ibis budget Ludwigsburg in Ludwigsburg

Ibis, you have a significant problem with your payment system that is directly affecting your guests and it needs to be addressed urgently.
Our group paid in full immediately upon arrival — before we had even entered our rooms. Despite this, several members of our group were charged again within minutes of completing payment. When we raised this, we were told it was a "preauthorization." This explanation makes no sense: preauthorization is a standard procedure to guarantee payment, not to charge guests who have already PAID in full. You cannot have it both ways.
What makes this worse is the complete lack of transparency. Guests are not warned that if the card used to guarantee the booking differs from the card used to pay at check-in, both cards will be charged. This is critical information that should be communicated clearly at the time of booking — not discovered by guests who suddenly find their accounts locked in a foreign country.
We stayed for six days. At the time of writing, not all refunds have been processed. Six days and still waiting.
This is not a minor inconvenience — it is a failure to handle guests' finances responsibly. We expect better.

I am writing regarding a serious billing issue I experienced during my recent stay at Ibis Budget Ludwigsburg.

I provided my current account card at the time of booking as a guarantee only. On arrival, I paid my bill in full by credit card. Despite this, the hotel's system simultaneously placed a hold on my current account — funds I had not authorized for use — which I was told would remain locked for up to 5 days.

This occurred due to the hotel operating two parallel payment systems during an internal transition. However, their operational difficulties should not become a financial burden for guests.

The impact on me was as follows:
- Funds were held on an account I did not consent to use for payment
- I faced potential financial risk while travelling abroad, including the possibility of overdraft charges or being unable to access money
- I received no advance warning that this could happen