using paypal & charges

How to communicate with your potential renters - how to turn site visitors into enquiries, and enquiries into bookings.
dublin13
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using paypal & charges

Post by dublin13 »

at the moment all our booking deposits and payments are coming through bank transfers. was thinking of setting up paypal. what do you do about the charges? do you charge extra to the renter or take the hit on the charges? im only looking at paypal because we have had few enquiries who were interested asked for payment details then no contact at all from them. thought paypal might make them pay up a bit quicker especially with credit cards
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yourlamanga
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Post by yourlamanga »

We have recently added a Paypal option to our website. I can take a telephone card payment using my agent's payment system but at the moment most of my renters are Spanish and while I can order in a restaurant and exchange a few words face to face in Spanish I can't manage a credit card payment on the phone so decided to implement Paypal for those who wish to pay by card. I took our first Paypal booking last week and lost 14 euros on a 250 euro payment. Initially I was against passing on the charges but I'm now thinking of finding out the percentage Paypal are taking and adding half of this to my charges for renters paying by Paypal. I don't know if this is reasonable or not. :?
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Don Ciccio
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Post by Don Ciccio »

Bank Transfers seem so much more favourable and cheap!, though I can see why some people want the added insurance/security of transacting the booking through their card.

We too now offer Paypal as an option but were shocked to find out how much they take for each transaction. Now we are re-writing our literature to state that we will charge them half of the percentage we pay to Paypal for the transaction. I do think this is fair as they are getting peace of mind.

If you get the guest to send the money as a gift there is no fee for anyone. But guests aren't likely to do that are they?

However, do be aware that with Paypal they can withold or reverse the transaction even after the money has been transferred to your paypal account.

Search 'Paypal' on the forum for the other threads on this.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

I'd look elsewhere if someone added on the Paypal charges to my payment. I'd absorb it into the advertised price.
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

You can't send money as a gift without charge if you use a credit card to pay though, only if you fund it from your account balance or do an instant transfer. I absorb the Paypal charges myself, but I have used PP from the start, and calculated my prices to incorporate them.
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christinedavid
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Post by christinedavid »

I know I'm always harping on about it, but I use Rentalsystems for my bookings, which means I can accept credit/debit cards and am only charged 2% + VAT. It's cheaper than PayPal, which is 3.4% + 20p.
You will put people off if you charge them extra for PayPal fees, but they are used to paying credit card fees for holiday bookings anyway.
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Mountain Goat
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Post by Mountain Goat »

Christine,

How do RentalSystems deal with guest cancellations - are they your terms or theirs?

And when do they pay the owner the deposit, rental etc.?

Neither of the above appear to be answered on your website, but I'm sure we must have discussed it before.

MG
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christinedavid
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Post by christinedavid »

Hello MG
They are my terms. You can set up the auto cancellation after as many days as you wish.Unfortunately you can't set it so that they have to pay the deposit at the time of booking.
If a guest chooses to cancel after they've paid their deposit, they forfeit the whole deposit. This is standard on Rentalsystems, as it is across the whole travel industry.
You can draw your money from the third day of their holiday, free. Or, you can draw it at any time and pay a surcharge of 1.5% if it's less than a month since it was paid, or 1% if it's more than a month.
No, these things are not on my website.Renters are told about the deadline for paying their deposit when they book.
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Mountain Goat
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Post by Mountain Goat »

Sorry, Christine, I meant their website, not yours for the small print on cancellations.

Thanks for the details. Just one query - with lost deposits, would you receive that, or RentalSystems? And would there be an option to apply it to a future booking instead?

MG
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

So 2% to accept cards plus 1.5% to withdraw the money equals 3.5%. Remind me why it's cheaper than paypal? With some bookings being made 12 months in advance, I don't think my cashflow could stand not having access to the money
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Mountain Goat
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Post by Mountain Goat »

Plus 17.5% VAT, Helen, on RentalSystems' charges, that's over 4% in total.

I'm not 100% a fan of PayPal, but the ability to accept several difference currencies, and switch balances between them is useful.

We also use the invoice generator gadget all the time, allowing one to have 10 invoice templates for customers to pay securely online. And being online means we can generate the invoices anytime/anywhere.

MG
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

MG, I'm not 100% in favour of PP either, but it is the best I can get, with low income, French banks wouldn't give me a merchant account, and I would not get the low rate that LV, for example, gets with her Paybox account.
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christinedavid
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Post by christinedavid »

MG, you get the deposit when they cancel, not Rentalsystems.
HelenB, it depends on individual circumstances. I don't have a cashflow problem so only draw my money early if I can get more in interest than it costs me to withdraw it.
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

I dont have one either but would do if I had to wait for up to 12 months to receive payments . Deposits pay the bills in low season
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