Payment processing fees vary depending on the payment method used.
To help protect your margins, Avantio allows you to pass credit card processing fees directly to the guest.
When enabled, the final booking amount will include a surcharge that reflects the cost of the selected payment method.
Key Benefits
Margin Protection: Prevents high processing fees from eroding your profit margins.
Cost Transparency: Provides customers with a clear breakdown of costs associated with their preferred payment method.
IMPORTANT:
This feature is exclusively available for:
Companies based in the United States
Accounts using the Apay payment solution
If these requirements are not met, the option will not appear in your Booking Conditions.
How to Set Up Credit Card Surcharging
Step 1: Go to Booking Conditions
In the left menu, click Bookings.
Select Booking conditions.
Click List.
Step 2: Create or Edit a Booking Condition
Click New Booking condition to create a new one,
orOpen an existing booking condition from the list.
Complete the required fields:
Name / reference of booking condition
Select properties
Click Next to continue.
Step 3: Open Credit Card Options
Scroll to the Credit Card options section.
Expand the dropdown menu.
Step 4: Enable and Configure the Credit Card Fee
Activate Credit Card Fee.
Configure:
Credit Card Fee (%) – Percentage applied to the booking payment.
Taxes – Tax rate applied to the credit card fee.
3. Click Save.
NOTE:
The credit card surcharge will apply automatically to bookings using this booking condition.
Guest Experience (Website & Checkout)
The system automatically calculates the surcharge and taxes for credit card payments to ensure a seamless experience:
Payment Breakdown: Guests can view the surcharge details by clicking the "i" (info) icon during checkout.
Price Breakdown: The fee appears as a specific line item. If taxes apply to the fee, they are merged into the total tax breakdown.
Payment Information: Consumers are explicitly informed that choosing a credit card payment method incurs a processing fee.
NOTE: Calculation Example
Scenario:
Fee: 5%
Tax: 10%
Booking Value: $1,000
Step-by-step:
Booking: $1,000 + 10% tax = $1,100
First Payment (50%): $550
Credit Card Fee (5% of $550): $27.50
Tax on Fee (10%): $2.75
Total First Payment: $580.25
Note: Future payments will only calculate the fee at the moment of transaction to allow for different payment methods.
Internal Management in the VRMS
Booking Records
Once the reservation is created, the credit card fee will appear inside the booking file.
Invoicing
The fee can be invoiced as an extra service.
Owner Settlements
The fee is not included in owner settlement calculations.
Payment Registration & Status
Pending Status: The fee is not registered in the booking file while the payment is "Pending" to avoid accounting discrepancies.
Paid Status: Once the status updates to "Paid," the total amount is updated to include the fee, and the item is added to the booking file.
Failed Payments: If a payment attempt fails, the credit card fee will not be applied to the balance.
Invoicing and Settlements
Invoicing: The fee can be invoiced as an "Extra Service".
Settlements: Please note that this fee cannot be included in the Owner’s Settlement as it is an operational cost recovery for the merchant.
Manual Changes
The fee is triggered automatically via Apay and cannot be added manually. However, authorized users can manually modify or delete the fee item once it has been generated in the reservation file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the surcharge applied to the total booking amount?
Is the surcharge applied to the total booking amount?
No. The surcharge is calculated based on the specific amount being processed at that moment. If a guest pays in installments, the fee is applied to each individual credit card transaction.
What happens if a guest decides to pay via a non-surchargeable method?
What happens if a guest decides to pay via a non-surchargeable method?
If the guest switches to a method like bank transfer before paying, the system automatically deducts the credit card fee from the final amount.
Will the guest be warned about the extra charge?
Will the guest be warned about the extra charge?
Yes. Transparency is key. Guests will see the fee in the Payment Breakdown, the Pricing Breakdown, and within all Apay-related Email Templates.