Novice Innkeeper Has Question Re Bookings

[Jare's Place]

Hi there, 

I opened my b&b in the summer of 2010.  Since then I have updated my website to take online bookings.  Recently I got my first online booking.  Yah!  Now I'm not sure what to do?  Do I charge the guest's credit card right away?  Do I wait until the guest arrives?  If I wait, is there a way I can hold that amount on the guest's credit card until they arrive? 

Any ideas/knowledge/suggestions welcome.  Thanks for reading.

 

Take Care

Jare's Place

[Penny Cote]

It depends on the system you are using.  We print off the reservation, remove the number from the online system and charge the credit card when people leave.  Some inns take deposits and charge them....it all depends on what your policies are.  But, do remove the number from the online system.

 

Penny

[Dawn Phippen-Kelly]

Yea..I didn't do that, because of all the scam artists out there that charge a card and by the time you realize anything, they are gone, the money is gone..I was questioning it too, so I didn't bother with the online booking. I take someone's number over the phone and then I don't charge anything until they arrive and if they want to use debit or cash then I don't need the number at all. I want them to physically swipe that card in front of me. Now the only protection I have with a number is I have a cancellation policy and tell people that if they don't show up I will charge that card..so if they are going to cancel they better do it within a reasonable time, or they will be charged and that I have my cancellation policy written in my web page etc, or all to see so there is no misunderstandings and my butt is covered as visa or other cards can get a call from the owner of that card and say I didn't charge anything there. Well, if you have the paper work showing they reserved the room and didn't show up and you have that cancellation policy, they don't have a leg to stand on..so to speak. I just don't trust the online booking.

[Stephen LaFond - Barclay Cottage]

You should establish your policies and make sure they are posted on your website and anywhere you list your b&b online. We require a 50% deposit by credit card and collect the balance in cash or credit card when guests check-in.  This is a common payment policy for small b&bs.  You should join your state bed and breakfast association and PAII (Professional Association of Innkeepers International) .  By joining these organizations you will learn a lot from other innkeepers and take advantage of knowledge of pricing, credit card processing, property management systems, online marketing, etc.

[Ole Olson]

We do the same as Stephen and many others. We collect 50% over the phone by credit card, through the mail by check, or if we're suspicious we insist they go through PayPal. As Catherine points out, you should keep all your payment systems as consistent as possible. Also you must protect your customer's credit card numbers! We post our Cancellation Policy online and also repeat it at least once in E-mail or by phone and, to be sure, we print it on the Confirmation we send to the guest. We collect the balance when they arrive. Guess I'm a control freak, but I don't trust online systems either. It's always good to "talk" to your prospect by phone or by E-mail. Ask them a few questions, like "what do you plan to do here?" Or "how did you learn of us?" As Dawn points out, you do have to beware of the multitude of scammers out there. Anything out of the ordinary is a red flag. Be especially wary if they want to send you MORE than you ask for! That's classic. Later they will ask for a refund, then the first "payment" will dissappear. That said, we have been in business for 16 years and, aside from having to ignore a few dozen obvious scammers and occasionally having to enforce our "cancel less than 30 days B4 arrival and you lose your deposit" rule, we've had amazingly little trouble. Most people are honest and even too innocent. Even if someone cancels and loses their deposit, I always offer to apply it to their next reservation within a year. Good luck!

[jen hopkins]

HI jane,

We take the card details but don't charge them until they arrive.

That way we know that we will hold the booking and we know that they are genuine!

Jen and Russell

Beaver B and B, Marlborough, New Zealand

[Barbie Bell-Scott]

Our on-line bookings are done through a third party provider so they debit the card for the full amount straight away and they administer any cancellations.

If people email us and we confirm a booking we take the card details (in case they default and don't turn up ( but if  they turn up, we don't swipe and debit the card until they leave - just as most hotels do.

But you can set your own policy, which you should describe in detail on your website. e.g. 25% deposit now, $50 administration fee/one night's accommodation cost, or similar,  if cancelled less than 48 hours before arrival etc.

[Bob and Lisa Watkins]

     Congratulations on becoming an innkeeper! We love being in the bed and breakfast industry and we hope you have positive experiences like ours :) If you need any help with choosing towels, bedding, menu items, just let us know.

     We take the guest's credit card number to hold the room, but we do not charge anything until they check out. Our policies state that we may charge deposits and cancellation fees but we rarely do. There have been cases where we have taken deposits, but how/when you do that is really up to your discretion. A pretty standard deposit is 50% or the cost of the first night, with a 30% cancellation fee if the reservation is canceled within three weeks of the arrival date. Be sure to state that if a reservation is canceled within 7 days of the stay-date, the entire cost of the stay will be charged. Whether you do it or not is up to you, often times we will charge the full amount and then apply it as a "gift certificate" toward a different stay-date so that the guest still has the opportunity to get their moneys worth.

     If you write the reservation in a "reservation book" (we use a three-ring binder) you can keep the card on file and then tell your reservation software to remove the card number from the online reservation. Once the guest is ready to settle the bill you can either physically swipe their card or type in the number you have on file. We shred and burn all guest credit card information to keep everything safe and secure.

 

Hope this helps!

~Assistant innkeeper Lacey

Arlington's River Rock Inn

www.riverrockinnbnb.com

[Naomi Rees]

Hi Jare

I own a B&B in Rotorua, New Zealand and we have been in the accommodation industry for a number of years.  You need to know how you have set up to take these bookings and what have you told your guests about payment.  Usually you will have terms and conditions set that say for example, we require credit card details to secure the booking, and we take the first night's payment on the card but any further nights are payable upon departure. Or it might say we only take the card details to secure the booking and no payment is taken by us, all charges are payable on departure.  Which online booking agent are you using?

[Julie Sturgeon]

What are your policies? Most lodging options either:

 

a. hold the credit card and charge when the guest arrives. If the guest does not show or cancels after your deadline, you charge a prestated amount on that card.

b. charge one-night's stay (or two nights if it's a peak season)

c. charge the entire amount at the time of booking.

 

In any of these cases, you need to clearly spell out your cancellation policy, deadlines, penalties, consequences, etc. for the consumer to know before he forks over the credit card number. 

[Victor Dupuis]

Hi  Jare

We here at The Village Antiques  & Tea Room ~ Bed & Breakfast in Williamsburg (Eastern Ontario, Canada) after noting our cancelling policy to the guest take the credit card information as a guarantee of payment, however we do not process the card until check-out at which point we ask for the card & physically process their card at that point.  We are really taking the credit card info in case of a no-show.   No shows are very rare occurences, especially if they gave you a credit card number, but at least you have it to process should they not show up for whatever reason.  Don't forget to ask for the CVV #.  (3 digits on the reverse of the card) Without these 3 numbers you probably won't be able to process the card.