MasterCard Guaranteed Reservations

If a hotel, motel, or resort is participating in the MasterCard Guaranteed Reservations service for all MasterCard cardholders, the hotel, motel, or resort is obligated to have a room available when the cardholder arrives (until checkout time the next day). The cardholder is obligated to cancel a confirmed reservation before 18:00 at the hotel, motel, or resort (merchant's local time). Failure to do this will allow the hotel, motel, or resort to charge the cardholder a no-show charge equal to one night's lodging. The following procedure will prevail:

1. If a cardholder calls a participating merchant and wants to guarantee a room with his or her card, the reservation clerk explains the terms of the MasterCard Guaranteed Reservations service, specifically including the fact that an authorization check will be made at the time of arrival and the cancellation procedure the cardholder must follow to avoid being charged a no show charge equal to one night’s lodging.
2. The clerk takes the cardholder's account number, card expiration date, name embossed on the card, and address; confirms the room rate and location; issues the cardholder a reservation confirmation number; and advises the cardholder to retain it. It is recommended that the merchant also confirm that guaranteed reservation in writing, advising the cardholder of his or her confirmation number and cancellation procedures.
3. If a cardholder who has guaranteed his or her reservation by use of his or her card calls the merchant to cancel the reservation within the agreed upon period, the hotel, motel, or resort is obligated to cancel the guaranteed reservation and issue the cardholder a cancellation number that is verification that the reservation has been canceled. The cardholder should be advised to retain the cancellation number. It is also recommended that the merchant confirm the cancellation in writing advising the cardholder of the cancellation number.
4. If a cardholder who has guaranteed a reservation by use of his or her card arrives within the specified period (until checkout time the next day), the merchant is obligated to provide a room. If the merchant is unable to provide a room, it is obligated to provide at no additional charge a comparable room for one night, transportation to the other lodging and a three-minute domestic or long distance phone call, whichever the cardholder deems necessary to advise of a change of location.
5. Before the cardholder's expected arrival, the merchant must prepare a registration card and assign a room number on that card.
6. If the cardholder does not cancel and does not stay at the hotel, motel, or resort, the merchant may bill the cardholder for one night's room rate. The following procedure should be followed:
   
   • The merchant completes a sales ticket filling in the cardholder's name, card account number, expiration date, date of no show, assigned room number and merchant identification, and writes the words "guaranteed reservation / no-show" in place of the cardholder's signature.
   • Follow your usual authorization procedures.
   • Assuming the account is not on the Warning Notice (or the Electronic Warning Bulletin file in the United States), if under the floor limit, or authorization has been given, the merchant deposits the no-show charge in the usual manner. There are no special deposit requirements imposed on the merchant outlet.
   • The actual no-show registration card, reflecting the assigned room number, must be retained six months from the date the sales ticket is deposited.
7. Where the account number used to guarantee the transaction that results in a no show was unidentifiable as to a specific card issuer or was fictitious, the bearer of the liability will be the acquiring bank.
8. Where the transaction is identifiable to a specific card issuer but is not identifiable to a specific account number within that institution, the bearer of the liability will be the acquiring bank.
9. MasterCard reserves the right to prevent the acquiring bank from allowing a specific hotel, motel, or resort to participate in the MasterCard Guaranteed Reservations service where the hotel, motel, or resort has been abusing the privilege.