Three Smiths and a bank app
A couple books two nights by email. You reply with your bank details and ask for a deposit to secure the room. A week later you open the banking app and see a payment from 'SMITH J HOLS'. You have three bookings under Smith this summer. One is for one night, one for two, one for a week. The amount matches two of them.
Meanwhile, a guest who booked a month ago has never paid. You meant to chase, but you have been busy, and now you are not sure whether to hold the room or let it go. You send a polite email. No reply. You hold the room. They do not arrive.
Why deposits take so much effort
Bank transfers are cheap and familiar, which is why many small guest houses use them. The trouble is everything around the payment.
- Guests type their own reference, or none, so matching payments to bookings is detective work.
- Some guests forget, some intend to pay later, and some have changed their mind without telling you.
- Chasing is awkward and easy to put off.
- Your diary or booking system does not know which bookings are paid unless you update it.
- There is no clear moment when an unpaid booking stops holding the room.
What unpaid deposits cost you
Rooms held for guests who never pay and never come, especially on busy dates you could easily have filled. Hours in the banking app, matching payments. Awkward emails that sit in your drafts because asking for money feels uncomfortable. And the uncertainty of not quite knowing which bookings are real.
It also slows bookings down. A guest who has to go into their banking app, add you as a payee and type a reference is more likely to put it off than one who can pay on the spot.
Then there is the end of the year. Your accountant, or you at the kitchen table in January, needs to know which payments were deposits for next year's stays and which were for stays already taken. With transfers matched by memory, that becomes another round of scrolling through the banking app and the diary side by side.
How we build deposit links for direct bookings
- When you confirm a direct booking, a deposit link is created for the right amount, based on your own rules (a set amount per room, the first night, or a share of the stay).
- The link is sent in your confirmation email, with your own wording.
- The guest pays by card or a wallet such as Apple Pay, through a payment provider such as Stripe. The money goes to your account.
- When the payment arrives, the booking is marked as paid in your booking system or calendar, and the guest gets a receipt.
- Guests who have not paid after a set time get a friendly reminder. After a second deadline you get a message asking whether to hold or release the room.
- Guests who prefer bank transfer can still use it, with a reference code that makes matching straightforward.
| Booking | Deposit status | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Smith, 2 nights in July | Paid by card | None |
| Smith, 1 night in August | Bank transfer, matched by reference | None |
| Jones, 3 nights in June | Not paid, reminder sent | Decide on hold or release after deadline |
| Patel, 4 nights in September | Link sent today | Wait |
The rules on how much to take, when to remind and when to release are yours. The system just applies them so you do not have to remember.
A week without chasing
Bookings come in, confirmations go out with a link, and most guests pay on the spot. Your booking list shows which are paid. You get a message once a week about the one or two that have not paid, and decide what to do with them.
The banking app goes back to being something you check occasionally, not the place where your bookings are confirmed.
Is chasing deposits taking your time?
- You ask for deposits by bank transfer and match payments by hand.
- Payment references from guests are often unclear.
- Some guests never pay, and you are unsure whether to hold the room.
- Chasing deposits is a job you put off.
- Your diary does not show which bookings are paid.