An EventConnect charge on your credit card is almost always a payment tied to a youth sports tournament: a hotel room booked through the tournament’s lodging portal, a per-night reservation service fee, or a tournament registration fee. EventConnect is a software platform that processes those payments on behalf of tournament directors and hotels, so its name appears on your statement even though you booked with a specific hotel brand or paid a specific sports organization.
Why the Charge Reads “Event Connect” Instead of the Hotel
EventConnect connects tournament organizers, traveling teams, and hotels in one system. It handles room-block management, team registration, and payment processing for youth hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and similar events. Because the money flows through the platform before reaching the hotel or the tournament, EventConnect is the merchant of record on your statement.
You may have reserved a room at a Marriott or a Hampton Inn, but the line item reads “Event Connect.” That is standard behavior for an intermediary booking system and does not by itself indicate anything went wrong.
The Three Charges You’re Probably Looking At
EventConnect transactions almost always fall into one of three buckets. Identifying which one you have makes the rest of the verification straightforward.
A hotel room charge. The largest amounts are usually room deposits or full pre-payments for a tournament weekend. These often post weeks or months before the event, which is why they can look unfamiliar by the time the statement arrives.
A reservation service fee. Every hotel booking through the platform carries a non-refundable per-night service fee that hits your card immediately when you complete the reservation. It covers the platform’s booking infrastructure and hotel contract management. Because it posts right away, even on a “pay later” room, it often appears as a small standalone charge days or weeks before the room charge itself.1EventConnect. Reservation Service Fee This is the charge that generates the most confusion.
A registration fee. Tournament entry fees processed through the platform. Some tournaments bundle facility access or participant insurance into the registration price.
How to Verify the Charge
Start with your email. Search the inbox tied to the card for a confirmation from EventConnect. That message contains a reservation receipt with a transaction ID and reference number that should line up with what your bank shows.
If nothing turns up, use the “Find My Booking” tool on EventConnect’s site, which pulls up reservation history from your email address. You can also log in and open the Accommodations tab, which lists every booking on your profile with the event name, hotel, dates, and athlete.2EventConnect. View Reservation
One thing to check before assuming fraud: did a spouse, co-parent, or team manager book the room with your card? If so, the confirmation email went to them, not you, and you’ll have no record of the transaction in your own inbox. This accounts for a large share of “mystery” EventConnect charges. Ask around before escalating.
Cancellation Deadlines and What’s Refundable
There is no single platform-wide cancellation policy. Each hotel sets its own deadline, and the terms you agreed to are the ones tied to that specific booking. The last day to cancel or make changes is shown at the top of your reservation confirmation email, and the full cancellation terms appear at the bottom of the same message.3EventConnect. Find your Reservation’s Cancellation Policy If the email is gone, log in, open the reservation, and read the Reservation Receipt.
The per-night service fee is non-refundable no matter when you cancel.1EventConnect. Reservation Service Fee Even when the room itself is fully refunded, that fee stays on your card. If you’re looking at a small “Event Connect” charge that never got reversed after a cancellation, this is very likely what it is.
If the Charge Is Actually Wrong
Once you’ve confirmed the charge is a duplicate, the wrong amount, or a booking you genuinely didn’t authorize, submit a support request through EventConnect’s help center. Include the transaction ID from your confirmation email, the exact dollar amount, the date it posted, and a clear description of the problem. Specifics move faster: “I was charged $189 on March 12 for a reservation I canceled on February 28, confirmation #12345” gets a better response than “I don’t recognize this charge.” Support cross-references the tournament director’s records and the hotel’s booking manifest before issuing any refund. The platform also runs a 24/7 chatbot called “Eve” for basic questions, though a real billing issue will need a human.4EventConnect. Support Options
Disputing the Charge With Your Card Issuer
If EventConnect’s support team can’t or won’t fix the problem, federal law gives you a separate path. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can send your credit card issuer a written billing error notice within 60 days after the issuer sent you the statement containing the disputed charge.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors The clock runs from the statement date, not from when you noticed the charge or when the merchant last replied, so don’t let a slow support ticket burn your dispute window.
You are not required to try the merchant first. CFPB regulations explicitly say attempting to resolve the dispute with the merchant is not a prerequisite.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution Once your issuer receives a valid notice, it must acknowledge receipt within 30 days and complete its investigation within two billing cycles, not to exceed 90 days.7eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution
One caution before filing a chargeback on a tournament-related charge. If the charge turns out to be legitimate and you’ve already opened a dispute, tournament organizers sometimes treat that as non-payment, which can affect the team’s standing for future events. Chargebacks are the right tool for genuinely unauthorized transactions. For a cancellation you forgot about or a service fee you didn’t notice at checkout, working it out with EventConnect directly is usually the cleaner route.