A reservation without a deposit is a promise, not a booking. CabinKey™ collects a deposit by credit card the moment a guest books online, so your calendar fills with committed guests — not tentative holds that evaporate in June.
Guest Deposits
CabinKey™ provides multiple ways to configure how your deposits are calculated for maximum flexibility.
Choose from:
- Property Wide: One deposit calculation for the entire property — a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the reservation total.
- Entity Specific: Each of your rentable items, Units and Addons, can have its own deposit scheme. Mix and match fixed dollar amounts and percentages for each of your Units and Addons.
That flexibility matters in practice: many resorts take a flat $200 on a cabin week but a 50% deposit on boat and pontoon addons, where no-shows hurt more. Set each rule once and CabinKey™ applies it to every booking automatically.
Deposits are collected through Stripe
Card payments run through Stripe, the same payment processor behind millions of businesses. Guests pay securely at booking time, and the money lands in your bank account on Stripe’s standard payout schedule — CabinKey™ never touches or holds your funds. Every deposit shows up alongside the reservation in your payments list, so reconciling the books takes minutes.
Wondering what card processing actually costs a small resort? We wrote up an honest breakdown in credit card processing fees for Minnesota resorts.
The balance takes care of itself
The remaining balance is tracked on the reservation automatically. Collect it at check-in, or record a check or cash payment if that’s how your guests settle up — CabinKey™ keeps the math straight either way, including taxes.
Ready to stop chasing deposit checks through the mail? Book a demo and see the booking-to-deposit flow end to end.