When unforeseen events like severe weather, emergencies, or operational challenges impact your business, Xola provides flexible tools to help you effectively manage reservations, minimize financial impact, and maintain a smooth guest experience.
This article outlines several options to help you navigate cancellations, issue refunds, and manage your account balance with confidence during periods of disruption. From adjusting reservation policies to leveraging features like Store Credit, Refund Reserve, or custom messaging, Xola equips you with the support you need to stay responsive and resilient in the face of unexpected changes.
User Access: Admin roles have access to set up and manage Refund Resve and Top Ups in Xola.
Admin or Reservationist roles can issue Store Credits to reservations in Xola.
Primary roles can request a payout delay through Xola Support.
To grant access to users, click here.
What is covered in this article:
Store Credit for Cancellations
If a customer needs to cancel, offering Store Credit is a great way to preserve revenue while still supporting your guests. Store Credit allows the value of the original purchase to be applied to a future booking, giving customers flexibility while reducing the need for refunds.
To issue Store Credit:
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Go through the cancellation workflow.
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Choose the Store Credit as the Return Payment Method.
Read our full article on Store Credit if you would like to learn more.
When Refunds Exceed Your Xola Balance
If you need to issue refunds that exceed your available Xola Balance (displayed in the Purchases tab or Payouts Report), you have two primary options:
Extend Your Payout Delay
By increasing your payout delay from 1 day to 7 days, you allow more funds to accumulate in your Xola account, making them available for refunds. This can be especially helpful if you're still receiving new bookings.
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After the 7-day threshold is reached, funds will be paid out daily based on transactions from the previous week.
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Contact Xola Support via in-product chat or email to request this change.
Add Funds to Your Refund Reserve Balance
Your Refund Reserve is used to cover credit card refunds. If your Xola Balance can't cover a refund, the transaction will be rejected. To avoid this, set a Refund Reserve to ensure you always have enough available.
For example: If your balance is $100 and you try to refund $120, the refund will fail. A properly funded Refund Reserve prevents this from happening.
You decide how much to set aside, depending on what you need. We recommend that you configure a refund reserve that can cover worst-case days. Depending on your business, this might mean reserving a day's worth of purchases or several days' worth of purchases. It is entirely predicated on the type of business you run, and you will be the best judge of what is an appropriate refund reserve.
Xola will find transactions whose amounts total up to a value greater than or equal to the amount specified and mark these transactions as being part of the Refund Reserve.
Read more about Refund Reserves here.
Add funds to your Xola Balance
You can also manually top up your Xola Balance to cover refunds:
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Go to Reports > Payouts.
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Update your Refund Reserve to an amount greater than the funds you intend to send so that they do not get paid out in the subsequent payout.
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Send Funds via ACH or Wire Transfer, instructions on how to send will be presented when you click on the Top Up button.
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Wait for the funds to become available.
- Once you are finished completing the refunds you can reduce your Refund Reserve back to "$0" to payout any additional funds you no longer wish to hold.
- Processing Time: 2-3 business days, depending on bank cutoffs.
- Fees
- ACH Deposit: $5
- Wire Transfer: $8
- Check with your bank for any additional fees they may charge.
- The amount deposited into your Xola account will be less these fees.
Note for International Users: The self-service Top Up option is only available for U.S. accounts. International businesses should contact Xola Support at support@xola.com for assistance.