Who this is for: front desk staff, night auditors, and reservations agents at independent hotels, hotel groups, motels, resorts, B&Bs, parks, and hostels who need a guest's written consent to charge a card that will not be present at check-in.
A hotel credit card authorization form lets a cardholder who is not checking in, a parent, employer, or travel agent, give written consent for a property to charge their card for a guest's stay. It is one standard document used the same way at every property type; the fields below cover what any hotel needs to accept the charge and protect itself from a dispute.
What's Included in This Form
- Property name, address, and phone number
- Guest name and reservation number
- Cardholder's full name, billing address, phone, and email
- Card type, card number, expiration date, and CVV
- Which charges are authorized: room and tax, incidentals, or all charges
- Maximum dollar amount authorized
- Relationship of the cardholder to the guest
- Cardholder signature and date
The Hotel Credit Card Authorization Form Template
Use this form whenever a reservation is guaranteed or paid by a card that will not be physically present at check-in.
How Do You Fill Out a Credit Card Authorization Form?
Collect the guest and reservation details first, then the cardholder's information, and get the signature last.
- Confirm the guest name and reservation number match what is on file before requesting card details.
- Record the cardholder's name exactly as it appears on the card, not the guest's name if they differ.
- Check only the charge types the cardholder has agreed to (room and tax, incidentals, or all charges), never assume "all charges" by default.
- Enter a maximum authorized amount so the charge cannot exceed what the cardholder approved.
- Get the cardholder's signature and date before processing any charge, either on paper, fax, or a secure digital form.
- Store the completed form securely and avoid keeping full card numbers on paper longer than necessary.
Why It Matters / Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Processing a charge without a signed authorization on file, which leaves the property exposed to a chargeback dispute
- Leaving the authorized amount blank or open-ended instead of setting a clear maximum
- Not verifying the cardholder's relationship to the guest, a common sign of a fraudulent booking
- Collecting card details by unsecured email or fax and storing them on paper longer than necessary
- Forgetting to note which specific charges were approved, leading to disputes over incidentals
Example
A guest books a three-night stay, and their employer agrees to cover the room and tax. The employer emails back a signed authorization form with their card details, billing address, and a note limiting the charge to "Room & Tax only," capped at $650. The front desk verifies the signature matches the name on the card and processes the charge on arrival, keeping the signed form on file in case of a dispute.
Credit Card Authorization Forms by Property Type
Any property that takes a reservation guaranteed by a card not present at check-in needs this form, so all seven roommaster property types use it. Independent Hotels use the core template above as-is. The other six adapt the same fields to their own terminology below.
Hotel Groups CC Authorization Form
Adds the specific property name and location so a central reservations or accounting team can match the authorization to the right property in the group.
Motel CC Authorization Form
Keeps the form lean for single-building, roadside properties, using room number instead of a reservation number and dropping fields that rarely apply.
Resort CC Authorization Form
Adds resort fee and spa or activity package charges to the authorized-charges list, since resort folios commonly include mandatory fees and pre-booked add-ons beyond room and tax.
Bed & Breakfast CC Authorization Form
Uses room or suite names instead of numbers, matching how most B&Bs identify rooms, and keeps the charge list to room, tax, and incidentals.
Parks (RV & Campground) CC Authorization Form
Replaces room number with site number and adds a utility or hookup fee to the authorized-charges list for RV and campground bookings.
Hostel CC Authorization Form
Tracks a bed or dorm number instead of a room, since hostel charges are usually billed per bed rather than per room.
Bottom Line
A signed credit card authorization form is what protects a property when a guest's stay is paid by someone else's card, and it stays useful for any booking that comes in by phone, email, or a travel agent.
Get Fewer Manual Authorization Forms to Chase
If your front desk is manually collecting, verifying, and storing credit card authorization forms for every third-party-paid booking, roommaster Payments processes card payments through a secure, integrated gateway at the time of booking or check-in. That means fewer reservations need a manual paper form in the first place, and guest and payment records stay in one PMS instead of scattered across email threads and filing cabinets.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a hotel credit card authorization form?
It is a signed document where a cardholder gives a hotel written consent to charge their card for a guest's stay when the cardholder is not present at check-in.
2. When does a hotel need a credit card authorization form?
Whenever someone other than the guest is paying, such as a parent, employer, or travel agent, or when a reservation is booked by phone or email with a card that will not be shown at the desk.
3. What information does the form need?
Cardholder name, billing address, card number, expiration date, CVV, which charges are approved, a maximum amount, and the cardholder's signature.
4. Is a hotel credit card authorization form template free?
Yes, the fields above can be copied into a Word, PDF, or Excel document and reused for any reservation that needs one, at no cost.
5. How do you securely collect card details on this form?
Avoid sending completed forms with full card numbers over unsecured email or fax, and store any paper copies in a locked, access-controlled location for as short a time as needed.
