Can you dispute a hotel charge with your bank?

Okay, so you wanna know if you can fight a hotel charge with your bank? Absolutely! Been there, done that, got the t-shirt (and the wrongly inflated minibar bill to prove it!). Seriously though, yeah, you can totally dispute a charge with your bank – it’s called a chargeback.

But, lemme tell ya, prepare yourself. It’s not exactly a walk in the park. Banks, they’re not exactly known for their speed, are they? You usually have a window, like, maybe four months to report the bogus charge, which sounds like ages, but trust me, time flies when you’re staring at a confusing hotel bill.

Then… the wait. Oh, the agonizing wait! Once you file the dispute, you’re looking at, I dunno, 60 to 75 days (sometimes even longer, it feels like!) before they actually make a decision. It’s nerve-wracking! You’re constantly checking your account, wondering what’s happening.

And the kicker? Their decision is final. No appeals, no second chances, nada. So, you really gotta make your case strong.

Think of it like this: you’re basically presenting a case to a judge, but the judge is, you know, your bank. So, gather all your evidence! Did you take photos of that “non-smoking” room that smelled like a chimney? Did you keep copies of emails promising a certain rate? Get it all together. That’s your ammunition.

I remember this one time, a hotel charged me for a breakfast buffet I swear I didn’t eat. I travel a lot for work, and mornings are usually a rush. So, I’m pretty sure that I was on a conference call at 7 a.m. with colleagues from all over the globe. Luckily I had a pretty packed schedule that day so I was able to dig up some emails and calendar reminders to prove that it would’ve been nearly impossible for me to even walk to breakfast, let alone eat it. The bank finally sided with me, but not before a lot of stress and back-and-forth emails.

So, yeah, disputing a hotel charge with your bank is possible. But it’s a stressful process, for sure. Think of it as a last resort, your only weapon against those sneaky, unfair charges. And believe me, sometimes, it’s worth the fight! Just breathe, gather your proof, and be prepared for a bit of a battle. You got this!