Reservation Key and CC payments

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Catalysts

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My wife and I are new to this forum and are in the process of buying a guest cottage business. The owners currently use i Magic reservation system however they have no online payment option. We are looking to provide both online booking and cc payments.
We have searched through many of the prior questions etc and it seems that people are very happy with Square when the card is available and also reservation key for online services. Is this the consensus?
Also with Reservation Key their website is a little unclear as to how they integrate the cc processing. Can someone provide some info on that.
Thank you, this is sucha great resource for us, hopefully after a few years we will be able to add something of merit!
David and Laura
 
Reskey doesn't directly support square, so you will need to type it in and use it manually. They do integrate with standard paypal but not with the paypal gateway.
 
Arks uses ResKey and takes cc with reservation. There is another piece in the puzzle to completion but I know he is quite happy with both.
 
Welcome. Thanks for the intro along with your question. I use Square and ResKey but as mentioned they don't sync to make auto payments.
I know some here use Authorize.net with ResKey to process payments. Hopefully one with chime in to give more details, but you can also go to that site.
The forum on the Reskey site is also quite helpful
 
Mine's all automatic. Guests can click the ResKey reserve button, enter their CC info, and the reservation is made, the deposit charged, and a reservation confirmation is automatically sent to the guest, and to me.
Guests love to be able to do it all like that and know it's done with in just a couple of minutes. But you pay for this convenience.

ResKey doesn't process CCs directly. They take the CC info and pass it on to a processor to charge the card. In my case, I signed up with Authorize.net. It costs about $40/month for their service. Inside ResKey, you select Authorize.net as your CC processor, enter your Authorize ID and password, and it's all automatic from there.
ResKey gets the CC info, passes it to Authorize, who verifies that the card is valid. Then Authorize passes it on to the bank who actually charges the card, moving the money from the cardholder and direct depositing it into my bank account.
Authorize saves the CC data, so you can later have ResKey process further charges to the card, like the balance due or additional purchases, without having to get the guest's CC info again.
Also, if the guest cancels and you need to do a refund, you can do that directly from within ResKey without having to get any info from the guest.

It's very nice but as I said, an extra $40/month. The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that.
 
I also do the same as Arks. I love the auth orize.net integration with ResKey. I never have to follow up with guests because their card is expired or declined. The added charge for auth.net is worth it if you are booking a significant number of rooms each month. If it's only 1 guest cottage, then it wouldn't be worth it. Just have ResKey get the credit card info to you and you can then use square.
By the way, welcome to the forum!
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
.
I had one but she did not tell me it was P & C until after I had done the swipe. I have the P & C gizmo.
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
.
I had one but she did not tell me it was P & C until after I had done the swipe. I have the P & C gizmo.
.
gillumhouse said:
I had one but she did not tell me it was P & C until after I had done the swipe. I have the P & C gizmo.
I like the Walmart readers. If you swipe the strip on a chip card, it won't take it. Tells you to insert the card and leave it in the slot until the processing is done. That's how it should be. Force you to use the chip when possible.
But they (Wmart) don't ask for a PIN and I don't know why. Without the PIN, it's not secure because anybody with the card, like a thief, can use the card. Even swipe and signature is more secure than that (if the merchant bothers to compare the signatures).
I guess they're just trying to introduce C&P in phases.

Off subject, I tried to buy something in a shop in Canada about 10 years ago, and the clerk DID compare the signature on my card to my signature on the sales slip. She said my signatures didn't look anything alike. I took my card and left without making the purchase. Her loss, and mine. It was a painting of the western Rocky Mountains I really wanted (I took one of those Rocky Mountain train tour vacations...beautiful!).
 
Mine's all automatic. Guests can click the ResKey reserve button, enter their CC info, and the reservation is made, the deposit charged, and a reservation confirmation is automatically sent to the guest, and to me.
Guests love to be able to do it all like that and know it's done with in just a couple of minutes. But you pay for this convenience.

