Pre-Authorization Holds

A pre-authorization puts a temporary hold on the guest's card. No money moves, but the amount is reserved. The guest sees it as a pending charge. For you, it's an unmistakable signal that the booking is real.

When the guest arrives and is seated, the hold is released and the guest never pays. When the reservation is marked as a no-show, the hold is captured and you keep the money as compensation for the empty table.

This works with Stripe, which supports manual-capture payment intents. The booking form authorizes the card through Stripe at the time of booking. The operator app captures or releases based on what happens during service.

The result: no-show rates drop because guests know their card is on file. When someone does no-show, you're compensated instead of just staring at an empty table. Guests who actually show up pay nothing extra — the hold disappears on their statement.