Listing your property on Booking.com (BDC) increases its visibility. However, before obtaining guest credit card information, BDC requires hosts to complete their Business and Property Verification process. Also, BDC host payment options can differ significantly from country to country.
- Business Verification
- Types of Booking.com Payments
- Invoice Billing
- Taxes
- Currencies
- Property Management
Business Verification
To verify your Booking.com business, follow the instructions in the Booking.com Tasks and Payment Information sections of our Booking.com Setup & Connecting support article.
Types of Booking.com Payments
OwnerRez recommends that you follow the instructions in the Booking.com Tasks and Payments sections of our Booking.com Setup & Connecting support article to use Payments by Booking.com. For more information, see BDC's Understanding eligibility and opting in and out of Payments by Booking.com.
Booking.com's (BDC) host payment systems remain inconsistent and difficult to discern. BDC's host payments run the gamut, from Pay on Arrival to getting all guest credit card information upon booking to even getting guest credit card information 7 to 14 days before arrival and having to run their card at that point.
While a host may have been previously approved to process guest credit cards, BDC's Artificial Intelligence (AI) system may determine that bookings should be set to Pay on Arrival. Below, we will explain the many ways BDC may pay hosts.
You can verify the type of payments your property is on by logging in to the Booking.com Extranet and navigating to Property > Property Policies > Guest Payment Options, or Finance > Bank Details.
Payments by Booking.com via Bank Transfer (Recommended)
Our channel integration is configured so users are easily enrolled in Payments by Booking.com via Bank Transfer by following the instructions in the Booking.com Tasks and Payments sections of our Booking.com Setup & Connecting support article.
To learn more, read the following Booking.com support articles.
- Understanding eligibility and opting in and out of Payments by Booking.com
- What is Strong Customer Authentication?
- Payments by Booking.com: FAQs
- Payments by Booking.com 2024 for US Home Partners.pdf
Pay on Arrival
Before your Booking.com (BDC) property is fully verified, your BDC listing may be configured to default to on-site payment for your BDC guests upon arrival or departure.
Pay on Arrival was originally intended for hotels, assuming that properties have a front desk that can collect payment on-site. Of course, this is probably not appropriate for most vacation rentals, so getting your BDC property verified will be a top priority.
OwnerRez recommends that you follow the instructions in the Booking.com Tasks (to verify your property) and Payment Information sections of our Booking.com Setup & Connecting support article to use Payments by Booking.com.
Booking.com Online Payments
OwnerRez users can choose to take payment themselves (not recommended) as the Merchant of Record (MOR). You can then send a BDC request for guest contact information and complete your renter agreement, which will give you more guest credit card information to schedule a security deposit hold.at the time of booking. However, sometimes, guest credit card information is only available on the Booking.com extranet.
Unfortunately, BDC's host payment information is very vague and prone to inconsistencies.
Obtaining Booking.com Guest Credit Card Details
OwnerRez recommends that you follow the instructions in the Booking.com Tasks and Payment Information sections of our Booking.com Setup & Connecting support article to use Payments by Booking.com.
Unless you are using Booking.com's (BDC) Payments by Booking.com via Bank Transfer, they prefer that hosts collect payment "at the door" during check-in. In addition to the Booking.com (BDC) Property Verification Process, BDC has vague internal criteria that hosts must meet before they can request prepayment from guests in the BDC system.
- Number of successful stays
- Track record on customer satisfaction and invoice payments
- Compliance with Booking.com policies
These requirements can be difficult to comply with when hosts do not have access to guest credit card information to collect payments or schedule security deposits, etc. Additionally, it appears "scammy" to BDC guests when OwnerRez users request guest credit card information after the guest has already provided it to BDC, possibly leading to cancellations.
If your account is newish (you don't have dozens of Booking.com bookings under your belt), there may be a couple of things at play. It is possible that one or a few of the following situations are occurring.
- Even if your Booking.com (BDC) host account is configured to accept guest credit card information, the BDC Artificial Intelligence (AI) may override it without notifying BDC or the host.
- Perhaps the setting is by property, not by account?
- Perhaps you're subject to a new policy that requires them not to send credit card info until just before arrival. Booking.com recently introduced a new security routine that affects newer accounts, and they haven't given out many details about it. There are two ways to fix this:
- We recommend switching to Payments by Booking.com via Bank Transfer, which processes payments. It's nice to get the card info so security deposits (secdeps), etc., can be scheduled, but if Booking.com isn't sending it, it's much easier to let them handle the processing for the time being. Do that for a while until they have vetted your account, and they will send over the card info. While it may be difficult to switch back, receiving payment for now until you meet the BDC criteria might be preferable.
- Or go to the Booking.com channel settings in OwnerRez and set it to not require a credit card. That way, it won't send the notice. Then later, when they do send the card info, run the card.
Virtual Credit Cards (VCC)
A virtual credit card (VCC) is a temporary digital Mastercard linked to an existing guest credit card.
Depending on your property type and location, you may be able to choose your payout method: Payments by Booking.com via bank transfer (recommended) or a virtual credit card (VCC). If you’re currently receiving payout by virtual credit card, you may be able to switch to bank transfer, depending on your eligibility.
Please note: once you switch from VCC to bank transfer, you won’t be able to switch back to VCC.
To switch from a virtual credit card to a bank transfer, follow these steps:
- Sign in to the Extranet.
- Go to Finance, and select Finance settings.
- Go to Payments by Booking.com, and select the Payout method.
- Edit your payout method and follow the steps to complete the switch.
Invoice Billing
Booking.com (BDC) hosts will receive monthly invoices via email with instructions for paying their balance. For more information, see BDC's Paying your invoices partner help article.
Taxes
OwnerRez's Booking.com channel integration pushes the tax configuration you set up in OwnerRez (combined and sent to Booking.com as one Government tax) to Booking.com. Booking.com supports tax remittance capability for some US properties. Learn more about that by reading Booking.com's Understanding tax remittance management in the US.
Currencies
Currencies are automatically determined by the property's country location and Booking.com's system settings. The BDC booking confirmation email will list the currency used for the booking.
Property Management
While Booking.com offers a Group Extranet if you manage multiple properties, hosts that manage properties can only set up a single bank account tied to their LEID, and Invoice Billing under the group extranet by Completing the Know Your Partner (KYP) form for payouts, but cannot configure multiple bank accounts.
Property Managers can configure their Booking.com channel integration with their bank account by completing the Legal Entity Identifier (LEID) process, paying the Invoice Billing, and distributing payouts to owners themselves.