If they don’t show, it’s charged.
Stripe’s pre-authorization places a hold on the guest’s card at booking. If they come, it’s released. If they don’t, it’s captured automatically per your policy. You don’t pick up the phone; your team doesn’t argue.
- Real Stripe pre-authorization, not a simple card-on-file
- Policy per service, day, or party size
- Automatic re-authorization every 7 days
- SCA / 3-D Secure compliant
Booking → hold → visit → release. Or capture.
When a guest books in a risk scenario (weekend dinners, large parties, holidays), the widget asks for a card. Stripe holds an amount you define (say, €20 per person). The guest sees and confirms. If they show up, the hold is released in minutes. If they don’t, it’s captured automatically per your policy.
- Actual fund hold on the card (not just stored for later).
- Automatic release when "seated" is marked in the desktop.
- Automatic capture X hours after a no-show (configurable).
- Re-authorization every 7 days for far-future bookings.
Not everyone should be asked for a card.
A VIP who comes weekly shouldn’t go through it. A party of 12 on New Year’s Eve probably should. Policies are configurable on multiple criteria — and combinable. The result is fair: pre-auth only where there’s real risk.
- By service: dinners yes, lunches no.
- By day: Fri and Sat yes, others no.
- By party size: from 6 people up.
- By specific date: Dec 20–31 always on.
Built to European standards, not casually.
Pre-authorization is a payment flow recognised by Stripe and by card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex). It’s SCA / 3-D Secure compliant (mandatory in the EU). The guest clearly sees the amount before confirming — no fine print. GDPR-compliant; card data is tokenised by Stripe (not us).
- Automatic SCA / 3-D Secure compliance.
- Guest sees and accepts the amount before confirming.
- Card data tokenised by Stripe (not by Reserver).
- No-show policy visible on the booking page (legal requirement).
Capture, refund, exception — all one click away.
Was there a legitimate emergency? Refund in one click. Does the guest want to pay the penalty some other way? Cancel the capture. Card expires before the booking? System warns and asks for a new one. All visible in the dashboard, no need to open Stripe.
- Full or partial refund without leaving Reserver.
- Alerts when a card will expire before the date.
- Per-operator log of every capture and refund.
The real impact on a restaurant
Dramatic drop in no-shows
Guests who never planned to show cancel in time — or don’t book. Either helps you.
Zero awkward conversations
Your team doesn’t have to ask "and the deposit?" on the phone. The system did it at booking.
Revenue recovered automatically
No-shows that happen get charged. Month-end balances without thinking about them.
What people usually ask
Do guests get upset about having to put in a card?
What penalty amount should I set?
What if the guest wants to cancel ahead of time?
Does it work with foreign cards?
What if the card declines the pre-auth?
What if Stripe has downtime?
Take back control of no-shows.
Configure the policy in 10 minutes and test it on a dummy booking.