Deposit On A Hotel Booking
Question
. A person is a hotel owner. When a reservation is made by a certain customer, he asks them to pay a deposit. If the customer stays in the hotel, the deposit is returned to him. If he cancels his reservation 24 hours before the date of arrival, then 20 percent is deducted from the deposit. Is this permissible?
Answer
In the first scenario, wherein the hotel refunds the full deposit after the customer stays in the hotel, it appears that the deposit is not used as part of the hotel fare. In this case, the deposit will either be regarded as a loan or an Amaanat. Thus, when a person cancels his reservation, he should be refunded with the full amount. Hence, it will not be permissible for them to deduct a 20% from the deposit.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
Fatawa Uthmani 3/419
Aap Ke Masa’il 6/139 Qadeem
- Approved by
- Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
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