Payments by Booking.com (PbB) is a payment collection service where Booking.com charges guests on your behalf and pays you later. This reduces the need to collect payments manually and helps standardize how and when you receive payouts.
This article explains how Payments by Booking.com works, when you get paid, how to identify reservations that still require manual payment, and how fees are handled.
What is Payments by Booking.com?
Payments by Booking.com allows Booking.com to collect guest payments for reservations and transfer the funds to you.
Instead of charging guests directly, Booking.com processes the payment and provides you with a payout based on your selected payout method and schedule.
How Payments by Booking.com works
During booking, Booking.com charges the guest using their selected payment method, such as:
Credit or debit card
Digital wallets
Local payment methods
Once the payment is collected, Booking.com typically issues a Virtual Credit Card (VCC) containing the reservation funds.
You can then charge the VCC when it becomes available.
When you get paid
The VCC becomes available based on your cancellation policy:
If the reservation is non-refundable → the VCC is usually available shortly after booking
If free cancellation is allowed → the VCC is typically activated at check-in
The exact timing of VCC availability is controlled by Booking.com and depends on your cancellation policy settings.
Bank transfer payouts
In some regions, Booking.com also offers payouts via bank transfer instead of VCC.
With bank transfers, you may be able to:
Reduce transaction fees
Choose payout frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly after check-out)
Available payout methods and schedules depend on your country and Booking.com eligibility.
Identify reservations that require manual payment
If Payments by Booking.com was disabled when a reservation was created, Booking.com will not collect payment for that booking.
These reservations must be charged manually.
Hospitable highlights these cases to help you take action.
What you’ll see in Hospitable
Conversation banner
A yellow banner appears at the top of the conversation:
“Payment collection needed. No upfront payment was collected for this reservation. Make sure to collect the full amount from the guest.”
This indicates that Booking.com did not process the payment.
Inbox badge
In the Inbox list, affected reservations display an orange “Collect payments” badge.
This helps you quickly identify bookings that need manual payment.
What to do if payment was not collected
1) Confirm payment method in Booking.com
Open the reservation in the Booking.com Extranet and check the Price/Payment section.
Look for whether the booking is:
Paid via VCC
Paid via bank transfer
Pay at property
2) Collect payment if required
If the reservation is marked as “pay at property,” you need to charge the guest manually according to your policies.
This may include using:
Stripe
PayPal
Venmo
Other payment methods you normally use
3) Prevent future unpaid reservations
To avoid manual collection, enable Payments by Booking.com for the property:
Go to Booking.com Extranet
Navigate to Finance → Payments by Booking.com
Enroll the property
Once enabled, eligible future bookings will be prepaid and paid out by Booking.com.
How to enroll in Payments by Booking.com via Hospitable
Before enrolling, you may need to grant Hospitable permission to manage Booking.com payments.
Steps to enroll
Go to Hospitable → Properties
Select your property
Click Payments in the left-hand menu
Click Enroll
Select your payout method and payout frequency
Click Submit enrollment request
Availability
Payments by Booking.com is not available in all countries or for all properties.
Availability depends on:
Local regulations
Supported currencies
Booking.com policies
Booking.com determines eligibility and availability. Hospitable cannot enable this feature for unsupported regions.
Setting payout for fees on Booking.com
Booking.com allows you to decide whether fees are included in the nightly rate or charged separately.
The setting is "Is this already part of the room/apartment rate?" and can be found on:
Booking.com Extranet
Select your listing
Property → Property policies
Scroll down until you find Additional fees & charges
Click Edit
Under "Is this already part of the room/apartment rate?" select either "Yes" or "No"
Save your changes
If set to “Yes” (included in nightly rate)
The fee is built into the nightly price shown to guests.
Example:
Nightly rate: $100
Cleaning fee: $50
The guest still pays $100 total.
If the fee is set to Is this already part of the room/apartment rate? → Yes on Booking.com, the fee will be included in your Payments by Booking.com payout. But the over-all booking amount will be lower!
If set to “No” (separate fee)
The fee is added on top of the nightly rate.
Example:
Nightly rate: $100
Cleaning fee: $50
The guest pays $150 total.
If the fee is set to Is this already part of the room/apartment rate? → No on Booking.com, the fee will not be included in the Payments by Booking.com charge to the guest or payout to host.
This setting must be configured in Booking.com. It cannot be controlled from Hospitable.