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How to set up downpayment

Updated

You can enable the option to collect downpayments only for your direct bookings and certain platforms such as VRBO and Book.GuestReady.

This allows guests, at the time of booking, to choose whether they want to pay the full amount or only part of the reservation. If they choose to pay a deposit, they will pay:

  • An initial amount

  • The remaining balance X days before arrival

Once downpayments are configured, RentalReady allows you to automate payment reminders for the remaining balance.

 

Step 1: Configure downpayments

You can configure downpayments either at the property manager level and/or at the property level.

 

Property manager level

You can activate downpayment for all your properties at once.

To do so, contact RentalReady Support and request activation. You will need to provide:

  • The platform you wish to activate downpayment for

  • The downpayment percentage guests must pay at the time of booking. It is expressed as a value between 0 and 1, where 1 = 100% (e.g., for 25%, enter 0.25).

  • The number of days before the reservation start date when the balance must be paid

 

Property level

You can activate deposits only for specific properties or apply a different deposit percentage.

From the property page, click on Edit

Go to the Price tab, then to the DownPayment section

Complete the form:

  • For the selected platform, edit the first portion guests must pay at booking (value between 0 and 1; e.g., 0.25 for 25%)

  • Edit the number of days before arrival when the balance must be paid

Click Save

 

Direct booking website

If you have a RentalReady direct booking website, make sure to check the option to activate deposits.

 

Step 2: Configure downpayment reminders

From the main menu, go to Configuration > Offices

In the Actions column, click … > Guest Notification Triggers

Complete the form:

  • Edit the number of days before arrival to request the downpayment

  • Edit the number of days before arrival to request the balance payment

Click Submit to save

 

Step 3: Create guest notifications

To automatically send guests the downpayment request and the balance reminder, you must create two new guest notification templates:

  • One for the deposit payment (linked to the trigger DOWNPAYMENT). This will only be sent if you manually create a reservation. For direct bookings made through your website or a platform, guests must pay the deposit to confirm the reservation

  • One for the balance payment (linked to the trigger DOWNPAYMENT_REMINDER).

 

đź’ˇ Tips

When creating the templates, we recommend adding the following details:

  • Sending method: Guest’s personal email

  • Content: Include the appropriate variables so the outstanding balance amount appears in the message the guest receives.

Example of content
Hello {{ guest_first_name }},

To finalise your booking, please complete the payment for {{ reservation_payment_current_instalment.amount_remaining }}.

{{ reservation_payment_page }}

------------------------------------------
{% if arrival_date|date:'Y' == departure_date|date:'Y' %}
{{ arrival_date|date:'j F' }} - {{ departure_date|date:'j F Y' }}
{% else %}
{{ arrival_date|date:'j F Y' }} - {{ departure_date|date:'j F Y' }}
{% endif %}
------------------------------------------
{{ "Accommodation"|ljust:"24" }}  {{ reservation_price_before_fees|rjust:"16" }}
{% for fee in reservation_fees %}
{{ fee.label|ljust:"24" }}  {{ fee.amount|rjust:"16" }}
{% endfor %}
------------------------------------------
{% for payment in reservation_payment_instalments %}
{% with due_date=payment.due_date|date %}
{% if forloop.first %}
{{ "First payment"|ljust:"24" }}
{% else %}
{{ "Due "|add:due_date|ljust:"24" }}
{% endif %}
  {% if payment.paid %}
{{ payment.amount|rjust:"16" }} âś”
{% else %}
{{ payment.amount_remaining|rjust:"16" }}
{% endif %}
{% endwith %}
{% endfor %}

 

Add the guest notification rules

Add the guest notification rules for the platforms you activated downpayment for. 

Use these triggers:

  • DOWNPAYMENT: for the deposit payment. This will only be sent if you manually create a reservation. For direct bookings made through your website or a platform, guests must pay the deposit to confirm the reservation
  • DOWNPAYMENT_REMINDER: for the balance payment

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