Optimise your collections on Booking and Expedia
Managing bookings on portals such as Booking.com or Expedia often involves working with virtual cards. Understanding how they work will allow you to charge guests efficiently and securely, avoiding errors and ensuring a smoother management experience.
What are virtual cards?
A virtual card is a temporary digital credit card generated by the platform so that accommodations can collect payments for guest bookings.
In the VRMS, you can receive virtual cards for bookings from portals such as Booking.com and Expedia.
Important details
When you receive one of these cards, the guest has already paid the portal, so they are not involved in the charging process.
Each virtual card has a maximum balance that can be charged (usually the total rental amount and, in the case of Booking.com, also the final cleaning fee).
Virtual cards have a validity period and can only be charged within those dates.
If you try to charge them outside this period, the transaction will be declined.
The validity start date usually coincides with the guest's arrival.
How to identify a virtual card
There are two ways to recognise them in the VRMS:
By the cardholder name: instead of a real name, it will show «Booking.com Agent» or «Expedia VirtualCard», depending on the portal.
By the validity period: real cards show an expiry date, while virtual cards indicate a date range.
When a booking arrives with a virtual card, the charge line appears marked as «Charged by the portal», in the same way as the «Pending» or «Paid» statuses.
How to charge a virtual card
Charging a virtual card is as straightforward as charging any other card registered on the booking:
If you have automations enabled in Avantio Payments, the system will charge it automatically on the day it becomes available.
If the booking is non-refundable, the charge must be processed at the moment of receipt.
Each virtual card has a total or maximum balance that cannot be exceeded.
Important details
If a virtual card has already been charged and you need to issue a refund, the amount must be returned to the same card.
Otherwise, the portal may apply surcharges or holds directly on that card.
Managing changes and cancellations
One key aspect must always be kept in mind: has the virtual card already been charged?
Virtual card already charged: the amount must be refunded to the same card.
If the refund is not made to the card, the portal may apply a surcharge, debit, charge or hold directly on it.
Virtual card not yet charged: simply process the cancellation; no charge or refund is required.
Common situations in booking modifications
If the guest extends their stay, the portal will update the virtual card balance so you can charge the difference.
If the guest adds extra services, you can request a new card using the «Multi-card» feature and charge the additional amount to it.
If the booking is cancelled, proceed with the standard cancellation without making any charges or refunds on the card.
Virtual cards are a practical tool for streamlining payment collection on bookings from Booking.com and Expedia.
Knowing how to identify them, respecting their validity periods and correctly handling refunds or modifications will help you avoid errors and maintain efficient control of your operations in the VRMS.
Frequently asked questions
Which portals use virtual cards?
Which portals use virtual cards?
Booking.com and Expedia are the two portals that can send you virtual cards to manage the charges for your bookings.
Do I need to contact the portals to use virtual cards?
Do I need to contact the portals to use virtual cards?
Yes. To start working with virtual cards on these portals, you need to contact them directly. This configuration is established through an agreement between your agency and the portal.
What happens if the virtual card is blocked?
What happens if the virtual card is blocked?
If you try to charge a virtual card outside its validity period, you will not be able to process the payment. It is therefore essential to always keep track of the expiry date.
Who makes the initial payment — the guest or the portal?
Who makes the initial payment — the guest or the portal?
If a virtual card is received with a booking, it means the guest has already made the payment to the portal and is not involved in the charging process.
What happens if the guest requests extra services?
What happens if the guest requests extra services?
With the Multi-card feature, you can request a new card from the guest and process the corresponding charges on it.
Why can't I charge a Booking reservation?
Why can't I charge a Booking reservation?
If you work with Virtual Card, you need to have MOTO (Mail Order / Telephone Order) operations enabled on your payment gateway. Without this, you will not be able to process the charge correctly.