Flex Standard (Guest Pays)

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

- Flex Level, Guest Pays

- Flex Level, Company Pays

- Flex Standard, Guest Pays ← This article

- Flex Standard, Company Pays

This article focuses on the Flex Standard, Guest Pays model, in which a 6% service fee is applied specifically to online (website) credit card transactions and is presented to your guest during checkout as an additional line item.

Under this structure, the guest—not your business—covers the service fee, allowing you to maintain transparent pricing and keep your own revenue unaffected by processing costs.

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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: 6%

• Who Pays: The guest

• When It's Applied: Online credit card transactions only

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

• Where It's Appears: Checkout, receipts, and emails (not in company reports)

• Refund Policy: Refunded to your guest if the reservation is canceled and fully refunded

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

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How the Service Fee Works

How much is the Service Fee?

The service fee is 6% of the subtotal (before taxes and fees).

For example:

• Experience price = $100

• Guest pays = $106 ($100 + $6 fee)

What does the fee apply to?

The 6% fee is calculated before taxes and fees are applied.

It’s affected by:

• Discounts/coupons → Fee goes down

• Add-ons or custom charges → Fee goes up

Who Pays & When

Which payment methods trigger the fee?

The Service Fee is only applied to online (website) credit card transactions.
It does not apply to in-person or cash transactions.

How is it collected with deposits/split payments?

Let’s say:

• Total reservation = $100

• Service fee = $6

• Guest pays a deposit = $20

• Guest is charged $26 at checkout (deposit + full fee)

What Do Guests & Companies See?

Will my guest see the fee?

Yes. If configured this way, guests will:

• See the Service Fee as a separate line item at checkout

• Receive it on confirmation and reminder emails

• See it on their final receipt

Will my company see the fee?

Not directly.

• The Service Fee is not shown in your reports because the money goes directly to Xola, not your business.

• Instead, reservations with a guest-paid fee are marked with a gray asterisk in Xola.

Service Fee vs. Processing Fee

	Service Fee	Credit Card Processing Fee
Who Pays	Guest	Business
Shown to...	Guest (in checkout & emails)	Business (in reports)
Goes to	Xola	Stripe

Display Options

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

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)

 Still Have Questions?

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