ResKey doesn't process CCs directly. They take the CC info and pass it on to a processor to charge the card. In my case, I signed up with Authorize.net. It costs about $40/month for their service. Inside ResKey, you select Authorize.net as your CC processor, enter your Authorize ID and password, and it's all automatic from there.
ResKey gets the CC info, passes it to Authorize, who verifies that the card is valid. Then Authorize passes it on to the bank who actually charges the card, moving the money from the cardholder and direct depositing it into my bank account.
Authorize saves the CC data, so you can later have ResKey process further charges to the card, like the balance due or additional purchases, without having to get the guest's CC info again.
Also, if the guest cancels and you need to do a refund, you can do that directly from within ResKey without having to get any info from the guest.

It's very nice but as I said, an extra $40/month. The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that..
Arks said:
The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that.
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
 
Mine's all automatic. Guests can click the ResKey reserve button, enter their CC info, and the reservation is made, the deposit charged, and a reservation confirmation is automatically sent to the guest, and to me.
Guests love to be able to do it all like that and know it's done with in just a couple of minutes. But you pay for this convenience.

ResKey doesn't process CCs directly. They take the CC info and pass it on to a processor to charge the card. In my case, I signed up with Authorize.net. It costs about $40/month for their service. Inside ResKey, you select Authorize.net as your CC processor, enter your Authorize ID and password, and it's all automatic from there.
ResKey gets the CC info, passes it to Authorize, who verifies that the card is valid. Then Authorize passes it on to the bank who actually charges the card, moving the money from the cardholder and direct depositing it into my bank account.
Authorize saves the CC data, so you can later have ResKey process further charges to the card, like the balance due or additional purchases, without having to get the guest's CC info again.
Also, if the guest cancels and you need to do a refund, you can do that directly from within ResKey without having to get any info from the guest.

It's very nice but as I said, an extra $40/month. The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that..
Arks said:
The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that.
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
.
happykeeper said:
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
Well yeah, there's that. Most hotels don't take a deposit either. It's definitely an option. But hotels have lots of rooms and a no-show or two doesn't matter so much when you have 100 rooms. I have 5 rooms. A no-show costs me a lot. I demand a deposit! Skin in the game.
And I doubt I've ever lost a reservation because I charge the first night when they make the reservation. If I did lose it over that, I don't think I want that person anyway.
I HAVE kept the deposit when they no-show, and it softened the blow. I've never had one question it.
Skin in the game.
 
Mine's all automatic. Guests can click the ResKey reserve button, enter their CC info, and the reservation is made, the deposit charged, and a reservation confirmation is automatically sent to the guest, and to me.
Guests love to be able to do it all like that and know it's done with in just a couple of minutes. But you pay for this convenience.

ResKey doesn't process CCs directly. They take the CC info and pass it on to a processor to charge the card. In my case, I signed up with Authorize.net. It costs about $40/month for their service. Inside ResKey, you select Authorize.net as your CC processor, enter your Authorize ID and password, and it's all automatic from there.
ResKey gets the CC info, passes it to Authorize, who verifies that the card is valid. Then Authorize passes it on to the bank who actually charges the card, moving the money from the cardholder and direct depositing it into my bank account.
Authorize saves the CC data, so you can later have ResKey process further charges to the card, like the balance due or additional purchases, without having to get the guest's CC info again.
Also, if the guest cancels and you need to do a refund, you can do that directly from within ResKey without having to get any info from the guest.

It's very nice but as I said, an extra $40/month. The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that..
Arks said:
The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that.
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
.
happykeeper said:
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
Well yeah, there's that. Most hotels don't take a deposit either. It's definitely an option. But hotels have lots of rooms and a no-show or two doesn't matter so much when you have 100 rooms. I have 5 rooms. A no-show costs me a lot. I demand a deposit! Skin in the game.
And I doubt I've ever lost a reservation because I charge the first night when they make the reservation. If I did lose it over that, I don't think I want that person anyway.
I HAVE kept the deposit when they no-show, and it softened the blow. I've never had one question it.
Skin in the game.
.
and I think that is perfect for what you do. I would do the same thing and our friends who have a similar operation do what you do. Mind you. we do charge in advance in full for any third party reservation, but for the regular deal, it has not been needed, Mind yet again, our destination is not a likely candidate for cancellations. Once that airfare is booked, thery're comin' unless the planes don't fly. In that case, we might be glad we live where we do. :) No last minute, "We can't get away for the weekend" stuff".
 
