Marriot Homes & Villas – requesting security deposits after booking

[Skywalker]

Morning, when I was browsing the Marriot Homes & Villas (H&V) website, I noted that some hotels were requesting security deposits at the point of sale, which is fine, because I can see the costs immediately.

I made a booking with a hostandstay.co.uk hotel via the H&V website. The individual property site made no mention of a security deposit (or the amount) in the write-up. I then received an email with a personal payment link to pay a security deposit directly to hostandstay.co.uk

Is this normal practice with H&V hotels in general, as in, if you don’t pay a security deposit at the time of booking, you could receive an email after requesting one?

I don’t mind paying for things (well, that’s not entirely true, I do 😄) – I just want to know costs upfront. I was a bit irked because they made no mention of a security deposit in their write-up on the website.

TIA

[NorthernLass]

That would be a red flag for me – I’m pretty sure this should be displayed at the point of booking, and also if you hand over any money other than through the official booking platform you could have all sorts of issues, for example if they go bust.
However – is the Marriott H & V website UK-based, as the US doesn’t have the same legal requirements about advertising as we do here?

[Skywalker]

NorthernLass wrote:

That would be a red flag for me – I’m pretty sure this should be displayed at the point of booking, and also if you hand over any money other than through the official booking platform you could have all sorts of issues, for example if they go bust.
However – is the Marriott H & V website UK-based, as the US doesn’t have the same legal requirements about advertising as we do here?

It was a red flag and I forgot to mention that I cancelled it – the above description of my irk level was inaccurate, I was more than a bit irked.

I am a bit wary of the website now if I’m honest. I think I will just stick to those bookings where I can see the security deposit up front and on the website.

Wondering if there is some kind of fee avoidance doing it that way (via external payment link)?

[JDB]

Marriott Homes & Villas is often acting as a secondary reseller which not only usually adds significantly to the cost but then leads to them seeking these additional holds/charges because they are at the bottom of the food chain.

While they may offer all sorts of incentives, including the promotion in yesterday’s article it is, more often than not, a super expensive and rubbish way to book. If you find a property you like, it’s not too difficult to find the source and they never, ever, in my experience, ask for a security deposit up front. It is mentioned, but they have your card details and will presumably charge if you break/damage something. We book at lot via Airbnb and VRBO they don’t bill the security deposit, nor have we ever been charged for anything, even after reporting minor damages.

[davefl]

Neither of the bookings I made included one but the Ts&Cs did say that the rental agency may require one. Typically it used to be the case that you paid it at the property in cash when you were shown around in some cases (Barcelona was one) and you get it back at checkout. The pandemic changed this with lockboxes being more common.

As noted elsewhere on the blog chat, deposits paid directly to MH&V can take weeks or months of chasing to get back.

[davefl]

JDB wrote:

Marriott Homes & Villas is often acting as a secondary reseller which not only usually adds significantly to the cost but then leads to them seeking these additional holds/charges because they are at the bottom of the food chain.

While they may offer all sorts of incentives, including the promotion in yesterday’s article it is, more often than not, a super expensive and rubbish way to book. If you find a property you like, it’s not too difficult to find the source and they never, ever, in my experience, ask for a security deposit up front. It is mentioned, but they have your card details and will presumably charge if you break/damage something. We book at lot via Airbnb and VRBO they don’t bill the security deposit, nor have we ever been charged for anything, even after reporting minor damages.

This does vary from property to property. I checked both mine against the same listing on other sites and MH&V were within a couple of euro on the ones I was looking at. I’ll get 85k points for 800 euro, so it should be a good return.

Neither of my bookings had a security deposit and only one had a cleaning fee of 30 euro

[lthpoints]

Unfortunately a lot of the hosts that Marriott work with are blatant scammers. I was asked by the host to pay a security deposit and complete a tedious background check form (neither was mentioned on the reservation page) after booking. When I reported this to Marriott that this host breached the terms and conditions (see below), they said they were not responsible for monitoring hosts’ listings! Be extra vigilant, everyone!

https://homes-and-villas.marriott.com/en/terms-of-service

You may book a Home through the Platform by following the booking process. All applicable fees, including the rental fee, security deposit (if any), guest fees and any applicable taxes unless otherwise specified (the “Booking Fees”) will be provided to you prior to booking a Home. You agree to pay the Booking Fees, subject to your rights to cancellation, which shall be outlined in your reservation confirmation. For bookings that require a security deposit, the Property Management Company is responsible for collecting and refunding the security deposit at its sole discretion. Marriott assumes no responsibility or liability should a dispute arise between you and the Property Management Company regarding the collection or refund of a security deposit.

[davefl]

This bit ” For bookings that require a security deposit, the Property Management Company is responsible for collecting and refunding the security deposit at its sole discretion. ” – Marriott are frequently in breach of their own terms then by collecting 150 euro during the booking process without the PMC requiring it or the PMCs knowledge and then taking 1-2 months to return it.

My latest two bookings don’t appear on my MH&V account page (neither does the one from last year) but I can search for them and they show as confirmed and I have confirmation emails from one PMC but not the other.

They haven’t charged my Amex yet even though it’s been 5 days since the booking was made and despite both bookings showing 50% deposit paid.

They are a complete and utter shambles when it comes to admistering their business.

[lthpoints]

Quite a few serious issues here.

1. Hiding deposit or background check requirements at the booking stage is a clear breach of CMA rules.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-hotel-booking-principles-for-businesses/being-transparent-with-your-customers-a-short-guide-for-online-accommodation-booking-sites

2. Marriott and hosts (PMC) are jointly responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their listings despite Marriott’s laughable disclaimer. Marriott takes the payment and enters into a contract with the guest. No question they are liable.

3. Marriott’s T&C does mention possible background checks but it does not say they will share my data with third party companies. But in my case, a guest screening company called Superhog clearly had my personal data when they emailed me. This is a GDPR breach.

It’s mind boggling this is how the world’s largest hotel chain operates! A class action waiting to happen!

[davefl]

@lthpoints – Point 2 – I told them this when they insisted the advertised 600Mb ADSL (actual 4G router Intermittent 1Gb at best) wasn’t their issue it was the management company. They removed mention of it from their website within 48 hours but continued to argue it out with me for over a week until they coughed up some points in compensation.

My contract is clearly with MH&V not the management conpany irrespective of what the Ts&Cs say.

Point 3 – Experienced similar GDPR issue where the management conpany sent me a link to a website which was fully populated with personal info. I confirmed the check in, and then 10 days later (3 days after I’d left the property) their system emailed me thanking me for confirming check in and the apartment was ready for me