Beds24 deposits with Stripe: security deposit holds, prepayment or full payment

Deposit, security deposit, card hold: what each one means

Four terms, four different things, and different settings in Beds24:

A card hold (pre-authorization) reserves an amount on the guest’s card without capturing it. Beds24 supports it with Stripe: an authorized payment that is not collected is released after a fixed period (Beds24 wiki).

Beds24’s documentation uses “deposit” for the prepayment and “security deposit” for the damage deposit. When you read a guide or a forum thread, check which one it means.

Payment gateways in Beds24, and what they cost

With Beds24, the money goes straight into your own account with an integrated payment provider, such as Stripe or PayPal (beds24.com). Beds24 lets you collect deposits, full payments or pre-authorized payments to collect later, and charges no processing fee: “You only pay a fee to your payment provider.”

Other options: collect card details and charge them yourself through your bank or merchant account, or ask for a bank transfer. The rest of this guide uses Stripe, which Beds24’s guides walk through step by step.

Taking a security deposit hold with Stripe in Beds24

Beds24 documents how to authorize a refundable security deposit on the guest’s card (Beds24 guide):

1. Connect Stripe to Beds24 in (SETTINGS) PAYMENTS > PAYMENT GATEWAYS > STRIPE.
2. Create a payment rule for the security deposit with Capture = NO: the amount is authorized, not charged. By default the rule blocks automatic payments more than 7 days after check-out (Prevent payment after check-out (days) = 7).
3. Add an auto action in (SETTINGS) GUEST MANAGEMENT > AUTO ACTIONS: it either authorizes the deposit on the card already stored at Stripe, or emails the guest a link to authorize it themselves.
4. Choose the timing and amount: the day before arrival and a fixed amount, in Beds24’s example.

If nothing is damaged, you collect nothing and the authorization is released after the fixed period. If something is, the authorized amount can be collected.

Test it on a booking in your own name before the season, and check the authorization in your Stripe dashboard.

3D Secure: send EU guests a payment link

3D Secure asks cardholders to confirm a payment themselves. Beds24 warns that if you are in the EU or have guests from the EU, you may need to comply with it, which means sending the guest a payment link so they pay directly (Beds24 wiki).

That is what the second auto action is for: an email with a link to the Beds24 payment page, where the guest authorizes the deposit. The same warning applies to prepayments and balances.

No security deposit on OTA virtual cards

Several OTAs, including Booking.com, Expedia and Agoda, provide a virtual credit card (VCC) for some bookings: it is not the guest’s own card.

Beds24 is explicit: a security deposit cannot be authorized on a virtual card. Send those guests a link so they authorize it on their own card.

Beds24’s guide also keeps those bookings out of the automatic action using their info codes: BOOKINGVIRTCARD, EXPEDIACOLLECT, AGODACOLLECT.

Prepayment or full payment on direct bookings

For prepayments, Beds24 collects part of the price at booking, then the balance before arrival (Beds24 guide). Percentages are set in (SETTINGS) BOOKING ENGINE > DEPOSIT COLLECTION DIRECT BOOKINGS. In Beds24’s example:

• Deposit: 30% at booking (Deposit Collection 1);
• Full payment: 100% (Deposit Collection 2) when the booking is made within 14 days of arrival;
• Charging: in the Stripe settings, Capture = Yes collects the payment at booking on your Beds24 booking page;
• Balance: charged before arrival by an auto action, or requested by payment link.

Plan for unpaid bookings too: with Non Payment Booking Status = Cancel, Beds24 cancels a booking whose payment is not completed, and the guest only gets the booking email after paying.

Spell out in your terms the deposit amount, when the balance is due, the security deposit amount and your cancellation rules.

With our booking page: payment stays on the Beds24 page

Our Beds24 booking engine replaces the booking page your guests see, without leaving Beds24. For each property, you choose one of four payment policies:

No card data goes through us: the money lands in your own Stripe or PayPal account. Before paying, guests see the total due, city tax included if you have set it up.

The security deposit stays a Beds24 setting: our page does not take it, and a card guarantee is not one. Our bookings are written into Beds24 like any other, so an auto action that targets all booking sources applies to them too; check it on a test booking.

If you prefer, we set it up for you. Comparing options? Read our guide to a commission-free booking engine.

Frequently asked questions