Understand no-show fees and pre-payments
See how guests register a card or pay in advance when they book, and where you control it.
You can ask guests to register a card, so you can charge a no show fee, or to pay in advance. This article explains how it works from the guest's side and where you set it up.
You need a payment provider connected to your company to take cards. If you don't see payment options when you create a booking, ask Dineout support.
No show fee
With a no show fee, the guest registers a card when they book. Nothing is charged at that point. If they don't come, you can charge the fee.
You can turn it on in two ways:
- For all online bookings: fill in No show fee per guest in Online booking settings.
- For certain guests or times only: add a No show criteria to a rule. You can limit it by number of guests and by time. See Availability rules.
The amount you can charge is the fee per guest times the number of guests on the booking.
When a card is registered, the booking shows a Card registered icon. See Read the booking icons.
To charge the fee, see Charge a no-show fee.
Pre-payment
With a pre-payment, the guest pays when they book.
You can ask for it on:
- A menu. Set Payment type to Pre-payment, or Optional pre-payment if the guest can choose. See Menus guests choose when booking.
- An event. See Create an event.
Prices can be per person or per booking. When the guest has paid, the booking shows a paid icon, and Dineout sets the booking to Confirmed.
While the guest is booking
An online booking that needs a card or payment is kept on Hold while the guest finishes. If they don't finish in time, the hold runs out and the table is released. See Booking statuses explained.
Ask a guest to pay later
If you take a booking by phone, you can send the guest a link to register a card or pay. See Send a payment link.