Xola supports four different fee structures:
- Flex Level, Guest Pays
- Flex Level, Company Pays
- Flex Standard, Guest Pays
- Flex Standard, Company Pays
This article addresses frequently asked questions about Flex Standard, Guest Pays -- where a 6% fee is assessed on Online (Website) Credit Card transactions and is assessed to your guest in checkout.
Note: Your Xola account must meet certain qualifications, to be on this fee structure.
If you have any other questions please reach out to our Support Team at support@xola.com.
How much is the booking fee?
The typical booking fee is 6%.
The fee is assessed on top of your configured price. For example, if your experience has a price of $100, the final amount that the Guest is charged will be $106 ($100 + 6%).
Here is an example of what a purchase may look like to your Customer:
What is the booking fee assessed on?
The booking fee is assessed on the sub-total before taxes & fees.
This means the booking fee will decrease if apply coupons or discounts to the booking. Conversely, the booking fee will increase if you have custom line items, add-ons, etc.
Who pays the booking fee?
The booking fee is paid by your guest.
Is the booking fee assessed on all methods of payment (including cash)?
No. The Booking Fee is only assessed on Online (Website) Credit Card Transactions.
How are the booking fees collected for deposits and split payments?
Booking fees are collected proportionally to the partial amount paid.
For example,
- You have a booking for $100 with a booking fee of $6 (total price = $106)
- Your guest makes a deposit or split payment of $20.
- Xola now determines the proportion of the payment to the full amount (i.e. how much is $20 out of $106). In this case, it comes out to 18.87% (20/106).
- Xola then takes 18.87% of the $6 booking fee, which comes out to $1.13.
Will my guest see a booking fee?
When the Booking Fee is configured to be paid by the guest, only the guest sees the fee during the checkout process. They will also see the Booking Fee on their confirmation email/receipts, reminder emails, etc.
Where do I see the Booking Fee?
The company never sees the exact dollar value. The fee is shown during checkout as a Booking Fee and is wholly borne by the guest. The Company will see a yellow asterisk next to any booking where the Booking Fee was paid by your guest. It is not shown in your reporting because this is money that is not going to your account. If we were to report on this your reports and payouts wouldn’t match and would have the potential to cause more confusion. However, we show it via the asterisk so you always know when a customer paid the fee. If the customer were to call you and say they are looking at a charge for a different amount, the asterisk is an indication of why those numbers vary.
Why do I see Processing fee but not Partner fee?
The processing or Credit Card fee - is paid by the company, not your guest, so it is shown in your reporting. The same way we show any taxes you configure so you can know how to remit those accordingly. This allows you to reconcile your Xola payouts with the services you’ve rendered and have those match.
If the guest pays the Booking Fee, it goes directly to Xola so it is not shown in your reports or they would not reconcile properly. If we were to report on this your reports and payouts wouldn’t match and would have the potential to cause more confusion. However we show it via the asterisk so you always know when a guest paid the fee.
Can I customize how booking fees are shown on checkout?
If the guest is paying the Booking Fee, it will show in your checkout. You have two options to show this fee.
1. Show the Taxes and Fees as separate line items when hovered over:
2. Show Taxes and Fees as one simple line item, that combines them together:
You can configure whether the booking fees are lumped with your other taxes & fees, or if it is displayed separately. See Checkout Preferences.