Deposit — what does a guest pay when booking?
Updated on 2026-10-28
Settings → Deposit
How much a guest pays straight away when booking is something you set yourself on this page (titled What does a guest pay when booking?). Whatever you choose here is used by your booking engine, the payment page and the confirmation email.
Be sure to check this page at least once. The default values may not be what you promise on your own website.
The settings
Ask for a payment when booking: the main switch. When it is off, the guest confirms without paying and you settle up on site.
When it is on, you choose under What does the guest pay:
| Choice | What the guest pays |
|---|---|
| A percentage of the total | Enter the Percentage, e.g. 30. Set it to 100 to have the full amount paid at the time of booking; many holiday homes do this |
| A fixed amount | Enter the Fixed amount, e.g. €50 per booking, regardless of the total price. If the booking costs less, the guest pays the total |
| The first night | The price of the first night. The booking engine shows that amount; for now, the proforma and the payment page calculate with the Fixed amount |
Payment term (in days): not paid within this term? Then the reservation expires and the dates become available again. Think of guests who book on a Friday evening: a term of 1 day is tight over a weekend.
Include extras: this checkbox is on the page, but at the moment the deposit is always calculated on the total including extras.
Click Save.
Whatever the guest doesn't pay when booking remains outstanding until their arrival. You can see it for each booking.
Where does this apply?
- Booking engine: when booking, the guest sees the deposit and the payment term.
- Payment page: the guest chooses between the deposit and the full amount.
- Confirmation email: the email states the amount and the term.
This concerns bookings via your own website and payment requests that BedFlow sends. What a guest pays through a channel (Booking.com, Airbnb, …) is determined by that channel itself.
When is there no deposit?
- Non-refundable rate = paid in full upfront. If the guest chose a non-refundable rate option on your own booking site, they always pay the full amount, regardless of the percentage above. This is stated next to the option in the booking engine, on the proforma, in the confirmation email and in the payment reminder. The payment page then offers no choice.
- Only with a room. A deposit is only possible if the booking includes a room. If someone books only a wellness session or separate extras, or buys a gift voucher, they pay the full amount.
- Already paid something or checked in. The payment page then no longer offers a choice and asks for the outstanding balance.
Custom payment schedule: deposit and balance, with the security deposit included
Want to follow up only two payments? Switch on Custom payment schedule on the same page. This feature is off by default; as long as it is off, nothing changes.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Deposit | The percentage the guest pays when booking, e.g. 50 |
| Include the security deposit in the amounts due | The deposit is then the percentage of rent + costs + security deposit. The security deposit is entirely in the balance |
| Balance due at the latest | Number of days before arrival. The guest sees the date in the booking module, the emails and on the proforma |
| Payment method for deposit / balance | Online, online or by bank transfer, or bank transfer only |
Example: rent € 500 + cleaning € 80 + security deposit € 250 = € 830. At 50 % the guest pays € 415 deposit and € 415 balance (€ 165 rest of the invoice + € 250 security deposit).
This keeps the accounting clean:
- The deposit is always entirely on the invoice (normal revenue and VAT). It is never more than the invoice itself; if the percentage is so high that the deposit would touch the security deposit, the security deposit stays entirely in the balance.
- The security deposit stays a security deposit: no VAT, not revenue, and refundable through the usual security deposit flow. On the proforma and the invoice it appears separately below the totals, never as an invoice line.
- With the security deposit in the balance, the guest pays the balance by bank transfer, with one amount and one reference. When you record that payment (Register payment), enter the full amount: BedFlow books the invoice part on the invoice and marks the security deposit as received. If the amount does not fully cover the security deposit, everything goes to the invoice and you record the security deposit yourself.
- The guest then gets no separate security deposit request. Bookings through a channel (Booking.com, Airbnb) fall outside the schedule; there the security deposit stays separate.
After booking, the guest sees the amounts separately: rent and costs, the security deposit, the total to pay, the deposit and the balance with its due date. That way the deposit percentage always matches what they see.
QR code for the bank transfer: turn it on and, after booking and on the payment page, the guest sees a QR code to scan with their banking app. Amount, account and reference are already filled in. This only works when the payment method allows a bank transfer and your account number is filled in under Settings → Payments. Off by default.
Custom name for the deposit
Does your accountant want the deposit to have a different name, e.g. reservation guarantee? At the bottom of the same page you find Custom name for the deposit. This feature is off by default; as long as it is off, nothing changes.
Switch on Use a custom name and fill in, per language, the word the guest should read. It replaces "deposit" in the booking module, on the payment page, in the quote, in the emails and on the proforma and invoice. Leave a language empty and a guest in that language reads the usual text. The amount and the calculation stay the same; only the word changes.
Frequently asked questions
I want guests to pay everything upfront. Is that possible? Yes: choose A percentage of the total and set it to 100.
I don't want to ask for any online payment at all. Turn off the main switch. The guest then confirms without paying and you settle up on site.
Does this apply per property? Yes. Everything on this page is saved per property. If you have several properties, first choose the right property at the top of the sidebar.
What if the guest doesn't pay in time? The reservation expires after the payment term and the dates automatically become available again for other guests.
Can I give a different term for a booking made by phone? Yes, with a manual booking you decide yourself whether payment is required and within what term. See Manual booking.