How do I get paid on Houfy?

Guests pay you, not Houfy. You connect your own Stripe, Square or PayPal account, and every payment a guest makes lands in that account directly. Houfy never holds your money and takes 0% commission on bookings — your payment processor charges its own card fee, and listings imported from a channel manager or PMS also carry a 5% API usage charge once a processor is connected. You connect an account under Connected payments in Manage Listings, and you can route different listings to different accounts if you need to.

Connecting a payout account

1. Click your profile picture, choose Manage Listings, then Connected payments in the left menu.

2. Under Connected Payout methods you will see three options: Stripe (marked Recommended), Square, and PayPal.

3. Click Connect Stripe, Connect Square or Connect PayPal and follow the prompts on your processor's site to authorise the connection.

4. Once connected, the account appears under Connected Payout methods on this page.

You can connect more than one. Guests then pay by card at checkout and the money settles into your account on your processor's normal schedule — Houfy is not in the middle of that transfer.

Sending payouts from different listings to different accounts

If you manage properties for different owners or entities, use Routing Rules on the same page. A routing rule directs payments from specific listings to a particular connected account, so each property's income lands where it should. You need at least one connected payout method before you can add a rule.

Automatic payments

Automatic payments (currently in beta) let Houfy charge a guest's saved card for balances, instalments and security deposits without you chasing them. Houfy provides the technology only and never accesses or holds the funds — the charge runs through your own connected processor.

Turn it on with the Accept automatic payments toggle under Connected payments. It activates for all your listings, and you can opt individual listings out afterwards.

An automatic charge only runs when all three of these are true:

1. You have activated the feature.

2. The listing has not been opted out.

3. The guest consented at the time of booking.

If any one of them is not met, the guest gets a manual payment reminder instead — nothing is silently skipped.

One thing to watch: if you change your connected payment processor while a booking still has scheduled automatic payments, those remaining charges will not process automatically. You will need to collect the outstanding amount manually. Check for upcoming instalments before you switch processors.

What Houfy charges

Houfy takes 0% commission on your booking revenue. Payments go straight into your own processor account and Houfy never holds them.

There are three things you may still pay Houfy, all separate from that:

• A one-time $5.99 host verification fee.

• A Lite or Premium subscription, only if you choose one - the Free plan accepts payments.

• An API usage charge of 5% of the pre-tax booking subtotal. This one applies ONLY if the listing was imported from a channel manager or PMS (Hostaway, Hostfully, Lodgify, OwnerRez or Rentals United) AND you have a payment processor connected. It shows on the booking as a line called API usage charge, and it can be billed to the guest or to you - you choose the payer when you confirm the booking. If you have no processor connected there is no API usage charge at all, which is why it starts appearing the moment you connect one.

Your payment processor charges its own card-processing fee. That goes to Stripe, Square or PayPal, not to Houfy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Houfy hold my money?

No. Payments go straight into your connected Stripe, Square or PayPal account. Houfy facilitates the technology and never accesses or holds funds.

Can I use PayPal?

Yes — PayPal is one of the three connect options under Connected payments.

How long until the money reaches my bank?

That is set by your processor, not Houfy. Check your payout schedule in Stripe, Square or PayPal.

Can different properties pay into different accounts?

Yes — use Routing Rules under Connected payments.

What if a guest's automatic payment does not go through?

The guest receives a manual payment reminder instead. You can also send a payment request yourself.

Do I need a paid plan to accept payments?

No. Direct payments to your own account are included on the Free plan.

Does Houfy take a cut of my booking?

No commission. The one booking-linked charge is the 5% API usage charge, and it applies only to listings imported from a channel manager or PMS once you have a processor connected. Listings created directly on Houfy never carry it.