Why do vacation rental managers need their own merchant account?
Vacation rental managers need their own merchant account to keep direct bookings, which skip OTA commissions of 15% or more. Processors also treat vacation rentals as higher risk because guests pay weeks or months ahead, so an account underwritten for that delay is less likely to be frozen when bookings spike.
How should vacation rentals take security deposits?
Vacation rentals should take security deposits as a card authorization placed 1 to 2 days before arrival and released after inspection. An authorization lasts up to 31 days for Visa lodging transactions, while a charged deposit must be refunded and costs processing fees twice. See hotel credit card holds for hold timing by card type.
Which payment schedule works best for direct bookings?
A 2-part schedule works best for most vacation rentals:
- Charge 25% to 50% at booking to secure the dates.
- Charge the balance 14 to 30 days before arrival, after the free cancellation window closes.
A hotel payment automation setup runs both charges from the stored token.