Subtitle: Create automated payment plans, split charges into multiple installments, and schedule damage deposits across your listings.
⚠️ IMPORTANT (DISCLAIMER): Auto-payment templates only apply to new reservations created after the rule is saved. The system will not automatically generate retrospective charges for bookings already present in your Hostaway dashboard. For existing bookings, you must charge manually.
1. Prerequisites for Payment Automation
To process online automated charges, you must have a supported payment gateway connected to your Hostaway account:
- Hostaway supports deep automated connections with Stripe, Authorize.net, and Braintree.
- If you use other gateways (e.g., Paystack), automated schedules are not supported, and you must record transactions manually as Offline Charges.
2. Step-by-Step: Creating an Auto-Payment Template
Follow these steps to schedule automated collections for direct bookings, Booking Website, and Vrbo and Booking.com reservations:
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Go to Reservations > Guest Payments > Auto-payments.
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Click + Add auto-payment at the top left.
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Configure the following fields:
- Title: Enter an internal name (e.g., "Standard 50/50 Split Rule"). Start with a single 100% charge or a “rest of payment” charge example. This will allow you to use more APMs. You can also diversify with a 50/50 split, although that reduces the available APM options, or combine it with charge and pre-authorization requirements
- Channels: Select the channels to apply this rule to (e.g., Hostaway Direct, Booking Engine, Vrbo).
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Inside the Auto payment, click on + Add auto-payment to build your payment plan:
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Type: Select Charge (for standard pricing collection) or Pre-authorization (for temporary security holds).
- Name: Internal name for the specific transaction (e.g., "Deposit 50%").
- Method: Select Credit Card (Online) to process real money automatically.
- Amount: Select Percentage (e.g., 50%), Flat fee (e.g., $200), or Remaining balance.
- Scheduled by: Define when the charge triggers (e.g., At Reservation creation, X days before Check-in).
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Type: Select Charge (for standard pricing collection) or Pre-authorization (for temporary security holds).
- Under Listings, select which properties follow this rule. You can toggle Apply for new listings automatically to scale your operations.
- Click Save.
3. The Power of "Remaining Balance"
Hostaway supports a dynamic amount type called Remaining Balance.
- How it works: It acts as an intelligent, self-adjusting auto-charge. If a guest makes interim manual payments or if dates are modified (changing the total price), the "Remaining Balance" charge dynamically recalculates to charge only the outstanding sum.
- Rule: You can only have one Remaining Balance charge per auto-payment template, and it can only be processed automatically.
- Recommended Setup: 50% at reservation creation + Remaining balance 14 days before check-in.
4. Important Rules & Common Constraints
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Canceled Charges (10-Day Limit): If a scheduled payment cannot process (e.g., card declines) and is left unresolved for 10 days after the scheduled date, Hostaway will automatically set its status to Cancelled with the reason: "The charge was canceled by the system due to time limit".
- Same-Day Bookings: Automated schedules can still run for same-day reservations. Once the system receives a reservation with a 100% charge at reservation creation, it typically takes a few minutes for the charge, or grouped charges, to be attempted. However, charges may still fail, so you should always verify that the payment has been completed before granting guests access to the property.
- Conditional Rules: Hostaway auto-payments apply strictly to the channel and listing selected. The system cannot execute conditional logic based on stay length or booking totals (e.g., skipping a damage deposit if a booking is under $300).
5. Cross-Reference
Are you looking to automate payments for Booking.com Virtual Credit Cards (VCC)? Booking.com follows a separate, specialized automation path. Please refer directly to our Guide: Booking.com Payments, VCC Auto-Charges & Guest Cards.