Solved Third party credit card payment
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Is there a way to have a rule that the credit card name must match the booked guest name? Does anyone know if this is something that starts on the MyVR end of the API or the Stripe end of the API?
Here is the backstory about why this rule seems important:
Yesterday I got month long booking starting tonight via VRBO. They have not submitted the Guest Info form nor did they give me any reason for this last minute, month long booking (usually the last minute bookings come with an explanation (our roof fell in and we need to vacate for repairs, grandma is in the hospital, etc) but these people did not say anything.
I checked the Stripe dashboard and I see that the card used is not from the booked guest or her husband. It is from a person who Linked In says is the CEO of a Short term rental company call Barsala located in Seattle.
Husband called me late last night to ask about check in. I reminded him we had not received the guest form. I also asked whose credit card was paying for the reservation. He told me that they had been staying in another property (a large apartment building not far from us) but that the company that was renting and subleasing the STRs was kicked out because they weren’t paying bills. He said that because they had paid the rent to the other company in advance, the company agreed to pay for their new rental. (I am not clear if the company actually went online and booked or if they allegedly gave their credit card number to the renter … that seems super suspicious).
I explained that at check in they would need to provide a photo ID and the credit card they used to book. Since they obviously don’t have that card, & even if they did the name on it would not match their ID, they would need to rebook with their own card. He agreed to this but it’s now 3:30 pm the next day and I have not heard anything from them.
I spoke with Stripe and they said if I refund them I will be charged the credit card fees.
This, despite the fact that they tried twice to book and the first attempt was declined as suspicious - somehow the second attempt - with the same card - did go through.
I called the Seattle management company and explained this and the person I spoke with said “I know we may have moved some people … I will have someone call you back” (that was this morning, I explained they wanted to check in today and she said I would hear from someone in an hour or two… but no response yet).
I so want this to work (we are urban and have lost 90% of our business in Chicago, 100% in Greece) and the money would really help - but I would hate to have them stay for a month and then we get a charge back. I’m also feeling really upset that if I cancel I will end up paying the credit card fees.
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@carole I’m not aware of a way to require that - but I watch for it, and when a person not on the reservation has their name on a card, I have a “Third Party Authorization” form that I require.
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If you click on the “Chicago” link on Barsala’s website, it says they do not have properties there.
I would definitely decline their stay unless you hear back from Michael Monu personally. -
@jenny-oest That’s a great suggestion. I will add that to Guest form. But what do you do if, as in this case, the third party isn’t signing - cancel I suppose? Which is what I was going to do but doing so leaves me eating the credit card cost from Stripe.
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@joseph-sennish Yes, that’s correct now. The person I spoke with at the Chicago property they had been marketing as a STR told me that they discontinued their relationship with Barsala.
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@carole yes I’d cancel. But I’d tell them that first. If they want the reservation, they’ll resolve it. I’d rather eat Stripe fees than have the chargeback and lose.
