Virtual Credit Cards (VCCs) are a secure payment method provided by booking channels, such as Booking.com and Expedia Connect, to protect a guest's personal credit card details. When a guest pays for a reservation, the booking channel collects the payment and sends it to you via a VCC.
VCC details appear on the reservation page in your Guesty account just like a standard credit card. Each VCC has a specific activation and expiration date set by the channel, and the card can only be charged within this window.
Note:
This information applies only to VCCs received from Booking.com and Expedia Connect. For VCCs from other channels, Guesty charges the full reservation balance at check-in.
Charging VCCs from Booking.com and Expedia Connect
Guesty uses the exact loaded amount and activation date provided by the booking channel to process the payment successfully.
For VCCs from these two channels:
Guesty charges the exact amount provided by the channel rather than the reservation balance.
Guesty waits until the activation date to initiate the charge.
Best practices
To ensure a VCC is charged automatically on or after the activation date with the correct amount, use payment automations to process the charge. If you prefer to charge the VCC manually, process the payment at least 24 hours after check-in.
Important:
Charging the VCC before the activation date, after the expiration date, or for a higher amount than the loaded value results in a failed payment or an "Invalid card" error.
Limitations on altered reservations
VCC activation dates are static. If a reservation date changes to an earlier stay, the card activation date doesn't automatically sync to the new date.
Follow the steps below to manage a VCC for a modified reservation:
Step by step:
Contact the booking channel directly to obtain the payment details manually.
Advise the channel that the system hasn't recognized the push update for the new activation date.
Manually create a new payment within the reservation using the collected details to process the charge.
Limitations on VCCs for Booking.com security deposits and authorization holds
A Booking.com VCC is a single-use, temporary digital card that Booking.com preloads with the exact rental amount for a reservation. You can charge this card for the reservation payment on or after the activation date provided by Booking.com.
However, a Booking.com VCC is designed only for the cost of the rental itself. It can't be used to authorize or hold a security deposit or authorization hold. This is a policy set by Booking.com, as the VCC is not the guest's personal payment card and does not have funds available beyond the reservation's value. Attempting to charge a security deposit to a Booking.com VCC will fail or create a pending charge that never processes.
Understand the difference between an authorization hold and a security deposit.
Collecting security deposits for Booking.com reservations
To collect a security deposit for a Booking.com reservation, use Booking.com's own damage deposit program. This process is managed directly in the Booking.com extranet, where Booking.com collects the deposit from the guest's personal card on your behalf.
Set up this process before the reservation is made. Learn more about setting up a listing's security deposit in Guesty.
Follow the steps below to set up the damage deposit policy in Booking.com.
Step by step:
- Sign in to your Booking.com Extranet account.
- In the navigation bar, navigate to the "Property" section.
- Select Policies.
- In the "Damage deposit" section, configure the collection.