Security Deposits and Damage Claims
A security deposit protects a property against guest damage. In Argonautas it is a pre-authorization hold on the guest's card, not an actual charge: money is reserved but never captured unless you file a claim. If no claim is made, the hold is released and the guest is never charged.
You manage the deposit from the Security Deposit card on the booking's detail page, in the right-hand column under Payment. The card shows the deposit amount, its status, the Card on File, and, while a hold is live, the date it Auto-releases. Bookings without a security deposit don't show the card.
When a Hold Is Placed
Automatic deposit holds are switched on by Argonautas for each payment connector, once that card processor accepts charges your company starts on a saved card. They are off by default, and there is no setting for them in Settings > Payments. Until they are on, no holds are placed and no deposit notices go out; collect the deposit however you arrange it with the guest. Ask Argonautas support whether holds are on for your account.
When holds are on, a booking gets a security deposit when all of these are true:
- The property takes a Pre-authorization damage deposit with an amount. This is set on the property's Policies & Guide tab under Damage Deposit, or for the whole company under Settings > Property defaults > Damage Deposit (see Settings Guide). A Charged deposit is not held.
- The guest paid for the stay by card and the card was saved with that payment, on a connector that has holds switched on.
- The booking is not cancelled and not a complimentary stay.
- The guest hasn't already arrived. A card saved during or after a stay -- for example when the guest pays for extras -- never starts a hold on a guest who is already in the villa or has left.
The deposit amount is taken from the property's setting when the card is saved. The hold itself is placed on the arrival day (once a day, at 18:00 UTC -- noon in Costa Rica). If that run is missed for any reason, the hold is placed the next day while the guest is still staying, and never on or after the departure day.
If the card processor declines the hold, the deposit shows Failed and the property's manager and your company's main email address get an ACTION NEEDED email: no hold is in place, so collect the deposit at check-in another way. If the processor doesn't confirm either way, your managers are told it will be retried automatically and can't be placed twice -- don't collect the deposit by other means until it resolves.
What the Guest Is Told
The guest hears about the deposit through your lifecycle email templates:
| When | Template | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| A few days before arrival | Security Deposit Notice | A hold of the deposit amount will be placed on their card on arrival day. The number of days is Notice Days Before Arrival (1-7, default 2). Not sent if Pre-Arrival Instructions has already gone out, since that email carries the same notice. |
| The hold is placed | Security Deposit Hold Placed | The amount and the card it was placed on -- for example "Visa card ending in 4242", or just "Visa card" when the processor doesn't report the last four digits. |
| A damage claim is collected | Security Deposit Claimed | The amount charged and the reason you entered. |
| The review period ends and the deposit is released | Security Deposit Released | That the hold has been released and should leave their statement within a few business days. |
If you have switched one of these templates off, that email isn't sent. The guest is not emailed when a hold lapses mid-stay, when you release a hold yourself with Release Hold, or when a cancellation releases it. The guest can also see the deposit's status on their portal's Payment page (see Payments & Billing).
Deposit Statuses
The card shows where the deposit stands:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | No hold placed yet -- usually because the guest hasn't arrived. |
| Hold Active | A pre-authorization hold is live on the guest's card. The card shows when it Auto-releases. |
| Capture pending | You filed a claim and the card processor accepted it, but hasn't settled it yet. Nothing is collected until it does. |
| Claimed | You charged against the deposit for damage (partial or full amount). |
| Released | The hold was let go and the reserved funds are freed: "Hold released. No charges applied." |
| Expired | The hold lapsed before it was released (see below). |
| Failed | The hold could not be placed: "Hold failed — collect manually at check-in." |
Holds Lapse on Their Own
Card processors drop a pre-authorization after about six days, so Argonautas lets a hold go once it is six days old. On a longer stay, the hold lapses before checkout even though nothing went wrong. The deposit then shows Expired, the reserved funds return to the guest, and the guest is not emailed about it at that point.
A lapsed hold is normal and expected on long stays. It does not mean you have lost the ability to charge for damage: as long as the guest's card is on file, you can still file a claim (see Claiming for Damage).
The Review Period and Automatic Release
After checkout you have a review period to inspect the villa: Review Days After Departure under Settings > Property defaults > Damage Deposit (1-6 days, default 3; it can't be set per property). The deposit auto-releases that many days after the departure date, and while a hold is live the card shows that date as Auto-releases. If the departure date changes before the hold is placed, the date moves with it.
- The day before a live hold auto-releases, your company's active managers and supervisors get a reminder (by WhatsApp, SMS, or email, whichever is set up for them): the deposit "auto-releases tomorrow ... If there is a damage claim, act now before the hold is released."
- On the release date, a live hold is released, the deposit moves to Released, and the guest gets the Security Deposit Released email.
- A deposit that had already lapsed (Expired) is also moved to Released on that date, and the guest is emailed then. The exception is a hold that lapsed because a claim against it failed: that one stays Expired for you to resolve.
