The Pros and Cons of Accepting PayPal from Vacation Rental Guests| HomeAway Community

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The Pros and Cons of Accepting PayPal from Vacation Rental Guests
The pros and cons of accepting PayPal.

PayPal is a way for owners to test the waters with credit cards.

For vacation rental owners who may not be ready to take the leap to a merchant account, PayPal is a welcome alternative. Though it's often associated with eBay, businesses of all kinds can use PayPal to collect payment from customers.

Pros

□ Fast and easy to set up.

□ Renters don't to have a PayPal account to send you money.

□ PayPal doesn't charge a monthly fee, but rather charges around 3% of the transaction plus a transaction fee.

□ PayPal allows you to create and send invoices.

□ In most cases, PayPal is cheaper than the cost of a merchant account (if you factor monthly fees & setup fees).

Cons

□ PayPal's Seller Protection policies do not cover intangible goods or goods that are "not as described.”

□ There is a limit (around $2000) that can be sent in one payment.

□ PayPal has built in security features that will decline cards from certain places.

□ Just like with credit cards, renters can request a chargeback.

□ PayPal may charge you a transaction fee twice-- both when you accept and refund security deposits.

When deciding whether to accept PayPal, look at the rental process from both your and the renter's perspective. What would be the easiest and least stressful method of payment for the both of you? No matter which methods of payment you decide to accept, the best way to protect yourself and your business is to require all renters to sign a rental agreement well before the rental date that includes specific rules regarding cancellation and refund policies.

And as a general rule, be extra careful with last-minute bookings. PayPal considers last-minute transactions a moderate risk and therefore you should do a fair amount of vetting before accepting a last-minute request. As an alternative, have the renters meet your housekeeper (or someone you trust at the location of your vacation home) and receive the monies in cash from your renters.

Do you like using PayPal? Why or why not?

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How to Accept Payments from Your Vacation Rental Guests Establishing a clear payment policy turns the challenges of financial transactions into major rewards.

When to Allow a Renter to Pay by Wire Transfer An option for international guests or last minute bookings.