We have a few options for security deposits based around the functionality of Stripe.
Our general setup for clients is the following:
Airbnb bookings:
The guest pays the security deposit to Airbnb directly and you have until 14 days after check-out to make a claim. The claim needs to be made via the 'Resolution Centre' via your Airbnb dashboard. Please see the link at the bottom of this page for assistance on the security deposit process in Airbnb.
Direct and VRBO/Stayz/HomeAway bookings:
Assuming the guest pays via credit card, the system will automatically withhold a security deposit the day before check-in.
Because the hold only lasts 7 days before it gets automatically released by Stripe, for bookings over 5 days in length, we re-process the hold every 7 days, starting from the 6th day after check-in. This ensures you always have the funds withheld from the guest's card, for between 1 and 6 days after check-out.
The only downside of this process is that a lot of people have notifications set up so they get sent a message when funds are withdrawn. Because for longer stays they will be receiving this every week, we do explain this in our original emails we send to the guest after their booking is confirmed. However, you may have to deal with guest queries about this process.
If a guest pays via EFT, then you have two choices:
You can add the security deposit to the cost of the booking (you can add a charge line item 'Refundable Security Deposit' to the invoice). At the end of the stay, you will need to delete that line item from the invoice, refund the guest via EFT and add a refund payment to the booking (see this article for more information)
You can send an email to the guest with a link to pay the security deposit (but via a withheld payment). Use the 'Security Deposit Manual' auto action in the 'Mail & Actions' tab of the booking to send a link for a $1 withheld payment. This will be released after 7 days, but will enable the guest's card to be stored against the booking in Stripe. The day before check-in the card will be charged the security deposit as a withheld payment. If the booking is longer than 7 days, the security deposit will be withheld again every 7 days until check-out as outlined above.
Booking.com bookings:
Because you will sometimes receive Booking.com bookings for which you receive a virtual credit card for payment, you don't have access in those circumstances to the guest's card. Plus at this stage there is only one credit card which can be stored against a booking. For these channels therefore, we set up security deposit payments via Duve, our guest portal.
When the guest completes pre-check-in via Duve for such bookings, the final stage involves them paying the security deposit securely via Stripe. The security deposit gets held continuously until 3 days after check-out and is then released.
The downside of this system is that Duve charges the following fees for managing the security deposit process:
- For security deposits up to $150, the fee is 2%
- For security deposits over $150, the fee is 1%
If you want a simple solution for all bookings whereby everyone has to follow the same process, regardless of how the booking has been made (excluding Airbnb bookings), then you can process security deposits via Duve for all bookings, as long as you are happy with being charged the fee for all bookings.
The security deposit for Felix is automated, and very rarely you will have to manually authorise a security deposit. If for whatever reason you do need to, click here for details on how to do this.
Claiming security deposits withheld via Felix using Stripe:
If you need to actually charge i.e. capture a security deposit, then go to the Charges and Payments tab of the booking. Under Pending payments, there is a "Stripe" Box button. Once you have clicked this it will bring you to the screen below.
To charge a security deposit, select the capture button. From here you can choose the amount required for repairs. Or you can capture the full amount and refund the remainder once you know how much repairs will cost. The reason for doing this is you may lose the hold on the deposit. REMEMBER: You will also be charged a cc fee when you capture the amount, so you may want to take this into account when you work out how much you are capturing (i.e. if you're claiming $100, you may want to claim $103.50 to account for the credit card charge you would incur to ensure your net amount received is $100).
Claiming security deposits withheld via Duve:
The security deposit is returned to the guest in full 3 days after check-out, provided there is no damage to the property. If something happened and you need to claim a part, or the entire sum you collected as a deposit, you can do so on the reservation page.
Find the reservation you would like to claim the deposit from and scroll down until you see the “payment” section.
The security deposit row will show you the total amount collected from the guests, as well as the last day available to claim the deposit. If you are no longer able to claim the deposit from your guest because too much time has passed, you will see a “charged window expired” warning.
In order to make the claim, click on the “charge deposit” link at the end of the row.
In the pop-up, you can select the exact amount you want to charge and add a note.
You can then add the charge and the payment to the booking in Felix as per the previous explanation.