Refunds aren't issued automatically in Guesty upon cancellation, but you can issue a refund manually. Funds return to the original payment method, even if the credit card is expired.
Payment processors carry out refunds immediately. Once you click Issue refund, the action can't be reversed.
Important:
Issuing a refund on a reservation that wasn't canceled results in a balance due. To keep the folio accurate, adjust the guest folio items after issuing the refund. This prevents discrepancies in the financial summary.
Payments processed through Guesty must be refunded in the Guesty account. The refund value must be greater than 1.00.
Notes and limitations
Airbnb: Handle refunds for Airbnb reservations through the Airbnb Resolution Center. Once a resolution is closed, it syncs to Guesty as a line item in the guest folio.
Booking.com: Refund payments made with a Virtual Credit Card (VCC) on the Booking.com Extranet.
GuestyPay: To process a refund, your GuestyPay balance must be sufficient to cover the amount. Learn more about handling refunds with an insufficient balance.
Multiple payments: When refunding multiple payments for one guest, refund each payment individually. For example, if a guest made two payments of 50 USD, issue two separate refunds.
Accounting by Guesty: After processing a refund, check if the guest folio requires manual updates to reflect the change.
Issue a refund
Follow the steps below to return funds to a guest's original payment method.
Step by step:
- Sign in to your Guesty account.
- In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Financials mode.
- Click Reservations.
- Click the relevant reservation.
- At the top right, click Balance due or Payout.
- Under "Payments", click Issue refund next to the relevant payment.
- In the pop-up, verify the amount and click Issue refund.
Issue a recorded payment refund
To issue a refund for a recorded payment, click Mark as refunded on the right. You can edit this recorded refund later if necessary.
Understand the refund process
Once you issue a refund in Guesty, the request is sent to the payment processor immediately. Guests typically receive the funds within 5–10 business days, depending on their bank.
This timeframe applies to all payment processors supported by Guesty, such as Stripe, Hyp, Merchant Warrior, and GuestyPay. Learn more about payment processors.
Refunds to expired credit cards
Refunds must be sent to the original credit card used for the charge. If the card is expired, the guest's card issuer usually redirects the funds to the guest's replacement card or account.
Handling balances due after refunds
The balance due is the total payout minus the amount collected. When you issue a refund, you decrease the collected amount, which increases the balance due.
If you don't intend to collect the refunded money again, decrease the total payout to balance the folio by adjusting the accommodation fare.
Recording refunds processed outside of Guesty
If you refund a guest through means outside of the Guesty system, such as cash, and want to record it on a reservation originally processed through Guesty, contact us with the transaction details.
