Flex Level (Guest Pays)

Xola offers four distinct service fee structures designed to accommodate different business needs and pricing strategies:

- Flex Level, Guest Pays ← This article

- Flex Level, Company Pays

- Flex Standard, Guest Pays

- Flex Standard, Company Pays

This article provides a detailed overview of the Flex Level, Guest Pays service fee model, where a 3% service fee is assessed on every transaction—regardless of whether payment is made by cash, credit card, check, or another method—and this fee is paid directly by your guest.

With this configuration, the service fee is automatically calculated and added on top of your listed experience price, ensuring that the price you set is the amount your business receives, while the guest covers the Service fee as a transparent line item. This enables your business to simplify pricing management, keep reporting clear, and maximize revenue without absorbing platform fees.

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What's covered in the article:

• At a Glance
• How the Service Fee Works
• Who Pays & When
• What Do Guests & Companies See?
• Service Fee vs. Processing Fee
• Display Options
• Refunds & Cancellations

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At a Glance

• Fee Amount: 3%

• Who Pays: The guest

• When It's Applied: All payment types (cash, credit card, check, etc.)

• What It's Based On: Subtotal before taxes and fees

• Where It Appears: Guests see it at checkout and on receipts; you’ll see it in reporting.

• Who Keeps It:

  • Xola retains fees on credit card transactions

  • You retain fees collected via offline payment methods (cash, check, etc)

• Refund Policy: Refunded to the guest if fully canceled

  • Store Credit Policy: Service fee is not refunded with store credit

• Guest Visibility: Guests see the fee at all points in the reservation process

How the Service Fee Works

How much is the Service Fee?

The service fee is 3% of the subtotal (before taxes and fees).

For example:

• Experience price = $100

• Guest pays = $103

• You receive the full $100, and the $3 fee is handled separately

What is the Service Fee assessed on?

The 3% fee is calculated based on the subtotal before taxes and fees.

It’s affected by:

• Coupons/discounts → Fee decreases

• Add-ons/custom charges → Fee increases

Who Pays & When

Who pays the Service Fee?

Your guest pays the fee, and it is clearly shown during checkout.

Is the Service Fee applied to all payment types?

Yes. The fee is assessed on all payment methods including:

• Credit card

• Cash

• Check

• Custom/offline payments

Does Xola keep all the Service Fees?

• Credit card payments → Xola keeps the 3% Service Fee

• Offline payments (cash, check, etc.) → You keep the 3% Service Fee

In reporting:

• Credit card fees are labeled Service Fees

• Offline fees are labeled Guest Fees

How is the fee handled with deposits or split payments?

Service Fees are collected proportionally to what the guest pays.

For example,

• You have a reservation for $100 with a Service Fee of $3 (total price = $103)
• Your Guest makes a deposit or split payment of $20.
• Xola now determines the proportion of the payment to the full amount (i.e. how much is $20 out of $103). In this case, it comes out to 19.42% (20/103).
• Xola then takes 19.42% of the $3 Service Fee, which comes out to $0.58.

This is how the transaction would appear in your reports.

What Do Guests & Companies See?

Will my guest see the Service Fee?

Yes. The guest sees the Service Fee at:

• Checkout

• Confirmation and reminder emails

• Receipt

Where does my company see the Service Fee?

You’ll see the fee in your reporting dashboard, labeled as either:

• Service Fee (Xola-kept, from card payments)

• Guest Fee (company-kept, from offline payments)

You'll see the fee in your Purchase Tab under Payment Summery. 

You'll see the fee in the Make a Purchase workflow when making a reservation in the back office. 

Service Fee vs. Processing Fee

You can configure how taxes and fees appear at checkout:

• Separate Line Items (with hover)

  • Shows “Taxes” and “Service Fee” individually when the customer hovers.

• Combined Line Item

  • Groups all taxes and fees into one line.

Refunds & Cancellations

Will the Service Fee be refunded if the reservation is canceled?

If you cancel a reservation and issue a full refund:

• The Service Fee is also refunded automatically

• Guests will see two refund line items:

  • One for the experience

  • One for the service fee (processed separately from Stripe)

What happens if the reservation is canceled and refunded to Store Credit?

In this case, the Service Fee is not refunded. Here's how it works:

• If the original charge was $100 + $3 fee, and you issue store credit, the guest receives $100 in credit (not $103)

• When they use this credit on a future $100 reservation, they will not be charged another Service Fee—the credit will cover the full cost, including the fee

To learn more about Store Credit, click here.

Still Have Questions?

We're here to help!
Email us at support@xola.com for assistance with your configuration or eligibility.