Questions
Booking, paying, and what happens in between
The short version: the rental is paid to the owner, not to us. Anything payable to Rent La Ventana appears on your booking page before you pay it. Nothing is charged for asking.
Booking and paying
- How does a booking actually work?
- You send a request with your dates or your slot. Nothing is charged at that point. A request is a question, not a commitment. The owner sees it and approves or declines. When they approve, you pay by card on a secure Stripe checkout page, 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. A released hold is not a refund: there is nothing to come back, because nothing left.
- Who do I pay, and how?
- You enter your card once, when you request. On a request the card is held rather than charged — the money moves only if the owner says yes, and the hold is released if they decline or never answer. On a listing marked Instant Book there is no approval step and the payment goes through straight away. Either way the charge is made on the owner's own account. They are the merchant, and their price goes straight into their account, never through ours. Rent La Ventana's service fee is shown as its own line on the same payment, so there is exactly one charge and no surprises.
- Does Rent La Ventana charge me anything?
- A 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?
- Each listing is priced by its owner in either US dollars or Mexican pesos, and the card is charged in the same currency as the listing. Your bank may add its own conversion on top if that isn't your home currency; that part is between you and them.
- 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 — that is the owner's own arrangement, agreed with them and not collected through the site. Ask before you confirm, and keep the answer in the message thread on your booking, where it stays timestamped and both of you can see it.
- What if plans change?
- The owner sets their own cancellation terms, and they are on their listing under “If your plans change”. If they haven't set any, a booking with them is final once paid — so ask before you book if you need room to change your mind. There is no cancel button: write to us and we'll help sort it out with them. Where a refund is possible at all, the card processing line is the one part that can't come back, because the card networks keep it either way. If a verified 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 anything paid to Rent La Ventana, write to us and we will sort it out.
If you're listing
- What does it cost to list?
- Listing is free and there is no monthly charge. Our service fee is added on top of your price at checkout and paid by the guest, never deducted from what you asked for. If a guest cancels inside the refund window, that fee comes back to you too, so a cancelled booking doesn't leave you paying commission on it.
- How do I get paid?
- Directly by your guest, into your own account. We never hold your money. Stripe holds each payment briefly before paying it out — at least 48 hours on a US account, 7 days on a Mexican one, which is Stripe's own minimum. That hold is what lets a guest cancellation be refunded from the payment itself instead of clawed back from your bank later. Once you have been paid out, nothing is ever debited from you automatically.
- 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.
- What does the Verified badge involve?
- We check that you are a real person with a real place and a working phone number, usually because we already know you, this being a town of this size. Verified listings are the ones our guarantee covers.
Still not sure?
We know this town. Ask before you book rather than after. It is a small place and a short conversation.