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Payment Terms Scheduling

This article explains what happens in the background so you know what to expect when setting payment terms for your reservations.

Aron Rotteveel avatar
Written by Aron Rotteveel
Updated this week

When will Payment Terms be offered?

For a guest to be offered payment terms, several conditions must be met:

1. Booking Must Be Made At Least 7 Days Before Check-In

If a guest books within 7 days of their arrival date, payment terms will not be offered. This ensures there's enough time to collect all payments before the stay begins.

Example: A guest booking on June 10th for a June 12th check-in will pay the full amount immediately.

2. Reservation Total Must Be At Least $100

Payment terms are only available for reservations of $100 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies). For smaller bookings, the full amount is collected at the time of booking.

3. Payment Terms Must Be Enabled on Your Cancellation Policy

Your property's cancellation policy must have payment terms enabled. You can configure this in your Direct Booking settings.

The 7-Day Rule

One of the most important things to understand is the 7-day rule: the final payment will always be collected at least 7 days before check-in.

This means:

  • If your cancellation policy specifies that the final payment should be collected 3 days before check-in, we'll automatically adjust this to 7 days instead.

  • Any payment terms that would fall within 7 days of check-in are moved earlier or combined with another payment.

This protects both you and your guests. It ensures you have confirmed payment before the guest arrives, and gives guests adequate notice of upcoming charges.

Why Payment Terms Might Not Apply to a Booking

Here are the most common reasons a booking might not receive payment terms, even when you have them enabled:

Reason

Explanation

Short notice booking

The guest booked less than 7 days before check-in

Low booking value

The reservation total is less than $100

Payment terms disabled

Your booking policy does not have payment terms enabled

Terms would be too close together

When multiple payments would fall within 7 days of each other, they are combined into a single payment

How Payments Are Structured

When payment terms apply, here's how the payments are typically divided:

First Payment (at booking):

  • Deposit amount (typically 20% of accommodation)

  • Full service fee

  • Full taxes (if applicable)

Middle Payments (if any):

  • Portions of the remaining accommodation cost

Final Payment (at least 7 days before check-in):

  • Remaining balance

You can have up to 3 payment terms per reservation.

Tips for Hosts

  1. Set realistic expectations.
    If most of your guests book within a week of their stay, payment terms may not apply frequently.

  2. Review your booking policy
    Make sure payment terms are enabled and configured the way you want.

  3. Consider your booking lead time
    Properties with longer average booking lead times will see payment terms used more often.

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