In this article, you’ll learn about the concept of a Credit Card Hold, how it works, and how to use it effectively to secure your reservations.
Summary
- How to define your default settings
- At the time of an online reservation
- When manually creating a reservation
- On an existing reservation
- Common issues & FAQ
What You Need to Know
The Credit Card Hold is a system that allows you to secure your reservations by asking clients to provide a payment hold (a predefined amount set in your settings) when making a booking. You’ll be able to charge this amount as compensation if a client doesn’t show up or cancels too late.
🔑 Credit Card Hold is not available on the Reserve plan. It is included in the Grow plan, and it is available as an add-on to the Manage plan. If you're on Manage, please go here for information on how to activate this add-on.
1. How to define your default settings
Before requesting a Credit Card Hold, you can define your default settings by going to Settings > Pay > Credit Card Holds in the web app.
From here, you can set the default configuration for Credit Card Holds across your services, as well as manage out-of-service reservations. In particular, you can choose the amount to be requested per guest.
2. At the time of an online reservation
Make sure you’ve activated the Credit Card Hold by following this article.
When a guest makes a reservation through your online module, and the number of guests exceeds the threshold you’ve defined, they will see the following message after choosing a time slot:
"A Credit Card Hold is required for this booking. It’s necessary to confirm the reservation but will only be charged in the case of a no-show or a late cancellation."
"According to the restaurant’s general terms, any cancellation after DD/MM/YYYY at 00:00 or a no-show may result in a charge of ..€."
In this case, your guests will need to enter their bank details directly via your booking module. Without this, they won’t be able to complete their request. Once the Credit Card Hold is provided, the reservation will appear in your Zenchef reservation book with the Confirmed status.
3. When manually creating a reservation
You can request a Credit Card Hold when manually entering reservations in your Zenchef account (web app, iOS or Android). Here’s how:
Fill out the form as usual, and when you get to the Payment section, select the “Credit Card Hold” option. Click Save.
Your client will receive a notification by email or SMS (based on the contact info provided and your notification settings)
The message will include a payment link and a request to place a Credit Card Hold to validate the reservation
The booking will remain with the status “Wt. customer” and will only be marked Confirmed once the guest provides the imprint.
Note: Be sure to collect the guest’s email if you haven’t activated SMS notifications for payment links.
4. On an existing reservation
You can also request a Credit Card Hold from an existing reservation:
Go to the relevant reservation and click the reservation status button (Confirmed), then from the Contextual Actions menu, select “Request a Credit Card Hold"
Alternatively -- from the web app, iOS or Android -- you can also simply click on the reservation and click "Request a Credit Card Hold"
The guest will receive an email or SMS asking them to place the Credit Card Hold to confirm their booking
While waiting for the guest to submit the imprint, the booking will appear as “Wt. customer” in your dashboard (the number of seats will still be deducted from your availability)
Once the Credit Card is submitted, the guest will automatically receive a reservation confirmation email
5. Common Issues & FAQ
Common Issues
The guest didn’t receive the Credit Card Hold request.
Make sure the email address or phone number is correct.
Check that email or SMS notifications are enabled in your settings.I can’t charge the guest after a no-show.
Ensure that the cancellation policy you set allows charges in case of no-shows
Verify that the guest did indeed place a bank imprint.
In some cases, the bank imprint may not be recoverable. See this article for more info.
FAQ
How do I release a Credit Card Hold?
The Credit Card Hold will be released automatically after the client’s visit. You can also release it manually from the relevant reservation by clicking the action button and selecting “Release Credit Card Hold”. The guest will receive a notification once the Credit Card Hold has been released.How do I refund a client after charging them?
Go to the relevant reservation and click the “Refund charge” action button.