Questions
Booking, paying, and what happens in between
The short version: you see every charge before you pay, and asking costs nothing.
Booking and paying
- How does a booking actually work?
- You send a request with your dates or your slot, and the owner approves or declines. Their approval takes the payment, and the payment is what confirms the booking. Then the owner's WhatsApp opens up to you and the two of you sort out the details directly.
- Am I charged when I send a request?
- No money moves. Your card is authorised for the amount — a hold, which your bank may show as a pending line — and that hold becomes a charge only if the owner approves. If they decline, or never reply, the hold is released and nothing is taken.
- Who do I pay, and how?
- You enter your card once, on Stripe's secure page, when you request. On a listing marked Instant Book there is no approval step and the payment goes through straight away. The owner receives their full price, and the service fee is its own line on the same payment — one charge in all.
- Does Rent La Ventana charge me anything?
- The service fee is added on top of the owner's price and shown before you pay, in the currency of the listing. You will never find a charge you weren't shown first.
- Is my card safe?
- Card details are entered on Stripe's own checkout page, so we never see or store your card number, and a receipt lands on your booking page the moment the payment goes through.
- What currency is everything in?
- Prices show in dollars or pesos, whichever you pick at the top of the page. Each listing is priced by its owner in one of the two, and your card is charged in that one. Your bank may add its own conversion if it isn't your home currency.
- Deposits, cleaning, extras?
- A cleaning fee or an extra-guest charge, where there is one, is set on the listing and shown under the price before you book. A security deposit is different: if the owner takes one, the listing shows it, and they collect and return it themselves, not through the site. Questions go in the message thread on your booking once you've sent the request, where both of you can see the answer.
- What if plans change?
- The owner sets their own cancellation terms, on their listing under “If your plans change”. Read them before you book. For 20 minutes after asking, and only while the owner hasn't answered, you can withdraw a request yourself; after that, cancelling is a request they answer. Any refund comes from the owner, not from us. If a listing turns out to be materially different from its page, tell us within 24 hours of arrival. The full terms spell all of this out.
- Do I need an invoice or factura?
- For the rental itself, ask the owner, since it is their transaction to invoice. For our service fee we send a receipt; we are a US company, so not a CFDI.
If you're listing
- What does it cost to list?
- Listing is free and there is no monthly charge. The service fee is added on top of your price at checkout and paid by the guest, never deducted from what you asked for. When you refund a guest, the service fee on what you refund comes back to you.
- How do I get paid?
- Directly and independently, to your own Stripe or payout account. Stripe holds each payment briefly before paying it out — at least 48 hours in the US, 7 days in Mexico and Canada, which are Stripe's own minimums. While the money is still in Stripe you can refund a guest from the booking or order; after it is paid out, refund them directly.
- Do I have to accept every request?
- No. A request is a question. You see the dates and the guest before you answer, and declining costs you nothing.