Title: Can a Bank Maintain a Hotel Deposit Hold After the Hotel Has Released It?

A recent hotel stay involved a security deposit, and I’ve encountered an unexpected issue with how the funds were handled after departure. Here’s what happened:

• I paid a deposit when checking into the hotel. After checkout, I expected the funds to be released back to my account in a timely manner.
• A few days passed without the deposit being returned, so I reached out to the hotel. They claimed they released the hold on the funds on my checkout date.
• I contacted my bank, and they stated that they would continue to hold the funds for up to thirty days unless I provide specific documentation from the hotel showing that the hold was released—something like a Merchant Release Authorization—plus copies of the card, a copy of the folio for the day, and a few additional items.
• I pressed the hotel for clarity, but their response was unhelpful. They insisted they don’t even issue a Merchant Release Authorization and that such documentation isn’t necessary since they had already released the hold.
• This is the first time I’ve encountered a bank implementing a 30-day hold after the hotel supposedly released the funds, and the pending transaction remained on my account even after the thirtieth day.

Question: Is this practice legally or practically permissible? I authorized the hotel to place a hold for the duration of my stay, not for 30+ days. If I had known about this extended holds policy, I might have chosen a different bank account for the stay.