Payment Status Guide for Hostaway

Understanding payment statuses is crucial for effective property management in Hostaway. This comprehensive guide provides property managers and hosts with detailed information about all available payment statuses, their meanings, common causes, and resolution strategies.

Payment statuses serve as the foundation for financial tracking, guest communication, and operational workflows. Whether you're managing direct bookings, OTA reservations, or dealing with payment processing issues, this guide will help you navigate Hostaway's payment system with confidence.

From basic statuses like "Paid" and "Unpaid" to more complex scenarios involving "Unknown" or "Failed" payments, each status tells a story about your reservation's financial state. Understanding these statuses enables you to take appropriate action, whether that's following up with guests, troubleshooting technical issues, or optimizing your payment collection processes.

Available Payment Statuses in Hostaway

Smart Retry Feature for Failed Payments

When you retry a failed payment in Hostaway, our system automatically checks with Stripe first to see if the payment was successful. This smart feature prevents double-charging your guests and saves you time.

Here's how it works:

• If the payment shows as "Paid" in Stripe: We'll automatically update the status in Hostaway to "Paid" without charging the guest again
• If the payment shows as "Failed" in Stripe: We'll retry the charge as normal using the same payment method

Why this helps you:

• No more double charges: You can safely retry payments without worrying about charging guests twice
• Automatic sync: Payment statuses stay synchronized between Hostaway and Stripe
• Time savings: No need to manually check Stripe before retrying payments
• Guest satisfaction: Prevents billing disputes and maintains trust with your guests

How to use it:

1. Go to your reservation details page
2. Find the failed charge in the payment timeline
3. Click the dropdown menu next to the charge and select "Retry"
4. Our system will automatically check Stripe and either update the status or retry the payment

Important note: This feature only works when there's an active connection between the original Hostaway charge and your Stripe account. If you've processed payments directly in Stripe outside of Hostaway, you may need to manually update the payment status instead.

This improvement eliminates the previous requirement to contact our backend team for payment status updates, making the process much more efficient for you and your guests.

Failed Payment Resolution Methods

Alternative Card Method

If you want to use a different card, you'll need to:

1. Cancel the failed charge first
2. Create a new charge with the updated card information
3. The system will always attempt to use the original card that failed unless you cancel and create a new charge

Guest Portal Updates

• Send your guest the Hostaway Guest Portal link
• Have them go to the Payment section and click "Add Payment"
• Once they enter new card details, the information will sync to your payment processor
• The new card will automatically be set as default, allowing you to charge it immediately

Key Technical Details and Troubleshooting

Common Failed Payment Causes

• Security Code Issues: "Your card's security code is incorrect"
• Missing Payment Method: "You cannot confirm this PaymentIntent because it's missing a payment method"
• Stripe Account Issues: Connect account verification required
• Quick Payment Attempts: Two payment requests attempted quickly

Synchronization Issues

• Payment statuses may not sync properly between Hostaway and payment processors
• Direct refunds via Stripe don't sync with Hostaway, causing incorrect status
• Engineering team monitors ongoing sync issues

Automation Setup for Failed Payments

• Use "Payment Fail" event trigger in automation setup
• Include Guest Portal link in automated messages
• Ensure correct channels are selected (include "Hostaway Direct" for direct bookings)
• Automations only apply to reservations created after automation setup

Channel-Specific Behaviors

Direct Bookings

• Default to "Unpaid" status
• Require manual payment setup or automatic charge configuration
• Created manually by users show "Unknown" status

OTA Integrations

• Airbnb/Booking.com: Usually automatically marked as "Paid"
• Airbnb: Should be excluded from auto-payment setups to avoid failed payment notifications
• Expedia: Shows "Unknown" without Virtual Credit Card (VCC) setup
• Booking.com: Can show "Unknown" if no payment collection method configured
• Booking.com: Can report invalid credit cards to request new payment details

Webhook Integration Impact

• Payment status changes trigger webhook events under "Reservation.updated"
• Frequent status changes can cause excessive webhook executions
• No separate "PaymentStatus.updated" event currently available

Prevention and Best Practices

1. For "Unknown" Status:
   • Create manual charges to reflect actual payment
   • Enable VCC for Expedia reservations
   • Configure automatic payment collection
2. For "Failed" Status:
   • Complete Stripe account verification
   • Check payment processor settings
   • Use new retry functionality to check Stripe status automatically
3. For Sync Issues:
   • Contact Stripe for payment processor discrepancies
   • Use Hostaway refund feature instead of direct processor refunds
4. For Listing Changes:
   • Avoid moving OTA reservations between listings to prevent sync loss
   • Make changes from original channel when possible