Deposit and booking fee at booking
Booking a bed charges the security deposit and the booking fee of the rent plan at once, with a link to pay online. A booking not paid within your hold hours is cancelled and the bed is free again, and check-in can wait until the deposit is paid.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- A bed is promised on the phone, held for two weeks, and the person never comes.
- Residents move in and the deposit is still being chased a month later.
- Cancellations end in arguments about how much of the booking money comes back.
- The deposit sits mixed with rent income, so nobody knows how much you owe back.
How it works
- Put a Security Deposit and a Booking Fee on the rent plan under Stay > Configuration > Rent and Charges > Rent Plans.
- When the desk books a bed, both are charged to the stay: the deposit as Security deposit (refundable), the fee as Booking fee. Press Invoice Now to invoice them at once, or the daily billing run puts them on an invoice to whoever pays.
- The invoice message carries the link to pay online; the desk can also take the money at the desk.
- If the hostel sets Hold Unpaid Bookings (hours), the stay shows Held Until. An hourly job cancels a booking whose deposit and fee are not paid by then, and the bed is free again.
- With Deposit Paid Before Check-in on, check-in lists Security deposit not paid with the amount. A hostel manager can still check in with a reason.
- If a paid booking is cancelled, the deposit is refunded in full. The booking fee is refunded by your Booking Fee Refund (%), on a credit note.
Everything it does
What is charged
- The rent plan's Security Deposit and Booking Fee, at the moment the booking is saved
- Charged to the stay and invoiced like any other charge, to the resident or to the payer of those heads. It is invoiced at once with Invoice Now, else by the daily billing run
- Bookings made online from the public page are invoiced at once (Scale, or the public page added to Growth)
- The deposit is kept on its own account, apart from income, until the final settlement returns it
- Deposit Held on the stay counts deposits paid, less any returned
- A plan with neither amount charges nothing and holds nothing
Unpaid bookings
- Hold Unpaid Bookings (hours): 0 to start with, which never releases a booking
- Held Until is shown on the stay while the booking waits for payment
- Checked every hour. A booking whose deposit and booking fee invoices are not all paid by then is cancelled with the reason Not paid within n hours
- A cancelled booking's unpaid invoices are cancelled and its draft charges waived
- Checking in clears Held Until
Deposit before check-in
- Deposit Paid Before Check-in: off to start with
- On: check-in lists Security deposit not paid, with what is still open, whether not invoiced or partly paid
- A hostel manager can check in anyway; the reason is kept on the stay
Cancelling a paid booking
- The paid deposit is refunded in full
- The paid booking fee is refunded by Booking Fee Refund (%), 0 to start with
- The refund is a credit note to the person who paid
Who uses it
Owner / AdministratorSets the deposit and fee on the rent plans, and the hold hours, refund percentage and deposit-before-check-in on each hostel.
Front Desk / AccountsBooks beds, takes the deposit at the desk when it is not paid online, and checks residents in.
Hostel ManagerChecks a resident in without the deposit when there is a reason.
Resident or payerGets the invoice with the link and pays the deposit and fee.
Where you use it
- Web: Stay > Configuration > Rent and Charges > Rent Plans (Security Deposit, Booking Fee). The hostel form, group Booking (Deposit Paid Before Check-in, Hold Unpaid Bookings (hours), Booking Fee Refund (%)). Held Until on the stay
- Web: in SmartMy Stay the app menu is named Stay and Hostels is named Properties; forms, fields and messages still say Hostel
- Resident portal and the SmartMy Stay app: the invoice with Pay
- The SmartMy Stay Staff app: Take a payment for desk payments. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not a token taken before booking: the deposit and fee are charged when the bed is booked
What you control
Settings
- Security Deposit and Booking Fee: per rent plan, empty to start with
- Hold Unpaid Bookings (hours): 0, never release
- Deposit Paid Before Check-in: off
- Booking Fee Refund (%): 0; the deposit is always refunded in full
- Online payment: needs a payment provider with your own account; none is set up for you
Notifications
- Hostel Booking Confirmed: to the resident and any guardians when the bed is booked
- Hostel Invoice: to the resident, any guardians and any payer, with the link to pay
- Hostel Payment Received: to the resident and any guardians
- Hostel Booking Cancelled: to the resident and any guardians, with the reason, when an unpaid booking is released
- Each: in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS use your message credits. App push comes once the apps are in the stores. Each is sent at once
Questions
How long is an unpaid booking held?
As many hours as you set in Hold Unpaid Bookings (hours) on the hostel. At 0, the default, a booking is never released by itself.Can residents pay the deposit online?
Yes, once a payment provider is set up for your Entity with your own account. The invoice carries a link to pay. Online payment has not yet been tried with a live payment, so make one test payment yourself first.Can a resident move in before paying the deposit?
Yes, unless you tick Deposit Paid Before Check-in. Then check-in waits for the deposit, and only a hostel manager can let the resident in, with a reason.What comes back when a booking is cancelled?
The paid deposit in full, and the share of a paid booking fee you set in Booking Fee Refund (%). The refund is a credit note to whoever paid.Is this in Starter?
No. Starter books beds without charging anything. The deposit, booking fee and their release start in Growth, with billing.Related features
STAYSBed booking without double bookingSearch the free beds for any dates, room type and gender, and book one in a few clicks. The system refuses a second booking of the same bed for the same days and names who holds it.BILLINGRent plans by property, room type and categorySet the rent of a bed once per property, room type and kind of resident, for any period from a day to a year. Bill it in advance or in arrears, prorated by the day. Each new stay picks the plan that fits, and a manager can give one resident a discount.STAYSCheck-in with checklist, documents and guardianA resident checks in only when the checklist is done, the documents are verified and a guardian is on record where the category needs one. A manager can let them in anyway, and the reason stays on the stay.CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENTFinal settlement of the depositWhen a resident leaves, one screen sets the deposit held against the last rent, unpaid bills and any deductions such as damage. A hostel manager approves it, and settling it leaves the exact refund, or what is still due, on record.PUBLIC PAGE AND ONLINE BOOKINGOnline bed booking with paymentVisitors of your property's public page press Book now, choose a move-in date and get a bed at once. The deposit and booking fee are invoiced on the spot and paid online; a booking not paid within your hold hours is released.BILLINGRent collection online and at the deskEvery rent invoice goes out with a link to pay, and residents find Pay on the portal and in the app. Rent paid at the desk, in cash, UPI or by card, gets a numbered receipt and goes against the oldest dues first.
See it with your own beds and rent plan.
Tell us how many beds and properties you run. We will show you a booking, a month of rent and a move-out, set up the way your PG works.