Are you considering setting up credit card payments for your vacation rental guests? Credit card payments are accepted almost everywhere, from restaurants to stores to hotels, and even small vacation rental businesses have jumped on the trend. You can, too–and it’s easier than you might think! Below, find ten reasons why you should start accepting credit card payments from your vacation rental guests.
Contents
- 1. Customers prefer it
- 2. It’s the most secure and reliable way to pay
- 3. It enables instant bookings
- 4. It’s easy to issue refunds
- 5. It makes your business more credible and trustworthy
- 6. It improves your cash flow
- 7. It’s convenient for everyone
- 8. It can give you an edge over your competition
- 9. Fees are generally low
- 10. It’s easy to set up
- Main Takeaways
1. Customers prefer it
Credit cards are the preferred way to pay for most customers. They’re simply convenient, and many younger guests aren’t familiar with writing checks and using other forms of payment. Accepting credit card payments enables you to cater to the “customers of the future.”
Plus, credit cards are easy to use; you don’t have to fumble through your wallet for cash or take the time to fill out a check. Many people already have their credit card information set up to autofill whenever they make a purchase online. Using credit cards also makes it easy to keep track of purchases because of the ability to look at real-time statements that list all transactions.
A final reason that customers prefer using credit cards is that they often come with rewards. Your guests can potentially get cash back, travel rewards, discounts at various retailers, and gas rebate cards just from using a credit card to pay for various expenses.
2. It’s the most secure and reliable way to pay
Yet another reason that credit cards are so preferred is that they’re widely considered to be the most secure and reliable way to pay. Credit cards have fraud prevention features built in. For example, when credit card payments are processed, any confidential information is encrypted during the transaction. This way, no one can see any of the confidential information, and guests don’t have to worry about their identity or credit card information being stolen.
There’s also an Address Verification Service for credit cards. This service helps you detect suspicious transactions by comparing customers’ information with records owned by the banks that issued the cards. Another fraud prevention feature is the CVC or CVV code on the back of a credit card. These numbers determine whether or not credit cards are legitimate. Accepting credit card payments ensures security for you and your guests.
3. It enables instant bookings
When you accept credit card payments, you can enable instant bookings. It’s simple and easy to instantly approve your guests and confirm the bookings. You can even set up automatic email payment receipts that guarantee the booking has been confirmed. This way, it’s clear to you and your guests that the booking is all set and payment has been processed.
There are tons of benefits to enabling instant booking: increased conversion rates, decreased admin time, and the ability to take advantage of last-minute bookings. Read more about all the pros and cons of instant booking in this blog.
4. It’s easy to issue refunds
In the case of a cancellation, it’s easy to issue a refund to a credit card. PayPal and Stripe, the most common methods of accepting credit card payments, both make it simple to return funds to guests. Both of these applications work the same way for refunds. When issuing a refund to a guest, it is taken from your available Paypal or Stripe balance. If your balance doesn’t cover it, then the funds are taken from the bank account linked to your Stripe or PayPal account. There are no fees for refunding the charge, but the original fee will not be returned to you.
Your guests will rest assured that if they need to cancel their reservation, they’ll be able to get a refund without running into a major hassle (as long as your rental agreement allows guests to back out and get their money back). You’ll also be able to relax knowing that it won’t be a struggle to get guests’ money back to them if needed.
5. It makes your business more credible and trustworthy
When you accept credit card payments, it makes your business more credible and trustworthy. Your guests already trust credit card companies; they offer chip technology that keeps their personal information safe, and they also provide fraud protection. When you accept credit card payments, that trust transfers over to your business, giving it more legitimacy. In general, your guests are most comfortable with things that are familiar to them, and credit cards are familiar and trusted, so this option ensures vacation rental data protection.
6. It improves your cash flow
Another reason that you should start accepting credit card payments from your vacation rental guests is that it improves your cash flow. The funds from guests are directly deposited into your bank account. You don’t have to worry about the possibility of checks bouncing, and there’s no need to wait for payments to arrive in the mail. The immediate deposits make it easier to plan for and pay your own bills and expenses on time.
7. It’s convenient for everyone
Credit cards are simply convenient for both your guests and yourself as the vacation rental property owner. It allows guests to book their preferred stay early, even if they haven’t yet saved all of the money needed for the trip. They can pay their deposit using a credit card months ahead of time and know that their reservation is guaranteed. This isn’t possible with other forms of payment.
For you, as the vacation rental property owner, credit cards are convenient because you don’t have to put any effort into accepting payment. It essentially automates the process. Once you’ve set up credit card payments on your vacation rental website, you’re good to go! Customers just need to input their card information, and the payment is processed.
8. It can give you an edge over your competition
Accepting credit card payments helps you stand out from other competing vacation rentals in the area. Many vacation rental businesses still accept payment in the form of cash, checks, money orders, and online money transfer services. However, these forms of payment are often inconvenient, not as trustworthy, and can come with various issues and challenges. When choosing between two comparable vacation rental properties, many guests will pick the one with the more convenient payment method.
9. Fees are generally low
Fees for using services like PayPal and Stripe, which accept credit card payments, aren’t unreasonably high. The fee is generally $0.30 plus 2.9% of the transaction for either service. Plus, PayPal and Stripe both come with plenty of advantages. For instance, PayPal has been around for a while and is generally very trusted. It has an enormous proprietary ecosystem with strong international support, so you can get help if you ever run into any issues. Meanwhile, Stripe has top-of-the-line developer support and advanced security tools. Another perk of Stripe is that it supports multiple currencies.
10. It’s easy to set up
It’s easy to set up an online account for PayPal or Stripe. We’ll start with PayPal: The first thing you need to do is open up a business account. This requires inputting some of your information and linking your bank account. Then, all you have to do is add a PayPal Button to your website. This is a simple process that only takes a few minutes. Once you’ve filled out the necessary online forms, PayPal provides you with the HTML you’ll need to copy and paste into your website–and that’s it!
Stripe requires a similar process; you sign up for an account, go to your dashboard, and flip the switch from “Test” to “Live” to activate the account. You can then set up a hosted payment page or use Stripe Elements for a more customizable payment window.
Main Takeaways
Why should you accept credit card payments from your vacation rental guests? Here are ten good reasons:
- Customers prefer paying with credit cards because it’s easy, convenient, secure, and they can even earn rewards.
- It’s the most secure and reliable way to pay, with built-in fraud protection and encryption of personal information.
- It enables instant bookings, which come with advantages like increased conversion rates and less admin time.
- It’s easy to issue refunds, and the main methods of accepting credit card payments don’t charge a fee for refunds.
- It makes your business more credible and trustworthy by associating it with the already-trusted credit card companies.
- It improves your cash flow because the funds are automatically deposited in your bank account.
- It’s convenient for everyone, allowing guests to book their stays in advance even if they don’t yet have the full amount needed.
- It can give you an edge over your competition if they’re still using more traditional forms of payment.
- Fees are generally low, at 2.9% plus $0.30 of each transaction when you use PayPal or Stripe.
- It’s easy to set up and takes only 15 to 20 minutes to add to your vacation rental property’s website.
