In this article, you’ll learn about the concept of a Credit Card Hold (payment hold), how it works, and how to use it effectively to secure your reservations.
Contents
At the time of an online reservation
When creating a reservation from your Zenchef dashboard
On an existing reservation
Common cases & FAQs
Support & Related articles
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.
To learn how to configure the Credit Card Hold, see this article: How to activate the credit card guarantee on my services?
1. At the Time of an Online Reservation
Make sure you’ve activated the Credit Card Hold by following this article.
When a client 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 clients 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.
2. When Creating a Reservation from Your Zenchef Dashboard
You can request a Credit Card Hold when manually entering reservations in your Zenchef account. Here’s how:
Fill in the reservation details as usual until you reach the Save button
Click the small arrow next to the Save button
Select the “Credit Card Hold ” option from the form submission menu
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 “Pending client” and will only be marked Confirmed once the client provides the imprint.
Note: Be sure to collect the client’s email if you haven’t activated SMS notifications for payment links.
3. On an Existing Reservation
You can also request a Credit Card Hold from an existing reservation in your Zenchef reservation book:
Go to the relevant reservation and click the action button (next to the status)
Click “Request a Credit Card Hold ”
The client will receive an email or SMS asking them to place the Credit Card Hold to confirm their booking
While waiting for the client to submit the imprint, the booking will appear as “Pending client” in your dashboard (the number of seats will still be deducted from your availability)
Once the Credit Card is submitted, the client will automatically receive a reservation confirmation email
4. Common Cases & FAQs
Common Issues
The client 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 client after a no-show.
Ensure that the cancellation policy you set allows charges in case of no-shows
Verify that the client did indeed place a bank imprint
In some cases, the bank imprint may not be recoverable. See this article for more info: Everything you need to know about Credit Card Hold & prepayments
FAQs
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”.
How do I refund a client after charging them?
Go to the relevant reservation and click the “Refund charge” action button.
5. Support & Related Articles
Contact our support team
If you need further assistance, feel free to contact Zenchef Support via the chatbot available in your client area or by visiting our Help Center.