Mine's all automatic. Guests can click the ResKey reserve button, enter their CC info, and the reservation is made, the deposit charged, and a reservation confirmation is automatically sent to the guest, and to me.
Guests love to be able to do it all like that and know it's done with in just a couple of minutes. But you pay for this convenience.

ResKey doesn't process CCs directly. They take the CC info and pass it on to a processor to charge the card. In my case, I signed up with Authorize.net. It costs about $40/month for their service. Inside ResKey, you select Authorize.net as your CC processor, enter your Authorize ID and password, and it's all automatic from there.
ResKey gets the CC info, passes it to Authorize, who verifies that the card is valid. Then Authorize passes it on to the bank who actually charges the card, moving the money from the cardholder and direct depositing it into my bank account.
Authorize saves the CC data, so you can later have ResKey process further charges to the card, like the balance due or additional purchases, without having to get the guest's CC info again.
Also, if the guest cancels and you need to do a refund, you can do that directly from within ResKey without having to get any info from the guest.

It's very nice but as I said, an extra $40/month. The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that..
Arks said:
The alternative is to have ResKey pass the CC info on to YOU, and YOU handle charging the card just like you would if the guest called on the phone and gave you their card info. That means the reservation cannot be confirmed on the spot. They make a request for a reservation, then you manually, at a later time, run the card to make sure it's good, and send the guest a confirmation email manually. So the guest must wait a while to KNOW they have a confirmed reservation, and some guests don't like that.
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
.
happykeeper said:
Actually, our guests get an immediate confirmation email of their reservation without us doing anything. The difference is that we do not take a deposit.
Well yeah, there's that. Most hotels don't take a deposit either. It's definitely an option. But hotels have lots of rooms and a no-show or two doesn't matter so much when you have 100 rooms. I have 5 rooms. A no-show costs me a lot. I demand a deposit! Skin in the game.
And I doubt I've ever lost a reservation because I charge the first night when they make the reservation. If I did lose it over that, I don't think I want that person anyway.
I HAVE kept the deposit when they no-show, and it softened the blow. I've never had one question it.
Skin in the game.
.
Arks said:
Skin in the game.
I've had the same person cancel over $1000 in room nights in the past two weeks. No skin in the game. Every time I don't get the deposit this is what happens.
I should require a full deposit when it is a third party reservation, like what happy does. Good idea.
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
.
Yes, we get quite a few chip cards. But none with PINs (that we know of, at least) -- chip and sign...
edited: that may be a consequence of the software (Square Register) rather than the card, but come to think of it, I don't think I was ever assigned nor chose a PIN for my own chipped card...
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
.
I had one but she did not tell me it was P & C until after I had done the swipe. I have the P & C gizmo.
.
I'm surprised. If we try to swipe a chipped card it says "not authorized, use reader". If it has a chip, it has to go through the chip reader, here. After 3 shots it "may" authorize the swipe but usually if it won't work in the chip reader, it won't work in the swipe and they need to use another card.
 
We use PayPal for people who make their reservation through ResKey and want to pay their deposit online; we use Square's invoicing feature for those who contact us by e-mail or phone, and we use the Square for processing cards in person (we have the new reader for chip cards),.
Had any chip cards yet? Any of them with PINs?
.
Yes, we get quite a few chip cards. But none with PINs (that we know of, at least) -- chip and sign...
edited: that may be a consequence of the software (Square Register) rather than the card, but come to think of it, I don't think I was ever assigned nor chose a PIN for my own chipped card...
.
Most US cards are using Chip & Sign, which is the least secure version. US Government cards are all Chip & PIN. Sometimes you need to ask your bank for a PIN, some banks just aren't ready to do Chip & PIN.
Walmart in the US already makes me do Chip & PIN. It's one of the few places where I will use my card at all in the US... I've just had my card stolen so many times... Home Depot, Target, Hannaford...
 
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