From: www.unitedafa.org

Our Hotel & Transportation Committee reports the need for clarification on issues associated with incidental charges at hotels. One of the requirements for hotels to enter a contract with United is to ensure credit cards are not required for check-in. Section 6.B.3. of our Contract states, “At time of checking out, each Flight Attendant shall pay for any incidental expenses incurred, such as personal telephone calls, room service, etc.” 

There have been some incidents, to which AFA has strenuously objected, where non-contract hotels used in overflow situations have asked for credit cards to provide services such as use of the guest room phone. Possession of a credit card is not required for our job and the hotel desk needs to rectify this situation should you encounter it. Further, it is a safety issue that Flight Attendants always have direct access to dial 911 and a credit card should never be required to turn on the phone. As always, any deviations from our Contractual protections need to be reported through the Dispute Resolution Local Council Worksheet available on the homepage of unitedafa.org. In addition, if the Contractual discrepancies are hotel or transportation related be sure to also report those issues through TVLLOG in Unimatic.

On the subject of hotel incidental charges, be aware that some hotels are now charging Flight Attendants for mail and package delivery. For example, our downtown Chicago layover hotel outsources package delivery to Fed Ex, which charges a fee to process package delivery. This cost can be added as an incidental charge on the room bill. All incidental charges, as noted in Section 6.B.3. of our Contract, must be paid when checking out of the room. If you are uncertain about the policies of your layover hotel, ask for the hotel Welcome Letter for clarification and report to AFA any changes to practices that you believe may violate our Contract. 

We encourage Members not to provide a credit card in advance of any services and to avoid use of debit cards at hotels, if possible. Many hotels have a policy to hold funds from your account as a “deposit” for money owed even over the amount of the incidental charges. The hotel will release the “hold” upon checkout, but banks may not necessarily release the money on the same day and in some cases this may cause accounts to become overdrawn. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you use a debit or credit card only when settling incidental charges at check out.