How should I take payment?

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
smallblondehippy
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:14 pm

How should I take payment?

Post by smallblondehippy »

Advice needed from the Hive Mind!

My rental cottage in the Peak District is almost ready to go. We bought it back in October (perfect timing eh?) and have spent the winter renovating it seeing as it wasn't able to be open. We are aiming to be up and running when the restrictions are lifted at the end of May.

After much thought about how to market, I think we are going to go with:

Independent Cottages
Own Website
Facebook Page
Cleaning company for changeovers

Does this sound reasonable for someone in their first year with no clue what they are doing?

For those of you who take your own bookings, what payment system do you use? I'm okay with Paypal but wanted to look at other options too.

Thank you in advance!
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Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

If you use PMP (promotemyplace) for your site then you get basic guest management software and credit card processing thrown in.

I use Stripe linked to my PMP website which works like a dream and is a lot cheaper than PayPal. As an owner I would never use PayPal to accept payment as in the event of a dispute they tend to side with the guest and they also have form for delaying payout for up to 6 months.

You can get much more sophisticated guest management systems but they aren't cheap and as a new business it really pays to look hard at your outgoings initially. Although each my look small they soon add up!

You can always upgrade if/when necessary. I started out with a "better" guest system but as a single property owner using the same sources you are it was way more than I needed and I had a better use for the money.
Joanna
Posts: 1091
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:12 pm
Location: Chester, North West England & Sidmouth, East Devon
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Post by Joanna »

We used to use PayPal but it got expensive and took a long time to send us the money. We now use Stripe for card payments which is much better value and we also take bank transfers and even cheques as long as there's at least a month before the booking. Amazingly some people still prefer to send a cheque! That probably says a lot about our market.

We use PIMS to manage our bookings - it's reasonably priced and links with Stripe so the booking form takes guests to a payment link. It also makes it almost impossible to get the dreaded double bookings. If you wanted to use PIMS I can send you a code which will get you an extra 3 months on your first year's subs. You can check out PIMS here:
https://www.holidayrentalmanagement.com/

I can't remember which level of subs include the card payment links. However, the basic level with availability calendar might be enough to start with - the calendar works in your own site and can be shared with other listing sites so you know your availability is always up to date everywhere.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
SusanMay
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:23 pm
Location: Dorset

Post by SusanMay »

I have a query form on my website where a guest selects method of payment. Cheques are very rare these days, some people like bank transfer so I just email my details back if they select this option, and the vast majority select card payment. Using Stripe I send them an email invoice which enables them to click on a link to pay online. I do this from the Stripe website. Setting up a Stripe account, invoice template etc. is easy. The fees are a little better than Paypal, 1.6% a transaction I think.

If you want to take immediate online payments as part of the booking process, then, as mentioned above, there's PMP (if you are using it to create your website) and PIMS (a booking system created by a LMH member and very highly rated on this forum). There are also lots of different options where you sign up, set up and then embed the booking and payment system in your website, Booklet, Supercontrol, Ownersrez to name a few. They are all subscription based, apart from Freetobook. Google them to see demos and pricing if you are interested.

If you are creating your website in Wordpress you can buy a booking plugin. I've very recently bitten the bullet and purchased HBook. I'm quite pleased so far, it's a bit clunky to set up but there are lots of ways to set pricing and booking rules and the usual availability calendar and online booking and payment integrating with Stripe. It has the advantage that there is a one-off payment to purchase. I haven't gone live with it - the invoicing method seems to work fine, you get to double check no double booking, and I've got my summer bookings in place already - but I probably will as there is a perception that people want to book and pay instantly these days. It's difficult to know if you're losing bookings because instant booking is not in place.

Good luck!
smallblondehippy
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:14 pm

Post by smallblondehippy »

Thank you everyone, that's very helpful.
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