Step 1: Choose Your Scope (Global vs. Per Property)
ChargeAutomation allows you to configure payment rules globally across all listings or customize them per property:
Global Settings (Recommended for uniform policies):
Navigate to Settings (or Account Setup) > Auto Payments.
Any rule defined here will automatically apply to all properties set to Use global settings.
Per Property Settings (For property-specific rules):
Navigate to Settings > Properties.
Select the specific property > Under Payment Rules / Auto Payments, toggle to Per property settings.
Step 2: Select and Configure the OTA / Booking Source
In the Auto Payments section, you will see a list of connected booking sources (e.g., Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO/HomeAway, Expedia, Direct Website):
Locate the target OTA / Booking Source and click to edit/configure its settings.
Enable Auto Payments by toggling the status to ON / Active.
Configure the rule modules:
Credit Card Validation: Set whether to validate cards upon booking arrival or before check-in.
Reservation Payments (Payment Schedule):
Define the payment split (e.g., 100% at confirmation, or 50% at booking and 50% X days prior to check-in).
Set timing relative to booking creation, check-in date, or cancellation deadlines.
Security Deposit / Damage Waiver:
Set the authorization hold amount (fixed or percentage).
Set the authorization schedule (e.g., hold placed 1–3 days before check-in and auto-released up to 7 days after check-out).
Auto Refund: Configure automatic refund rules based on your cancellation policy if a booking is cancelled.
Save Changes.
Step 3: Replicate Across Channels (Optional)
If you have similar rules across multiple OTAs or properties, use the Copy Settings To option to quickly replicate configurations without entering them manually for each source.
Step 4: Key Considerations for certain OTAs
Step 5: Applying Rules to Bookings
New Bookings: Any new booking received while the property and Auto Payment rules are active will automatically have the payment schedule applied at intake.
Existing Bookings: If a booking was synced prior to enabling rules:
Go to the Bookings Listings page.
Click the three dots (⋮) on the reservation row.
Select Apply Auto Payment to trigger the schedule and guest notification prompts.