Prepayment, card guarantee and hold

This article covers booking money before and during the stay: how to take a deposit or full prepayment at booking, how to keep the guest's card as a guarantee, how to charge further payments on a schedule, how to place a hold (block an amount on the card) and how to refund. For a general overview of the hotel see Hotel: rooms, PMS and guest service.

Who it's for: hotel owners and front desk staff with access to hotel money.

Before you start: a payment provider is connected in the location payment settings and you have rate plans — see Hotel prices.

How booking money works#

All of this works for bookings from the hotel website — those where the guest paid or saved a card on the secure payment page. Front desk and channel bookings have no saved card: use a payment link for them.

Check what the payment provider can do#

Not every provider supports every operation. Almost any provider can take a payment by link, but not all of them can save a card or place a hold.

1. Open Rooms → the hotel settings gear → the "Payments & taxes" section.
2. In the "Booking payments and penalties" block, pick the provider in "Provider for room bookings". "Automatic" means the system takes the first suitable connected provider.
3. Under the field you see the provider's capabilities: "Card guarantee", "Hold", "Refund" — "yes" or "no".
4. Click "Save".

The list only contains providers connected at the location that support room bookings. If there is none, a hint asks you to connect one in the payment settings.

What this changes:

• no "Card guarantee" — the option is unavailable in the rate, marked "not supported by the provider", and further charges from the card cannot be added;
• no "Hold" — the hold button in the booking card says "The payment provider of this booking cannot hold money".

As of 08.11.2026, according to the code: Stripe supports all of the above; BOG and TBC (Georgia) support payment and refund, without card guarantee or hold; YooKassa takes room booking payments only with test keys for now — guest bookings on such a rate are declined. Always check the capabilities line in the settings before going live — it is more accurate than this article.

Set the payment for a rate#

1. In the hotel settings open "Rates & restrictions" → "Rate plans" and expand the rate.
2. In the "Payment" block choose "Guest payment":
   • "At the property" — no online payment;
   • "Deposit online" — then "Deposit amount": first night, a percentage of the stay or a fixed sum;
   • "Full prepayment online";
   • "Card guarantee (no charge)" — the guest saves a card, nothing is charged.
3. A line below shows which provider takes payment for this rate. If nothing can take it, the same line shows why — for example, "Online payment is turned off in the location payment settings" or "does not accept the location currency". While that line is there, guest bookings on this rate are declined.
4. Click "Save rate plans" at the bottom of the rate list.

Schedule of further charges#

For a deposit or a card guarantee you can set when the rest is charged to the saved card.

1. In the same rate, in the "Further charges" block, click "Add charge".
2. In "When" choose "N days before check-in" (and fill "Days") or "At check-in".
3. In "Amount" choose "Remaining balance", first night, a percentage or a fixed sum.
4. Click "Save rate plans".

How it works: "days before check-in" is charged at midnight hotel time, "at check-in" — at the check-in time. Up to 6 charges per rate including the payment at booking, and only one of them can be "Remaining balance". Full prepayment has no further charges — everything is already taken.

If the provider cannot charge a saved card, instead of the button you see "further charges are unavailable. The front desk collects the balance".

No-show penalty#

In the same block, the "No-show fee" field: "As for a late cancellation" (default), first night, a percentage or a fixed sum. Without a separate penalty a no-show is charged as a late cancellation; a flexible rate without a penalty charges the first night. Cancellation terms are set in the "Cancellation" block of the rate — see Attach a cancellation policy to a rate.

Decide how penalties are charged and payments retried#

"Payments & taxes" → "Booking payments and penalties" block:

If the chosen provider cannot charge a saved card, penalties stay with the front desk.

View booking payments#

1. Open Rooms → "Calendar" and click a booking.
2. In the card find the "Booking payments" block.

It shows:

• the guarantee card — mask only (brand and last 4 digits), expiry and status: "Card is active", "Card has expired" or "The last charge to this card was declined";
• "Payment plan" — steps with statuses "Waiting for payment", "Charged", "Charge failed", "Waived", "Skipped" and the number of attempts;
• "Holds on the card";
• the penalty due, if the booking was cancelled or the guest did not arrive;
• "Operations" — payment history (first five, the rest under "Show all");
• "Did not go through / not finished" — declines and operations whose outcome is not yet known.

