Last Updated: July 18, 2024
Link to Feature: https://app.fireflyreservations.com/units (or click here) then click on the unit you wish to add a rule for
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Managing Multiple Deposit Rules
Overview
When taking an online reservation, you may desire a guest to pay a different upfront deposit based on the reservation type, the days in the reservation, and even how many days out the reservation starts.
With Firefly, you can create custom deposit rules for each individual unit based on these factors. Deposits can be a % of the total or a set dollar amount.
Create a Deposit Rule
Deposit rules are managed on the Deposits tab in a unit's settings. To create a deposit rule for a unit, go to Settings > Units > click on a unit to open it > select the Deposits tab.
Click Add Deposit Rule to add a new deposit ruleThe deposit rule dialog will open and you will enter the information below:
Add a new deposit ruleThe deposit type can be a percent of the reservation (%), a set dollar amount ($), or a number of nights. If you choose %, the deposit amount will be calculated based on the entire reservation amount for standard reservations and the first month's charges for an ongoing reservation.
You can even choose to have the remaining balance due automatically collected by enabling the option, "Schedule the remainder of payment". This allows you to collect your deposit at time of booking and any remaining balance due at a day you choose relative to the reservation arrival date. For example, if you have a 50% deposit and enable the option for -1 days before arrival, your guests will pay 50% at the time of booking and schedule a payment for the rest for the day of their arrival for example.
To add more advanced rules to the deposit, click Show advanced deposit options.
Nights in reservation
To create a special deposit amount based on the number of nights in the reservation, just enter a minimum and/or maximum nights in stay amount. For example, to apply this deposit rule to all reservations which have 3 to 7 nights in the stay, enter 3 as the minimum and 7 as the maximum. To apply this rule to all reservations with 8 or more nights in the stay, just enter 8 as a minimum, and leave the maximum empty.
Days until reservation starts
This works just like nights in the reservation, except the deposit rule will only be applied if the number of days until the reservation starts matches the min/max criteria.
Reservation Dates
This section allows you to specify minimum and maximum arrival and departure days to limit when this deposit is applied. You can specify any combination or all four dates. For example you can only set the minimum arrival and maximum departure to set a range the entire reservation must fall in. Or you can specify minimum arrival only to only apply this deposit after a certain date.
Managing multiple deposit rules
You can add as many deposit rules as you want or need. This is to accommodate the variety of reservations a unit may accept. For example, you may choose to collect a full deposit on daily reservations, a 50% deposit on weekly, a $500 deposit on monthly, and $1000 for seasonal stays. Many parks also use unique deposit rules for holidays or special events they have special rates for, like a 100% deposit rule for Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
When using multiple deposit rules you must carefully consider the order you would like them to apply as the topmost deposit rule matching all criteria will be applied. This means rules driven by reservation date must be ordered above rules for length of stay, and length of stay rules must be above rules with no special qualifiers.
To reorder, just drag and drop using the 3 stacked dots icon on the left.
Basic Deposit Rules
In the image below, you can see an example of basic deposit rules: 1 night deposit for standard reservations and 20% deposit for ongoing reservations (50% of first month).
Advanced Deposit Rules
In the image below, you can see a more advanced deposit rule setup: A 50% deposit will be required for reservations that start 7 or less days away, 75% for reservations 8-15 days away, and a 100% deposit required for reservations 16 or more days away.
More advanced deposit rulesAll the flexibility gives you the ability to collect deposits however you want! And don't forget, when you update the deposit rules for one unit, you can export the rules to other units so you only have to make the changes once.
🙋♀️ Still need help? Email: support@fireflyreservations.com and one of our technicians can help answer your questions.
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