Stripe Integration

Stripe is the payment backbone of Vanio. Every charge, refund, payout, deposit, and staff payment flows through your Stripe account — so you own the money relationship with your guests and staff, and Vanio never holds funds.

Connecting Stripe takes about three minutes and unlocks the majority of Vanio's revenue features: direct bookings, deposits, damage waivers, staff payouts, tips, and automatic reconciliation.

Why Stripe

• You own the account — Vanio connects to your Stripe, not the other way around. If you ever leave Vanio, your account and payment history stay with you.
• Global coverage — 45+ countries, 135+ currencies, local payment methods (Apple Pay, Google Pay, SEPA, iDEAL, Bancontact, Klarna, Afterpay, and more)
• Best-in-class security — PCI Level 1 compliance handled for you, 3D Secure automatic, fraud screening built in
• Fast payouts — money lands in your bank in 1-2 business days (or instantly with Instant Payouts)

Connecting your account

1. Go to Settings → Payments
2. Click Connect Stripe
3. Sign in to Stripe (or create a new account)
4. Grant Vanio permission to charge and refund on your behalf
5. You're back in Vanio and ready to take payments

If you don't have a Stripe account yet, Stripe walks you through business details, bank info, and ID verification — usually 10-15 minutes. Vanio doesn't see any of this.

What Stripe powers in Vanio

• Direct bookings — charge guests at booking or check-in
• Security deposits — authorize a hold before arrival, capture or release after checkout
• Damage waivers — small non-refundable fees on every booking
• Upsells — early check-in, late checkout, pet fee, cleaning upgrades
• Staff payouts — pay cleaners and maintenance directly to their bank accounts
• Guest refunds — partial or full, in one click, with automatic reconciliation
• Subscription billing — for long-stay tenants or recurring cleaning contracts

Fees

Stripe's standard processing fees apply (typically 2.9% + 30¢ per card charge in the US, varies by country and payment method). Vanio doesn't take a cut of processing — the Stripe fee is the only fee on guest charges.

For staff payouts, Stripe Connect fees apply when you pay contractors or employees. These are transparent and shown in your monthly summary.

Dashboard views

Under Reports → Payments you see everything in one place: charges, refunds, deposits held, payouts scheduled, and fees. Every line links straight to the matching reservation or task, and you can export to CSV for your accountant any time.

Refunds

Issuing a refund takes one click:

1. Open the reservation
2. Click Refund
3. Pick full or partial amount
4. Confirm

The refund is processed by Stripe immediately. Guests see it on their statement within a few days, depending on their bank.

Disputes and chargebacks

If a guest disputes a charge, Vanio notifies you and automatically assembles evidence (booking confirmation, guest messages, photos, access logs) so you can respond in one click. Most disputes are won when evidence is well-organized — Vanio does the heavy lifting.

Common questions

Do I need a separate Stripe account for each property? No — one account handles all your properties. If you want to separate payouts by property, use Stripe's multi-account feature.

What if I already use Stripe for something else? Perfect — connect the same account. Vanio only sees the charges it creates.

Can I use a different payment processor? Stripe is the only fully supported processor today. PayPal is planned for non-card flows.

Is there a sandbox mode? Yes — switch to Stripe Test Mode from the Payments settings to run test charges without moving real money.

Stripe is the one integration you should set up first. Everything else gets more useful once it's connected.