Basic Operation
The basic flow of the integration with the payment solutions Stripe or GMO (Fincode) is as follows:
When a reservation is confirmed, an authorization (auth) is automatically performed. If there is a time gap before the payment date and the auth validity expires on the Stripe or GMO (Fincode) side, the system will retry the auth. (Whether credit authorization is required depends on the settings.)
If an auth error occurs, an error is reported to the OTA, and if the guest updates their credit card information, the auth will be automatically retried.
Based on the payment timing set in each property's option management settings, the system will automatically execute the payment.
If the reservation is modified and Step 3 has already marked it as "Paid," the system will automatically process a refund or additional payment to reflect the updated reservation amount.
If the reservation is canceled and Step 3 shows it as "Paid," the system will automatically refund the amount after deducting the cancellation fee.
If payment has not yet been made, the system will automatically charge the cancellation fee.
The cancellation fee is not charged on the originally scheduled payment date but instead executed 2 to 2.5 hours after the cancellation.
Only in the case of GMO (Fincode), no fees will be charged for refunds.
In addition to the basic flow outlined above, exceptions and important notes are explained below.
<If a manual payment is made outside of the automatic integration, or if a reservation with a free cancellation policy is manually cancelled from the PMS side, please be sure to disable the automatic payment>
If payment has been received through methods other than Stripe or GMO (Fincode) integration — such as bank transfer or Paynow — or if a reservation was manually cancelled from the PMS for any reason, please make sure to perform the following two actions on the reservation details page to prevent duplicate charges.
1. Add the payment by selecting "Record Payment"
2. Click "Cancel" to void the payment transaction
*Please note that if you only "record payment," the automatic payment will not be canceled.
If the guest does not correct the invalid card, please cancel the reservation manually.
If the credit card information registered by the guest is invalid (authorization failed), the guest will be automatically notified via the OTA. If the guest confirms this and updates their card information, authorization will be automatically retried.
If the guest does not correct their card details within a certain period of time (usually 24 hours on Booking.com) after registering an invalid card, you will need to manually cancel the reservation through the OTA admin page or your airhost.
<If only card authorization is enabled>
For reservations with the payment execution timing set to "Authorization only," the execution mode is treated as manual and automatic payment is not performed , so refund processing will not be performed automatically even for payments resulting from cancellations.
If you want to automatically cancel the payment up until the time of on-site payment, please set the payment timing to "0 days before check-in" and manually cancel the payment before the automatic payment is made.
<Regarding the timing of automatic payment>
You can set this for each property by going to "Admin Console" > "Property List" > Property > Channel Manager > "Automatic Payments" > "How many days before check-in should guests be charged?"
The settlement timing is executed at 1:00 AM on the settlement date. *There may be some discrepancies.
More help: [Channel Manager] Automatic Payment
<About setting up to wait payment settlement after 24hours after booking>
The setting "Wait payment settlement after 24hours after booking(Excluding last-minute booking made within 48 hours before check-in)" is primarily designed for cases where you have enabled the option on Booking.com to waive cancellation fees for reservations canceled within 24 hours.
If payment is processed before this 24-hour window ends, Stripe’s transaction fees will still apply, even if the reservation is canceled within that period—resulting in a situation where only the fee is charged. This setting helps prevent such unnecessary charges.
As for cancellation fees after a reservation is canceled, the system will automatically process payments according to the notifications received from the OTA.
Currently, the AirHost Booking Engine does not offer a function to waive cancellation fees for reservations canceled within 24 hours. Therefore, even if a cancellation occurs within 24 hours, the system will automatically charge the cancellation fee based on the set cancellation policy.
If the cancellation occurs during a period when the cancellation fee applies, the payment will be executed a few hours after cancellation—regardless of the originally scheduled payment date.
<If You Wish to Manually Trigger Payment Earlier Than the Scheduled Date>
For reservations where the card has already been authorized, you can execute the payment manually before the scheduled payment date.
If you manually execute the payment, the execution mode will change from "Automatic" to "Manual."
As a result, automatic refunds or additional charges upon reservation changes or cancellations will no longer be processed automatically. Please proceed with caution.
Note:
The Expedia API does not transmit cancellation fee information when a reservation is cancelled.
As a result, all cancellations are treated as having zero cancellation fees.
If a cancellation fee needs to be collected, manual billing is required, so please be aware of this.
AirHost PMS plans to support automatic cancellation fee collection once Expedia updates their API specifications accordingly.
<When a Guest Cancels a Reservation via the Booking Engine>
For reservations made through the AirHost Booking Engine, if the guest cancels the reservation via the guest page:
If the payment has already been completed, the system will automatically refund the amount minus the applicable cancellation fee.
If only authorization (auth) has been performed and the payment has not yet been completed, the authorization will be voided, and a new transaction for the cancellation fee will be automatically generated.
Note:
If a cancellation fee would normally apply according to the cancellation policy, but for any reason you wish to waive the fee, do not let the guest cancel the reservation themselves. Instead, you must manually cancel the reservation from the PMS.
<When a Reservation from the Booking Engine is Manually Canceled from the PMS>
If a reservation made through the AirHost Booking Engine is manually canceled from the PMS, the payment transaction will not be automatically canceled. Therefore, regardless of the cancellation policy, the payment will still be processed on the scheduled payment date.
If you do not want the payment to be processed, please manually select “Cancel Payment” from the booking details page.
