Will my customer have to pay anything extra at the hotel, or is everything paid when they book?

Sometimes they will, so it is worth checking before you confirm the room. Most rates you see in a hotel search are prepaid, which means the room and the taxes the supplier collects are settled at the time of booking. But many hotels also collect certain charges directly from the guest at the property, and those sit outside what you pay through the portal.

The common ones are city or tourist tax, resort and facility fees, parking, and anything the guest adds during the stay such as meals, the minibar or a late checkout. Some hotels also take a refundable deposit on a card at check in. Where the supplier passes this information through, it shows in the room details before you book and again on the voucher, usually described as payable at the hotel.

How complete that information is depends on the supplier behind the rate. The bigger suppliers are generally good about listing mandatory local charges, but some rates arrive with only a short note, and local taxes can change during the year or be set by the city rather than the hotel. Treat what you see as a reliable guide rather than a guarantee, and be careful about quoting your customer an exact amount for money you are not collecting yourself.

Before you confirm, open the room details and read the tax and fee section, then check the voucher once the booking is made and tell your customer in writing that some charges are settled on arrival. If one rate for a hotel looks much cheaper than the others, that is often a sign more is being collected locally, and our support team can help you check what a particular rate includes.