Dear mr. Barnes,

thank you for having choosen our hotel for your stay in Brescia.

WIth reference to your reservation in our Hotel (nr. xxxxx) i am writing to you to kindly ask if you please could fill the paper you find as attached and send it back to us in order to authorize us to charge your credit card for the amount due together with a copy of your identity card or passport.

For this reason i am glad to inform you that if you want to pay also for the reserved parking the price is € 5,00 per night, tot. € 25,00, to add to the total amount of the reservation which is € 443,00 (€468,00).

I wait for your reply and stay at total disposal for any further information.

Best Regards

Greta
Front off. Best Western Hotel Master****

Dear Greta,

While I can of course prepare the documentation you request, I am both surprised by the need and concerned by the risks involved.

The actual authorisation is not a problem, but the addition of images of both the credit card and my passport provide excellent opportunities for identity theft. Sending the information by fax is another worry for me; I don't know who has access to the fax machine.

Please understand that I am not in any way suggesting that this is a likely outcome; I would expect both you and the other members of the hotel staff to be of the highest probity - I am merely pointing out the *risks*.

Did your web payment service not provide sufficient identification? I have used Best Western hotels both in the UK and throughout the world for over twenty years and have never previously had to provide this information upon booking. Perhaps a telephone call whereby I can provide the the credit card authorisation number on the back of the card and my passport number? Or at the very least, an email account of a named individual?

I will be seeking the reserved parking at an extra €25,00.

Regards,

Dear Mr. Barnes,

thank you for writing us back so quickly.

My collegue Greta, ask you so because in Italy for a Hotel is better to have a signed authorization from the guest to authorize the charge.

We also do so to be sure that the person who made the reservation is the "real" credit card's holder.

It's a double check we do for security reasons, that's it.

I also ensure you the highest levels of professionality from our staff members, no one of your information will be displaied outside of the hotel.

Thank you in advance for your precious cooperation and for the moment I send you

Best Regards

Dear Tommaso,

Thank you for your reply. I do appreciate your reasons for asking for the information, but question the need (or at least, the method).

I have spoken with the card provider and they are equally surprised at the information you require, particularly as you have already had the details through the internet booking. My provider tells me you should have been able to charge the card from that point.

In fact, they have stressed that I should *not* provide the information in the manner you ask, and strongly suggest that if we cannot find a mutually satisfactory way to accept this booking, I should find some other hotel.

That is not what I want to do. You have some excellent reviews and your location is good; I want to stay with you!

Can we perhaps treat this as a card-not-present purchase via telephone? I am available at my home number of
(+44) [redacted] from around 19:30 Central European Time each evening.

Regards,

Dear Mr. Barnes,

I agree with your point of view and I understand your situation.

I can give you another option, as the reservation is prepaid you can also make a bank transfer.

You will find our bank details below. Please let us know as soon as you make the transfer so that we can print the invoice and then send it to you.

UNICREDIT BANCA D’IMPRESA

IBAN [redacted]

SWIFT : [redacted]

P.zza Garibaldi 3

38066 Riva del Garda TN

Waiting for your kind answer, I remain at your total disposal and send you

Best Regards

TOMMASO

Dear Tommaso,

This is an option but has two problems:

First - my bank will charge me approximately €25,00 to make the transfer
Second - I wanted to pay this on the credit card, not at this time from a current or savings account.

I don't see why you are unable to take the credit card payment using the online internet credit card entry *I have already completed*.

Regards,

The whole point is that this rate is a pay-in-advance rate: it's cheap because it's charged as soon as the booking is made. It's almost as if they think they're protecting *me*... but if they just charge the damn card, the room is booked and if I have a stolen card the issue is between them and the legitimate card holder.

Whatever happens I will *not* be faxing my passport and credit card... apart from anything else, I don't have a fax!

Well, that's rather the point.

Book now, cheap rate, pay now. They don't give a damn whether I turn up or not...