There’s nothing quite like settling in for a night of hotel sleep after a long road trip.

However, there’s always a chance that something gets in between you and your precious rest. For example, you might get booked into an uncomfortable or unsafe room. You may also, as one TikToker recently learned, be stopped from getting a room altogether.

Here’s why, every once in a while, a hotel might reject your entry — and, if you’re particularly unlucky, accuse you of fraud.

What Happened At This Hotel?

In a video with more than 25,000 views, TikTok user Casey Casarez (@breakin_bacon) shows a worker at a Holiday Inn Express.

“So I’m here at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, and I got this guy right here claiming that I’m committing fraud,” Casarez starts.

He then shows that he’s traveling with a baby, whom he claims is just 3 months old.

“[The employee does] not want to check us in cause he’s saying our credit cards are bad,” Casarez says. “But I’ve handed him 3 credit cards with the $8,000 limit, $10,000 limit, $7,000 limit, and he’s saying it’s all fraud.”

“So this is how you guys handle Platinum customers over here at Holiday Inn and IHG, huh?” he continues. “This is what you guys do? Leaving a 3-month-old out in the lobby instead of trying to handle it? We just blame ‘fraud’ and blame the customer?”

Throughout this interaction, the employee says nothing.

What Is Going On?

In the comments section, Casarez says he filed a complaint with corporate. According to Casarez, “they’re investigating what happened and someone will be reaching out very soon.”

As far as what originally happened is concerned, no one is sure. That said, some commenters have theories — specifically, rejected credit card holds.

Anyone who’s tried to pay with a debit card at a gas station will tell you that, sometimes, the amount of money they preauthorize can get a bit ridiculous. Some card issuers will see attempts to preauthorize significant amounts of money — common in the hotel industry — as fraudulent, and thus, they will reject them.

Another theory has to do with the fact that Casarez is checking into a hotel. This would seem to show that he’s traveling. Typically, card manufacturers have fraud detection algorithms to figure out whether a purchase is legitimate. Driving out-of-state when almost all of your transactions are in-state may be enough to flag a transaction as illegitimate.

These are just two possible issues that could cause the problems experienced by Casarez. Other problems can lead to fraud accusations; for example, the amount of failed card attempts could raise suspicion about the TikToker. Additionally, there may have been a mismatch between Casarez’s information and the details on the card, which can sometimes trigger fraud suspicions. 

What Should You Do If You’re Traveling And They Decline Your Card?

Casarez wrote in a comment that he contacted basically everyone possible in the wake of this problem. Not only did he reach out to corporate, but he says he also filed a complaint and a police report as well as contacted all of his banks to ensure his cards were in good standing.

The FTC provides guidelines for what one should do if their card gets rejected. First, they recommend ensuring that all provided information is correct. Second, they suggest reaching out to the bank directly. If all else fails, they can utilize another form of payment.

There are also some steps that one can take before travel begins. To start, they can inform their bank that they will be traveling. This can reduce the likelihood that these traveling charges will be seen as fraudulent. 

For Casarez, the best course of action at this point is to try to resolve the issue with both the hotel and his banks. 

Commenters Aren’t On His Side

In the comments section, however, many commenters sided with the employee.

“I know [our] system after 3 declined payments will cancel out the payment information to prevent fraud. And the guest has to actually run their card,” said a user. “But some guests do way too much. I would have literally walked away and called the cops to escort him off the property.”

“You have to call [your bank] and ask the issue why it was declined. Sometimes fraud detection reject the transaction, or if they were new credit cards, they may have not been activated,” added another. “Either way, if he runs it and their credit card issue or rejects it, he cannot overwrite that…There’s nothing they can do except send it and if the response is a reject, he cannot do anything.”

“so is he just supposed to let you in without payment because you have a kid?” questioned a third. “that’s not the way it works.”

Still, some said that the employee could have handled the situation better.

“No way the different cards all had a problem at the same time,” stated a commenter. “This IS an issue on the hotel, and they need to fix it, not accuse people of fraud with no evidence.”

We’ve reached out to IHG and Casarez via email.

@breakin_bacon Platinum member treatment at its finest I guess??‍♂️@IHG One Rewards@Holiday Inn Express by IHG ♬ original sound – Breakin_Bacon