Hotels and guest houses
A deposit at booking, payment on check-in and a damage guarantee, on one card and with no manual work.
Hospitality has a quirk most processors handle badly: the amount is reserved at booking and only confirmed at check-in or check-out.
Pre-authorisation solves exactly that. The card is reserved, the guest sees a held amount, and you charge the real value later.
What you get
Pre-authorisation
Reserve an amount and confirm it at check-in.
Damage guarantee
A held amount, released at check-out.
Reception terminal
A countertop model with a receipt printer.
Online bookings
Payment straight on the hotel's own site.
Fast settlement
Funds in your account within 48 business hours.
Cancellations and refunds
Full and partial refunds from the panel.
Three payments for one stay
A hotel rarely has one payment per guest. There is a deposit or guarantee at booking, the main payment at check-in or check-out, and extras: minibar, spa, restaurant, late departure.
When those three run through different systems, you get exactly what the guest dislikes: three separate lines on their statement under three different names. And exactly what you dislike: three places to search when something does not add up.
On one account everything runs under one name and in one report, tied to the booking reference. The guest sees a familiar name and reception sees the whole picture on one screen.
A damage guarantee without holding funds needlessly
The classic practice is a pre-authorisation on the card at check-in. It works, but it has two drawbacks: it reduces the guest's available limit exactly while they are on holiday, and on some cards the hold releases slowly.
The better option is a stored card as a token. The card is saved at booking, nothing is held, and an amount is charged only if there is actual damage or consumption. The guest's consent is stored alongside the token, which earns its keep in a dispute.
For hotels with many foreign guests the difference is tangible, because a hold on a foreign card sometimes takes a week to drop and produces calls to reception weeks after departure.
Reception, restaurant and spa on one report
A mobile terminal at reception serves both a guest paying on the spot and table service in the lobby bar. In the restaurant the same things apply as in any venue: payment at the table, tips on screen, split bills.
If the spa or the restaurant is managed separately, reporting splits by outlet while settlement stays combined. The owner sees the whole; each outlet manager sees their own.
Booking channels and online payments from your own site land in the same place, so a direct booking can be compared against an intermediary on numbers rather than on impressions.
Seasonality, and what to say in advance
Hospitality is seasonal, and that is exactly what sometimes creates friction with processors. A profile that handles ten thousand euro in April and two hundred thousand in July looks like an anomaly to automated rules.
So when the account is opened we record your seasonal profile and it is reflected in the configuration. The review on growth passes without interruption, because the growth was declared and expected.
The same applies to prepaid bookings for the next season. A payment in January for a stay in August is normal for the trade, but to an automated rule it looks like risk if nobody flagged it.
Direct bookings against the intermediary
Platform commission is the largest single cost for most small hotels, and that is exactly why a direct booking is worth the effort.
For the direct channel to work, though, paying on your own site has to be at least as easy as paying through the intermediary. That means a stored card for returning guests, Apple Pay and Google Pay on a phone, and confirmation immediately rather than a call from reception the next day.
The second condition is trust. A guest who does not know the hotel hands over a card more readily when they see a familiar payment environment, clear cancellation terms and a recognisable name. Small things here do more than a discount.
When both channels run through one account, the comparison is numerical: how many bookings, what average value, what cancellation rate. From there you decide how hard to push the direct channel, instead of going on instinct.
What to set up before the season
Half a day of work in May saves a week of phone calls in August.
- A stored card at booking instead of a pre-authorisation hold
- Consent to charge extras, taken at check-in
- The same hotel name on every statement
- A mobile terminal at reception, charged and tested
- A declared seasonal profile, so a review does not stop payments
- Clear cancellation terms, published on the site
Questions about this
Can the guest pay before arrival?
Yes, with a payment link or through your site. The payment is tied to the booking reference, so reception sees it at check-in.
How is the minibar charged after departure?
On the stored card, if the guest consented at check-in. The charge is a separate transaction linked to the same booking, and the guest receives an itemised email.
Do you accept payments in foreign currency?
We accept cards in the main European currencies and settle in euro. For a hotel with many foreign guests that is usually better value than converting on the spot.
Does it work with my property management system?
The common systems either integrate or have reception push the amount. Tell us which one you run and we will check before you start.
What happens when a booking is cancelled?
If an amount was paid, the refund goes through the panel, in full or in part according to your terms. If only a card was stored, nothing was charged and there is nothing to refund.
How do prepaid bookings for next season work?
The payment enters settlement immediately while the service is delivered later. That is normal for the trade, but it is worth agreeing with your accountant how the revenue is recognised, because the payment date and the stay fall in different periods.
Ready to start accepting payments?
Send us an enquiry and you will get a concrete quote with calculated fees for your business, usually within one business day.