Deposits: choose what guests pay up front

Asking for the full amount six months before arrival puts some guests off; asking for nothing leaves you exposed. The deposit policy lets you choose: advance bookings pay a deposit at booking time, last-minute bookings pay in full, and the balance is collected later without you chasing it by phone.

How the policy works

You set it on the General tab at Distribution → Booking Engine, with three decisions:

• On or off. Off — the default — means every guest pays the full amount at booking time.
• The deposit percentage. The share of the booking total an advance booking pays now — 50% is the starting point, and you can set anything from 1 to 100.
• What counts as an advance booking. A number of days before arrival — 14 to begin with. A guest booking at least that many days out pays the deposit; a guest booking closer than that pays the lot, because there isn't time to be chasing a balance from someone arriving on Friday.

What the guest sees

The checkout shows the split plainly before they pay: what's due now, and what's left owing. There's no surprise later — the guest agreed to the balance when they booked. The deposit is worked out on the real total for their stay, after any special or coupon has come off, so a discounted guest puts down a deposit that matches their discounted price.

Collecting the balance

A booking that paid a deposit sits on your calendar as partly paid, with the balance owing visible right on it. From there you have three easy ways to collect, all without a phone call:

• Send a payment link — the guest pays the balance on their own phone, whenever suits.
• Let guests settle it themselves — see guest self-service payments.
• Fold it into arrival — the balance (and any bond) is collected as part of online check-in; see balance and bond at check-in.

Troubleshooting

A guest was charged the full amount — why?

Check how far ahead they booked. The policy only takes a deposit from bookings made at least your set number of days before arrival; anyone closer than that pays in full by design. If the policy switch is off, everyone pays in full.

Does the deposit change what my reports show?

No. The booking is always recorded at its full value, with the deposit and balance tracked as payments against it — so revenue reporting and your accounting reflect the whole booking, not just the slice paid so far.