How Do I Dispute a Charge with Hyatt?

Guests of Hyatt resorts and hotels should almost never find any surprise charges on their bills. In most cases, you will never be charged more than the rate that you were quoted and agreed to at check-in. However, certain factors will put extra charges on your bill such as property damage that occurred during your stay or ordering room service. If you found such a charge on your Hyatt bill and believe that the company was mistaken in charging you, then you probably want to dispute that charge and get the money that you paid back.

Collect the Proof

First of all, collect any proof you have that could indicate the charge shouldn't have been applied to your bill. Pictures you took of your room could indicate that it was already damaged when you arrived. Copies of advertisements could show that you were charged the wrong rate. Save all records of conversations you have with any Hyatt employee about this matter, and make sure to get their names as well.

How to Dispute a Charge with Hyatt

After you have all your records collected, you can start the dispute process. To start, you must contact Hyatt's customer service department and talk to one of the representatives there. Explain what happened and why you believe the charge on your bill was made in error. If you have proof, tell the representative. The representative probably can't resolve the matter themselves. They will probably need to talk to a manager or send the issue to a panel for review. The dispute process could be a lengthy one.

How to Initiate a Chargeback with Your Bank

If Hyatt decides that the charge should stand, you may think that you're out of luck. However, you can take the dispute to your bank. Disputing a charge that has already been made with the bank that paid it is a "chargeback." Your bank may side with you that the charge was inappropriate and return your money.

You can't just jump to initiating a chargeback, however. Until you try to resolve with Hyatt, your bank won't do anything to investigate the issue.

To start the chargeback process with your bank, you need to contact its customer service department. Every bank has its own process for investigating a chargeback issue, but it will probably be a lengthy process. Once you initiate a chargeback, your bank will start a dialogue with Hyatt's bank and possibly issue a provisional credit to your account. This is a refund that you must return if your bank sides with Hyatt about the charge.

Small Claims Court

If the bank also doesn't see things your way but you aren't willing to give up the fight, your last option is filing suit against Hyatt in a small claims court. Different jurisdictions have different rules and procedures for this. Visit your local court system's website to learn what you need to do.

Contacting Hyatt

If you want to start the dispute then you need to contact a Hyatt customer service representative. You can do this with Hyatt's customer support email or over the phone. The email option might be best, though, as that would easily let you preserve a record of the conversation.