Claiming for Damage
To claim, click Claim Damage on the card. In the Claim Damage Deposit dialog, enter an Amount (up to the deposit amount) and a Reason describing the damage, then click Confirm Claim. Only admins, property managers, and accounting can claim or release a deposit.
How the claim is collected depends on the state of the hold:
- The hold is still live. The claim captures from the funds already reserved. Because the money was set aside at arrival, the guest's bank can't decline it.
- The hold has lapsed, but the card is still on file. The claim runs a fresh charge against the saved card. This is a real sale, so -- unlike capturing a live hold -- it can be declined by the guest's bank.
As long as a card was kept on file, you can still claim for damage after the hold has lapsed or been released. The Claim Damage button stays available on an Expired or Released deposit, and the card reads "The hold is no longer active, but the card is still on file — you can charge for damage below." If no card is on file, the deposit is closed and no claim option appears.
Once a claim is collected, the deposit shows Claimed and the guest gets the Security Deposit Claimed email.
Partial claims
If you claim less than the full deposit, the card shows "Claimed {amount} for: {reason}. Remaining released." (A full claim reads "Full amount claimed for: {reason}.") The money you claimed is kept and the rest of the hold goes back to the guest. With Stripe and PayPal the remainder is released straight away. PowerTranz can't release part of a hold, so there the remainder drops off when the authorization lapses at the processor.
When a claim is pending
Occasionally the processor accepts a claim against a live hold but holds it for review before settling (this can happen with PayPal). The deposit then shows Capture pending: "Claim of {amount} for: {reason} submitted. The card processor has not settled the capture yet, so nothing is collected until it does." No actions are offered while it is pending. When it settles, the deposit moves to Claimed and the guest is emailed. If the processor declines it, the hold goes back to Hold Active (or Expired, if the authorization is gone) and the property's manager gets an ACTION NEEDED email.
When a claim fails
If the processor refuses a claim, you see the processor's reason on screen and nothing is collected.
- Against a live hold, the hold stays Hold Active, so you can try again or release it. If the processor says the authorization itself is gone, the deposit moves to Expired instead, and a new claim charges the saved card. If the processor rejected your API credentials, the property's manager also gets an ACTION NEEDED email saying to fix the connector's credentials in Settings.
- Against a lapsed hold, the fresh charge was declined. The property's manager and your company's main email address get an ACTION NEEDED email: nothing was charged, so collect the damage amount from the guest directly.
- If the processor doesn't confirm a charge on a lapsed hold, you're asked to retry in a few minutes; the retry can't charge the guest twice.
Releasing a Hold
If the stay ends with no damage, click Release Hold and confirm ("Release the {amount} hold? This cannot be undone.") to free the reserved funds straight away, rather than waiting for the review period to end. Release Hold is only offered while a hold is live -- there is nothing to release once it has lapsed. Releasing a hold yourself does not email the guest. If the processor refuses the release, you see its reason on screen and the hold stays active.
Cancelling a booking releases its hold automatically, without emailing the guest.
Key Concepts
- Pre-authorization hold -- Reserved funds on the guest's card, not a charge. Released at the end of the review period if no claim is filed.
- Lapsed hold -- A hold let go because the stay outran the card processor's roughly six-day authorization window. Normal on long stays.
- Review period -- The days after departure (Review Days After Departure) before the deposit is released automatically.
- Claim against a live hold -- Captures already-reserved money; the bank can't decline it.
- Claim against a lapsed hold -- A fresh charge on the card still on file; the bank can decline it.
- Card on file -- The saved card that makes a post-lapse claim possible. Without it, a lapsed deposit can't be claimed.
Common Questions
None of my bookings get a deposit hold. Why? Automatic holds are switched on by Argonautas per payment connector, and are off until then. Also check that the property's damage deposit type is Pre-authorization with an amount, and that the guest paid by card with the card saved.
The hold disappeared before the guest even checked out. Did something break? No. On stays longer than about six days the hold lapses on its own; that is a card-processor limit, not an error. You can still claim for damage if a card is on file.
Can I still charge for damage after the hold is gone? Yes, as long as the card is still on file. The claim runs as a fresh charge instead of capturing a reserved hold. Because it is a new charge, the bank can decline it.
What's the difference between claiming on a live hold and a lapsed one? A live-hold claim draws on money already reserved, so the bank can't decline it. A lapsed-hold claim is a brand-new charge and can be declined, exactly like any card payment.
How much can I claim? Up to the deposit amount. The claim dialog caps the amount at the deposit.
Is the guest told when I claim? Yes. Once a claim is collected, the guest is emailed the amount and the reason you entered, unless you have switched that email template off.
Is the guest told when I release the hold? No. Only the automatic release at the end of the review period emails the guest.
Related
- Booking Lifecycle -- The booking detail page where the Security Deposit card lives.
- Guest Payments -- How the deposit appears to the guest.
- Settings Guide -- The company's default damage deposit, review days, and notice days.
- Lifecycle Message Templates -- The deposit emails the guest receives.
- Booking Statuses -- The booking's own status, separate from the deposit's.