How reservations work

Stripe and Square users both have 48 hours to accept a Pending Direct booking before it expires.

There is a preauthorization on the guest's credit card which expires after 48 hours. You have to actually capture the funds by accepting the booking request.

Unlike most platforms where you don't get paid till guest check-in, Houfy does not interfere in your payment transactions. All transactions pass between you and your guest only. As such, hosts choose their own forms of payment acceptance: check, Square, Stripe, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, bank transfer, etc. It's entirely up to you.

For those who would like travelers to book and pay on Houfy with credit card (just like they would book and pay on other sites), you need to connect one of Houfy's integrated processors (Square and Stripe). You'll still have the option to accept/decline the booking request, as "instant book" is not available.

Even though Stripe and Square are integrated with Houfy, the payments only pass between you and your guest. They never pass through Houfy's bank account.

If you prefer not to connect Stripe or Square, just fill out your listing's payment policies section and check off the payment methods accepted.

Can travelers just send me an inquiry if they are not ready to book?

Of course! Travelers can send hosts an inquiry, send a question via the contact host button, or use the email/phone info (if made public) shown on a host's profile. A text and email notification will be sent from Houfy.

Set up online payments

Create your free Square or Stripe account directly on Houfy. Here is a brief comparison guide of Square and Stripe.
Be sure to connect your Stripe or Square account to Houfy.

Once you have a Square or Stripe account connected to Houfy, travelers can enter dates and pay with credit card.

The host receives a "pending booking request" via text and email, with option to accept/decline. After accepting the pending booking request, the dates will automatically be blocked on your Houfy calendar.

Accepting payment outside of Houfy

Travelers can send an inquiry and you will arrange payment however you wish. Once you have decided to proceed with the booking, you can click "mark as confirmed" on the inquiry. This does two things:

Blocks the dates on your Houfy calendar.
Lets Houfy know you received a booking even though payment is being made outside of the platform.

Yes. Once the owner "accepts" a reservation request the host and the guest will receive an e-mail from Houfy. (Below an example of 10$ paid through stripe)

Does the host receive a confirmation that the guest paid?

Do the guest and host receive a message when second paid was paid?

Yes:

Host e-mail:

Guest e-mail:

Note: if you have payment connected to Houfy, you always have the option to send a payment request in reply to an inquiry.

If a traveler sends an inquiry (not a pending direct booking) and you would like to move forward with the reservation, you can click Mark as confirmed. This will do four things:

Block the the reservation dates while you handle payment outside of Houfy.
Export the blocked dates to your synced calendars.
Send an email reservation confirmation to both guest and host.
Lets Houfy know you received a booking.

Select Confirmed from the drop down.