How to Set a Deposit

There are two ways you're able to collect funds when a guest places a reservation online - you can either check "Automatically for online?" in the Payment tab of the settings, which will require guests to pay the invoice in its entirety upon completion of their online reservation or you can set a deposit for guests to pay upon completion of their online reservation. 

Which way a campground decides to collect funds when a guest places an online reservation is entirely up to that campground; however we do see a few different reasoning behind each choice. Some campgrounds prefer to know that if an online reservation has come in, it's been paid in its entirety and they do not have to worry about collecting payment upon guest arrival - this has also shown to encourage better communication from guests around cancellations, these campgrounds would want to check "Automatically for online?". While, we see other parks prefer to collect a deposit when an online reservation is made as a way to encourage interaction with their guests upon arrival and/or to allow a bit more flexibility around cancellations during their busy seasons where they may see more cancellations, these campgrounds would want to set a deposit in the Deposits tab. Neither choice is etched in stone and can be adjusted throughout the season depending on what makes the most sense at the time.

Note: If you want more information about the "Automatically for online?" setting, click here.

Getting Started: To set a deposit, first go into your campground settings by either clicking the campground name in the upper left hand corner or by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner and selecting "Settings" from the drop down menu. Once in the settings, scroll down and select the Deposits tab.

Once you have clicked into the Deposits tab, you'll want to select "Automatically collect a deposit" if you'd like to collect a deposit at the time the guest places an online reservation. There are three different types of deposits: percentage of total, fixed deposit value, or first night's rate.

Percentage of Total: If selected, you'll be asked to enter a percentage of the entire invoice that you'd like to collect as a deposit. For example, if the invoice amount is $100 and the percentage of total deposit is set to 30%, the deposit amount for this reservation would be $30.

Fixed Deposit Value: If selected, you'll be asked to enter a fixed dollar amount that you would like to collect for a deposit, regardless of invoice size. For example, if the fixed deposit value is set to $40, a reservation invoice for $50 or $500 would pay the same $40 deposit.

First Night's Rate: If selected, the deposit amount will be whatever the first night's rate is for the site type that the guest chose. For example, if the site the guest selected has a nightly rate of $100, they would pay a $100 deposit; if the nightly rate is $40, they would pay a $40 deposit.

Once you've chosen the type of deposit you would like to collect, you'll decide if you want to include tax in the deposit, then click "Save".