To charge a plan step by hand, click "Charge" next to it (you are asked to confirm: a charge cannot be undone, only refunded). To skip a step, click "Waive" and give a reason; the reason goes to the booking log.

Send the guest a payment link#

A link is needed when there is no card (front desk or channel booking), the card was declined, or the guest has to pay extra.

1. In the booking card click "Payment link".
2. In "What the guest pays" choose:
   • "Payment plan step" — the step is marked paid, the saved card is not charged for it;
   • "Folio balance" — goes into the folio as a card payment; enter less than the balance for a partial payment;
   • "Custom amount" — an advance or an extra service; add a "Note for the guest".
3. Choose the period in "Link valid for": from 24 hours to 30 days.
4. Click "Create link".
5. Copy it ("Copy"), send it from your mail app ("Send by email") or use "Share" on a phone.

Below in the window is "Issued links" with statuses "Active", "Paid", "Expired", "Revoked", "Guest is on the payment page". "Revoke" kills a link, "Check status" asks the provider.

Place and release a hold#

A hold blocks an amount on the guest's card without taking it — for example, a deposit for the minibar and damage.

Automatically at check-in#

1. "Payments & taxes" → "Booking payments and penalties" → turn on "Deposit hold at check-in" and fill "Hold amount".
2. Click "Save".

After check-in (within 15 minutes) the amount is held on the guarantee card of a website booking — once per booking, if the provider supports holds.

Manually from the booking card#

• Website booking with a guarantee card: in "Booking payments" click "Place hold" (amount from the hotel settings) or "Hold on card" to enter your own amount, then "Hold {amount}".
• Front desk or channel booking: "Place hold (link to guest)" opens the link window — the guest authorizes the amount on the payment page, nothing is charged. A hold cannot be placed from the terminal yet.

"Place hold" is visible only when a hold amount is set in the settings. A hold lives about 7 days, so a manual hold is available no earlier than 5 days before check-in.

Capture or release#

• "Capture" next to a hold — enter an amount no larger than the held one; the rest of the hold is released. Money captured from a link hold goes into the open booking account as a card payment.
• "Release" — the money on the guest's card is unblocked.

Both operations ask for confirmation.

Refund money#

1. In "Booking payments" click "Refund" next to the operation (you see "can refund …" beside it).
2. Enter the amount — a partial refund is fine — and a reason.
3. Confirm: a refund cannot be undone.

For a cancelled booking the block shows a "Refund" breakdown: what is kept, what returns to the guest automatically and what has to be refunded by hand. Money charged by the front desk or by the schedule is not returned on its own — click "Refund" next to the operation.

A link payment is refunded from "Payment link payments" to the same card and appears in the account as a negative payment. If the account is already closed, the system warns you: the account is reopened, the refund is posted as a correcting line on the current day, and the account is closed again.

If a charge failed#

The booking updates a few seconds after the bank answers.

What is not there yet#

• Saved-card operations (charge, hold on the card, penalty from the card) work only for hotel website bookings. Front desk and channel bookings use a payment link.
• A hold cannot be placed from a payment terminal at the desk — only online, on a guarantee card or by link.
• There is no platform email template for the link: "Send by email" opens your own mail app.
• Capabilities depend on the provider: payment support does not mean hold or guarantee support.

Fiscal receipts for online booking payments in Russia are covered in Hotel account, payment and fiscal receipt.

Related articles#

• Hotel prices: rates and cancellation policy
• Working with hotel bookings — cancellation with reason and penalty, deposit at the POS
• Guest and company account: charges and printing
• Hotel account, payment and fiscal receipt
• Hotel: rooms, PMS and guest service

FAQ#

The guest saved a card, but I don't see the "Hold on card" button. Why? The button shows the reason next to it: the provider cannot hold, check-in is more than 5 days away, the booking has no active guarantee card or the booking is no longer active.

Can I change the penalty amount? A penalty can only be reduced, and only with a reason. You cannot charge more than the rate policy amount.

What if the provider does not accept the location currency? A rate with online payment shows "does not accept the location currency", and guest bookings on it are declined. Pick another provider or the "At the property" option.

The guest paid a link after the account was closed — where did the money go? In "Payment link payments" such a payment is marked "paid after the account was closed — not added to the account". Post it manually.

Will a refund go to a different card? No, the refund goes to the same card the guest paid with.