Save on service fees by booking direct on Houfy.

These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results, and you should plan your route accordingly. You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route.

As a security deposit alternative, houfyProtect, an upfront nonrefundable low cost property damage protection policy for just $5 per night, is taken at time of booking.

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Many of you are wondering whether Stripe or Square is better for your Houfy business.  This will depend on several factors and each owners' individual needs.  I've compiled a summary of the differences I've learned about each.  

 additional features (free and paid).  I can't even begin to list them all.  You can learn more details about those on their websites though.  For now, I'll just cover the main points that relate to Houfy reservations. 

FREE!  Both Stripe and Square have no signup fees.  No contracts.  No termination fees.  If you don't like them, cancel any time. 



How quickly will I receive the guest payment?

Right away!  Well, technically as soon as Square and Stripe deposit the funds into your bank account.  Although both are payment options connected to Houfy, $$$ only passes between you and the guest.  

 of booking.  This makes it easy for your guests to pay online at the same time they are making a reservation.  No need to first accept the booking request, and then later send a separate payment invoice.  This is the payout schedule for both companies:

:  Within 1-2 business days, no matter which country the payment is coming from.  This schedule applies to all Square account holders. 

:  Unless your business is considered to be a "high risk" industry, below are the general payout times.  Note:  the first payment may take between 7-10 business days. 

 about Stripe's payout schedules, and even how to customize your payout time.  

:  When your invoices are paid, you will be sent a daily deposit summary at 5 p.m. Pacific time (by default) - Unless you have customized your "close of day" time for a different hour.  If for some reason you are not receiving these notifications, double check your settings. Log into dashboard, click "Account & Settings" icon.  Scroll to "email notifications," and from there you can select which notifications you'd like to receive.   

:   Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.  Sign up 

 to receive notifications as new countries are added, or request an invite.   

:  U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia.  

If you process over $250,000 annually, contact each company's sales dept. for a quote.  Both companies accept all major credit cards:  Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, JCB, and UnionPay.

:  Same as above plus an additional 1% conversion fee, and a 1% international card fee may apply.  Read about 

 about other U.S. non-credit card payment methods.

Online invoices (including international)

:  2.9% plus .30 cents per transaction.  Your customer may pay a conversion fee to their bank.  

 about in-person card payments and rates.

Some Houfy members (including Thijs) are having the guest make a small credit card deposit at the time of booking, then collecting the balance by check or transfer.  This keeps fees to a minimum.  It also prevents a guest from blocking your calendar while that check never arrives in the mail.  And the guest has now put some $$$ down to secure the reservation.  Here are 

:

At this time, the option to have guests pay by E-check or ACH debit is not available.  Other Square users have requested this, and will update if/when I receive notice. 

Hopefully you'll never have a chargeback.  But just in case, here is a quick overview:



Chargeback fee is $15.  If you win the dispute, you are reimbursed the chargeback fee.   



No fee if a customer files a chargeback, even if you lose the dispute.  For those of you who receive a lot of transactions equaling $250 or less, you may benefit from their free chargeback protection program.  Many home shares and one night stays will qualify.  Transactions amounts over $250 

The protection program does come with some limitations.  As long as the amount in dispute is no more than $250, you've followed Square's payment "best practices," 

 responded to the dispute sufficiently... you'll be covered up to $250 a month, even if the dispute is not ruled in your favor.  This is not a month to month carry forward policy.  Read 

Can I accept payment while traveling abroad?



Yes. As long as you have Square or Stripe connected to Houfy, you are good to go!  If you 

:  You can generate invoices from any location.

 in the country where you activated your account.  For in-person card payments using the Square app, your location is tracked by GPS.  If you are sending invoices through your Square dashboard, then location is tracked by your IP address.  When you connect to Houfy there shouldn't be any issues, as the cardholder entering payment info is considered to be generating the invoice rather than you.

How will refunds affect my cancellation policy?  

 to consider your cancellation policy when choosing a processor.  For those of you who have a NO refund policy, this likely won't affect you.  However, the rest of you keep reading...especially if you offer guests a cancellation window!

 reimbursed back to you when refunding guests. 

 within 120 days of the original transaction date.  Outside of that time frame, you will need to process refunds outside of Square.  

So if you plan to accept a refundable damage deposit, be sure 

 reimbursed back to your account when refunding guests.  There is 

 on applying a refund back to a guest's credit card; however, the more time that passes, the likelihood the card has expired, etc.  Stripe recommends first contacting the guest (to see if anything has changed) if at least 6 months have passed.  Payments that underwent currency conversion will be converted back during the refund process. 

Both companies offer online and phone support; however, you will need to sign up for a free account before you can receive phone assistance from either company.  You can create a Square account by clicking on 

.  Both of us will save processing fees of $1,000 within the next 180 days.  

 click my link before signing up in order to save the fees.  

When you call Square you will hear a recording asking for you to enter your customer code in order to access a phone representative.  Log in to your Square dashboard and click 

.   You will now see your customer code and it will 

 remain the same.  Keep it in a safe place as it identifies your account.  

:  No public phone number.  They will call you immediately, but you first need to log into your dashboard to request a phone call.  

After you create a free Stripe account, click on the "open book" icon in the top right corner.  There will be a drop down menu to select support.  Scroll to the bottom and click on "contact us." From there you can choose to have a rep. call you.  Fill out the short info and you will be presented 2 codes.  One code is what the rep will repeat when they call you.  The other code is for you to repeat back to the rep.  It's usually very fast.  I called 3x within the past few days and Stripe called me in about one minute. 

Once you are signed up for Stripe or Square, you can now "connect" your account to Houfy.  Follow the screenshots in the link below.

We have connected Stripe and Square on Houfy for you to receive direct deposits & payments from your Guests. This will only work if your listing is verified by us. Of course!

Houfy and accepting Direct Payments with Stripe or Square

Be sure your accepted payment methods are reflected on your listing.

Log into your dashboard. Click on profile pic in upper right corner. Then click My Listings.

How do I update payment methods?

Should I use Stripe or Square for credit cards?

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Houfy provides an easy to use, unique and enhanced experience to list or find vacation rental properties without "service" fees or communication restrictions. 
Our mission is to connect people and places directly.

Should I use Stripe or Square for credit cards?

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