Oops! Payment issues can be a headache, but don't worry—we've got you covered. Whether it's a failed payment or an uncaptured one, here's your guide to navigating these bumps in the road with AmenitizPay.
Common Reasons for Failed or Missing Guest Payments in Amenitiz
Before diving into the step-by-step guide for troubleshooting payments, it can be helpful to understand the underlying reasons for guest payment issues. Payments might fail, remain uncaptured, or not appear in Amenitiz for reasons such as insufficient funds, terms acceptance issues, or technical setup problems. Let's explore these in detail.
Step-by-Step Guide
Dealing with a failed payment
Understanding why payments fail can be crucial in resolving them more effectively. Common reasons include insufficient funds, bank declines, or failed 3D Secure authentication. When these occur, guests are encouraged to verify their bank details or retry with an alternative payment method, ensuring all required security steps are completed. Additionally, some banks may decline payments with a generic "do_not_honor" code, which indicates the bank refused the transaction without providing further details. In such cases, guests should contact their bank to approve the payment or use an alternative payment method.
Usually, payments require 1–2 hours of processing time. During this period, avoid taking duplicate actions to help ensure proper payment resolution.
Check the reservation status: When a payment fails (due to reasons like insufficient funds), the system will notify both you and your guest. The failed payment will also be reported in the reservation details which you can view by clicking on Reservations > view booking details > payments.
Contact the guest: Reach out to your guest to arrange an alternative payment method. No need to worry—the reservation won’t be automatically cancelled due to a failed payment.
Create the new payment: Once you’ve agreed on a new payment method with your guest, follow the process described in this article for creating the payment.
Retry payment directly: If the guest's card payment failed due to insufficient funds or other issues, you can retry the payment directly from the reservation system. Open the reservation, navigate to the Payments tab, click Create a Payment, and select Charge the Card to process the payment again. Ensure the card has sufficient funds before retrying.
Payments may fail for reasons such as incomplete 3D Secure verification, which is a mandatory step in some transactions. Remind your guests to carefully complete this step during the retry process to ensure a successful payment. If the payment failure is due to a mismatch in the payment amount caused by reservation modifications, ensure the new payment attempt reflects the updated total to resolve the issue.
Handling Payment Failures After Reservation Modifications
When a reservation is modified, payment failures may occur if the payment amount does not match the updated total. To resolve this, arrange a new payment attempt with the correct amount and ensure the guest is informed of the updated payment details.
Handling an Uncaptured Payment
Uncaptured payments often result from guests skipping key steps, such as accepting Terms & Conditions. Make sure your guests complete all necessary prompts carefully to finalize their payments.
Understand the situation: An uncaptured payment usually happens when the guest’s bank hasn’t fully processed the payment authorization. This could require your guest to contact their bank.
Guest action required: If the guest receives an SMS about the pending payment, suggest they double-check with their bank to ensure the authorization is processed correctly.
Verify payment status: After the guest has sorted things out with their bank, confirm the payment status in Amenitiz to ensure everything is in order.
Pending payments often process within 1–2 hours. Advise your guests to wait for this period before taking further action and ensure all conditions, including Terms & Conditions acceptance, have been met.
Steps to Verify Missing Payments:
Open the reservation in Amenitiz and check the Client tab for a stored card.
Review the Summary tab to confirm the payment method and associated payment plan.
Confirm the activation status of AmenitizPay in the Settings menu.
Payments will not be lost if they are associated with a stored virtual credit card (VCC) or transaction within the Amenitiz system. If a payment still doesn’t go through after processing delays, create a new attempt to complete it.
💡 Tip You can send a payment link via AmenitizPay, giving your guest an easy way to complete their payment and secure their booking ASAP. Just follow the steps described in this article.
Handling Double Payments
In rare cases where a guest has been charged more than once for the same reservation, you should be aware of the dispute process:To resolve duplicate payments, follow these steps:
Verify Payments: Check your payment processor (e.g., Stripe) to confirm the number and amounts of successful charges.
Advise the Guest: If only one payment was captured, inform the guest to wait until the next day. Duplicate pending charges on their bank account often drop off automatically.
Collect Proof of Payment: If two debits still appear the next day, request proof of payment, including the transaction tracking or reference number. This information will help the finance team trace the payments.
The guest can file a dispute for the duplicate amount.
If the dispute is valid and uncontested, it will be resolved in favor of the guest automatically.
Keep in mind that payment processors may apply handling fees for such disputes.- For each disputed reservation, a single dispute fee applies. For example, if a €15 dispute fee is charged, no additional fees will be applied for the same reservation.
If a chargeback is initiated for a reservation, refunds cannot be processed through Amenitiz due to card network handling of such disputes. Be mindful of potential chargeback fees applicable via banks or card networks.Instead of debiting your bank account directly, the platform withholds the disputed amount from your future payouts. This ensures that the recovery process is seamless and does not involve separate bank charges.
Charging Saved Cards
If your reservation already has a saved guest card linked, you can process payments directly by opening the reservation, accessing the Payments tab, clicking Create a Payment, and selecting the saved card option to charge the amount. To send the payment link, access the reservation's Payments tab, click Create a Payment, and choose the Payment Link option. You can share the generated link with the guest via email, WhatsApp, or QR code for convenience.
For manually recorded payments visible under the Payments tab, note that these are for tracking only and do not represent processed transactions. Amendments like adding refunds can be done, but entries should remain unchanged for accurate record-keeping.
Preventative Measures and Best Practices
To minimize guest payment issues:
Regularly monitor your payment processor for discrepancies.
Clearly communicate payment policies to guests.
Provide prompt support to address guest concerns about payments. By following these guidelines, you can effectively manage guest payment issues and ensure a smooth experience for both you and your guests.