💡 Automated payments is only available with Little Hotelier Pay.
What are automated payments?
Automated payments is a Little Hotelier Pay feature that lets you set up automatic charges for your guest reservations. Each payment rule has specific conditions that determine which reservation it applies to.
Supported channels and payment methods
Automated payments can process reservations from the following sources:
Channel | Payment types and notes |
Little Hotelier Front Desk | All accepted cards, including mobile app reservations |
Direct Booking | All accepted cards |
Booking.com | Standard cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) |
Agoda | Standard cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) |
Expedia | Standard cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) |
Hotelbeds | Standard cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) Note: Not supported in Luxembourg, Slovenia, or Slovakia. |
Channels Plus | Standard cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) |
Available payment rules
You can schedule automated payments to trigger at the following times:
Prior to check-in: Charged a specific number of days before the check-in date.
Check-in day: Charged on the check-in date at a specific time.
Check-out day: Charged on the check-out date at a specific time.
Note: Automated payment rules cannot be triggered at the "Time of booking". Deposits collected immediately at the time of booking must be handled separately in Direct booking or set up with the OTA channel directly.
How credit cards and virtual credit cards (VCCs) are processed with automated payments
The way a card is processed with automated payments depends on the card type:
Standard credit cards are validated at the time of booking. If a card cannot be validated, the Automated payment will fail and you will need to request a different card from the guest and process the payment manually
Virtual credit cards (VCCs) are pre‑validated by the booking channel and can only be charged once. When a reservation is paid by VCC and matches an Automated payment rule, the rule will automatically charge the full VCC balance on or after the card’s activation date. In some cases, the VCC balance may be lower than the total reservation amount, so any remaining balance must be collected manually from the guest using another accepted payment method
Create a payment rule
Navigate to Payments > Automated payments
Click Create a rule
Follow the step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Configure payment rule
Select when to charge the payment using the dropdown lists in the Payment action section.
Step 2: Rule settings
Select the booking channels this rule should apply to and if you want to apply a surcharge. The rule triggers when reservations come through any of your selected channels.
Step 3: Review and activate
Review all settings before activation, as they cannot be modified afterwards. The payment rule becomes active immediately upon confirmation.
Manage payment rules
To view and manage your rules:
Navigate to Payments > Automated payments > Manage rules
Filter rules by status (Active or Archived)
Click View on any rule to see its detailed summary, including:
Creation date
Conditions
Payment actions
Examples of automated payment rules
Here are common automated payment rule configurations:
Pre-arrival payment
Criteria: 7 days before check-in
Time: 11:00am
Action: Charges outstanding balance
Includes: Reservation fee and any modifications (extras or add-ons)
Check-out payment
Criteria: Check-out day
Time: 12:00pm
Action: Charges outstanding balance
Includes: Any extras incurred during stay
Check-in payment
Criteria: Check-in day
Time: 11:00am
Action: Charges outstanding balance
Includes: Any extras added after booking but before check-in
Notes:
Rules cannot be edited after activation - create a new rule if changes are needed
When a rule is archived, any existing scheduled payments will still be processed but no new payments are scheduled based on the rule