Deposits and balances

If you take card payments, you can ask guests for a deposit when they book and have PootlrHost take the rest from the same card before they arrive. You need card payments set up first.

Set your deposit

1. Go to Pitches & pricing › Booking rules, or open Booking rules.
2. Under Payments, tap the underlined amount in “Guests pay … when they book”.
3. Choose A set amount, A share of the stay or The full amount, enter the figure and save.
4. Tap the underlined time in “The rest is taken automatically …” and choose When they arrive, or 7, 14 or 28 days before they arrive.

Changes apply to new bookings. For a different deposit in one season, use Different rules for a season further down the same page and tick Use a different deposit.

What guests see

When they pay, guests can choose the deposit or pay in full. Next to the deposit they’re told how much the rest is and the date it will be taken. Their confirmation email and stay page show the same date. If you let guests choose how to pay, anyone who picks Pay on arrival pays the whole amount when they arrive.

How the balance is taken

On the due date, PootlrHost charges the card the guest booked with. We check every hour, so a balance due today is taken today. If someone books at short notice and the due date has already gone, the balance is due on the day they book.

The card is only saved when the guest books on your website, or agrees to it when booking through a booking button on another website. If the card wasn’t saved, nothing is taken automatically: the guest is asked to pay the balance on their stay page by the due date.

A cancelled booking’s balance is never taken.

If the payment fails

• If the guest’s card is declined, we email the guest so they can pay the balance on their stay page, with another card if they like. We also try the card again once a day, up to five tries in all.
• If something else goes wrong, we try the card again once a day too, up to five tries.
• After the fifth try we stop, and email you so you can send the guest a link to pay another way.
• If the guest’s bank wants them to approve the payment, we email the guest asking them to pay the balance on their stay page. It isn’t tried again automatically, as only the guest can approve it.

In each case, the balance shows on Today under Needs you, with Send payment link and Mark paid. The Payments page shows a notice with a Send a payment link button too. On the booking itself, use Send payment link or Mark as paid. Only mark it paid once the money has reached you.

Good to know

• Balances still to come on Payments adds up the balances waiting to be taken automatically.
• Guests aren’t sent a separate reminder shortly before the balance is taken. If it’s still unpaid when their pre-arrival email goes out, that email shows it.
• Seasonal pitches don’t use deposits and balances. They have their own payment plan: see Seasonal pitches.