a charge?

No. It reserves funds without taking them. Unless you actually spend at the hotel, the usual outcome is that it is released and no money ever moves.

How long does it take for the hold to be released?

The hotel normally releases it at checkout, and it typically clears your account within a few working days. The exact timing belongs to your bank, not to the hotel and not to us.

Can I avoid the incidentals hold altogether?

Sometimes. Some properties will accept a cash deposit, and some waive the hold if you decline charging privileges to the room. Both are the property's call, and both need to be arranged at the desk.

Do I still get a hold if I prepaid the room?

Often yes. Prepaying covers the room; the hold covers what you might spend during the stay. They are separate.

What if the hold is bigger than the room cost?

That is unusual but possible, particularly at resorts. It is a sign the property expects guests to spend on site. If it would cause you a problem, ask before you arrive.

Will a hold affect my credit score?

No. A pre-authorisation is not borrowing and is not reported. It only reduces your available limit temporarily.

The hotel charged me for something I did not buy. What now?

Raise it with the property first and ask for the itemised folio. Front desks resolve most of these on the spot, and they hold the evidence. If it was charged through us rather than at the property, contact us and we will look at the payment record.

Does an incidentals hold have anything to do with cancellation?

No. A hold is about your stay. Whether you can cancel and what it costs is set by the rate you booked — see does free cancellation actually mean free and our cancellation policy.

Where can I see a property's deposit policy before booking?

We do not currently show a property's deposit or card requirements with the rate, and we would rather say so than let you assume they are covered. Search a city, open the hotel you are considering, and ask them directly if the deposit matters to you. You can also browse the full hotel directory or a destination guide if you have not chosen a property yet.