Preventing Incidental Charges During Travel

little planning, you can still minimize your liability and avoid paying for expensive incidental charges before they occur. Here are the top ten tips that we have put together based on previous experience, to you save both time and money for your next trip!

In Hotels

• Prevent mini bar/specialty tray charges  Your child may assume that the fridge stocked with beverages or the appealing snacks on the handy trays are complimentary, but that is not the case. You should tell your kid not to touch the merchandise since even moving it without consuming it can trigger a charge.Also, call the front desk or housekeeping and ask them to remove the items to prevent the unnecessary temptations.
• Block pay-per-view and porn charges After entering the room call the front desk and ask them to block the channels. Enough said.
• Breakables in room After check in, all the front desk or housekeeping and ask for fragile objects to be removed, so they are not destroyed in the event of an emotional outburst or tantrum.By doing so,y ou can make sure the property doesn’t charge your account for any damages incurred.
• Block room service charges Notify the front desk as soon as you can to block the room service charge capability. Your child may not understand that those costs add up, and might not even understand that there is a charge at all, so the best option is just to block them all from the beginning.

On Cruiseships

• Arcade and Casino spending Ask customer service to disable room key charge power. Those arcade games costs can add up and your child is likely to spend a considerable amount of money there which does not work well especially if you are on a set budget!
• Incidental purchases Ask for any purchases in hotel or cruise ship stores that can be charged to room or cabin to be approved by you first if you are not there.
• Disable Auctions on cruise ships Notify customer service to disable charging power on your child’s room key in case they want to bid on an unnecessary item you don’t approve of or know about.
• Before leaving the ship check your child’s luggage Making sure your kid didn’t “borrow” anything from the cabin that you’ll be charged for is always a good idea.

 

In General

• Missing or damaged items in cabins or rooms Before you leave, check to be sure nothing noticeable is missing or damaged in the cruise cabin or room.  Take a few minutes and always verify that everything is in working condition and intact when you first check in. Should you notice anything broken or damaged immediately notify the front desk and ask for someone to come and make a WRITTEN note of the damage and get a copy! Take additional photographs on your camera for further evidence.
• Avoid phone call charges including 1-900 and international charges.Make sure to call the front desk and Block phone call capacity from the room to avoid any charges.

  Have you traveled with your kids and incurred incidental expenses? What tips would you add to this list?]]>