Every $1 a hotel loses to a chargeback really costs $5.13

It's usually not fraud

About six in ten chargebacks in North America are what the industry calls friendly fraud — a real guest disputing a real charge.

They didn't recognize the line on their statement. They forgot the minibar. They saw a hold and thought they'd been charged twice.

And around half of guests go straight to their bank instead of calling the front desk.

That matters, because it means most of these disputes are confusion, not crime. Confusion can be prevented.

Why a $120 dispute costs more than $600

The disputed amount is only the start. Add processor fees, the staff hours spent pulling folios and receipts, and the revenue that never comes back.

Across the industry, that adds up to $5.13 for every dollar disputed.

Fighting doesn't reliably get it back, either. Across industries, merchants win only about 12% of the disputes they contest.

Where it starts: the card hold

Many incidental disputes begin at the same moment — check-in, when a hold of $50 to $500 lands on the guest's card.

The guest sees money missing and doesn't know why. By checkout, the frustration is already built in, and a later incidental charge looks like one more surprise.

What changes with ClearHold

ClearHold replaces the card hold. The guest pays one small, clear price up front — $19.99 at limited-service hotels, or $39.99 at full-service — and their incidentals are covered up to $75 or $100. Nothing gets frozen, so there's nothing to be surprised by later.

For hotels, Core comes in three tiers: Essential, Standard and Pro — all $0 per property during launch (free until further notice). Standard includes up to $3,000 a year of chargeback reimbursement and Pro up to $5,000; Essential includes none. The hotel submits a claim with the receipt it already generates, the claim is reviewed, and it is paid — no chasing guests or banks.